Today’s job market is run by candidates. Good candidates are getting harder to come by, and they’re refusing job offers. Recruiters are aware of this too: 79% of recruiters say the current market is candidate-driven.

So you have to make every part of the hiring process easier for candidates and you have to build your brand a little bit better… a little bit sooner. Luckily, there are a few common sticking points candidates that you can easily fix before you lose your next candidate.

Convoluted Application Processes

If you need to find a common pain point for many of your current and future candidates, look no further than the application process. 60% of candidates say job applications are among the three most complex forms they have to fill out, and it could cause problems for your candidate pool and your reputation. 23% of candidates who have problems applying don’t apply again, and 25% of talent acquisition professionals believe bad application processes prevent people from buying products from that company.

What you can do: Simplify the process, of course! Don’t ask for irrelevant information like a Social Security Number or their last ten jobs until you extend a more formal job offer, and make sure applicants can upload their resume instead of having to copy and paste it into a field. 45-minute process? Let it go until you need that information (hint: that’s hiring day).

Setting Up An Interview

An estimated 74% of job seekers are “passive” job seekers, meaning they may already have a job and aren’t actively looking for work. While passive job seekers are good for recruiters since having a job shows you’re already familiar with the work environment, scheduling an interview can be an issue, since you have to deal with their reduced availability. Candidates can find it difficult to be available even on the week they’re asked for an interview, and sticking a company’s strict schedule can make for a frustrating application process. In an age when you can schedule anything, anywhere; candidates expect to be able to interview with some degree of flexibility. Fortunately you can give them that!

What you can do: Be flexible. Unless you have to fill the job ASAP, there’s no reason an interview can’t happen on the candidate’s timeline, especially if they have to contend with a full-time work schedule. Using digital screening and video interviewing allows interviewers and candidates to handle interviews on their schedule and can gather multiple hiring managers in a flash! 

Being Interviewed

Companies can make the interview itself a little easier. According to a survey done by AfterCollege, 34% of students cited the interview as the biggest problem with the application process. It’s easy to understand why the interview would be the biggest sticking point for many candidates, since it’s often the most important part of the process and thus the most stressful. In fact, 92% of Americans experience anxiety related to the interview process, and this can cause a potential candidate to put an early end to the process.

What you can do: Avoid the “Death by Interview” process by asking only the most relevant questions during the interview, and keeping the number of interviews for important roles as low as possible. Silly questions that only seek to trip up the candidates should be eliminated and any possibility to streamline the interview process (with quick screenings, questions candidates can answer ahead or behind the scenes hiring manager collaboration) should be used! Don’t be the company that takes six months to extend an offer.

Slow Turnaround Times

When asked what companies could to do to make the application process easier for them, 56% of students asked for faster response times when it came to updates about their application process. When juggling multiple offers, applications, and interviews, the faster you can get back to a candidate, the more likely they are to stick with you.

What to do: Make getting back to your candidates a top priority. No one wants to wait months to hear about an interview, and if you have that many candidates, make sure to let candidates know that it could take a while to get back to them. Simple marketing hacks like autoresponders, a FAQs section on your website and nurturing campaigns at different stages of the interview process are all must-haves for even the smallest of recruiting departments.

Relying On Career Fairs

If you’re one of those companies relying on Career Fairs to get a quick survey of your candidates, you may not be getting through to candidates. The AfterCollege survey reports that 39% of students find that job fairs are too crowded, and they can’t talk to companies sparking their interest as a result. 26% of them have never even been to a job fair. If you’re looking for candidates at job fairs, you may want to reconsider your strategy (you’re missing a quarter of the applicants).

What to do: Don’t make job fairs your primary recruiting method. Even if a candidate didn’t get the chance to talk to you at the fair, make sure they can apply online without missing a beat, and that your contact info is visible at your booth. Use your digital brand to reach out via both mobile and social and create a “can’t miss it” path on your website to your careers page or job advertisements.

Bio: Julie Salerno, VP Sales

Julie Salerno provides guidance and leadership to GreenJobInterview’s sales team and is responsible for the ongoing growth of the company’s revenues and profitability. She is involved in strategic planning, helping to managing the company’s resources, and improving its business processes.

Previously, she served as a partner and senior executive recruiter at Personnel Strategies, Inc.

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