EDITOR ’ S QUESTION

Today , few companies understand the impact candidate experience has on talent flow . Understanding what it takes for a candidate to move through the application process is the key to improving it .

Popular ATS ( applicant tracking system ) platforms often require candidates to create an account or sign in before they can complete an application . This step is a huge deterrent and will cause qualified talent to walk away .

What organizations fail to realize is up-front account creation is a signal that the entire application process is likely cumbersome and full of hurdles , which qualified candidates won ’ t tolerate . People want to work with organizations that value their time and talent enough to make all pre-employment interactions fast and easy .

If the application is too time-consuming , applicants won ’ t take the time to complete it . Applicants abandon their job applications when they are asked for the same information over and over , and are asked too many unnecessary questions and include too many screening stages .

How to improve the applicant experience

Companies are spending a disproportionate amount on making the career landing page beautiful , while for 85 % of candidates , the apply flow provides a poor first impression . Enterprises should consider the following when evaluating their application experience :

1 . Number of clicks : How many clicks must a candidate make between ‘ Apply now ’ and the job application ? The more hoops to jump through , the less likely they are to do it .

2 . Application steps : How many steps does the apply flow include and how much time do candidates spend per step ?

3 . Incomplete applications : How many applications are abandoned ? How many candidates drop off ?

Though job applications are getting shorter , and organizations are realizing the value of optimizing the candidate experience , there ’ s still a lot of friction in the candidate experience that can be easily minimized by improving the application process . Providing a positive candidate experience is a key component to securing high-quality hires and competing for top talent in today ’ s fast-moving labor market . p

Today , applicants expect a consumer-grade experience during the recruitment process , and a poor mobile experience will lead to lost applicants .

Enterprises are often heavily focused on optimizing the organization ’ s career site content , however , 85 % of candidates enter the apply flow directly from a job ad or job aggregator site . Therefore , an applicant ’ s first exposure to the organization is through the job application flow .

RYAN NIEMANN , SKUID CEO

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