For the third and final part of our series dedicated to helping recruiters reach their intended audience, we turn our attention to the candidate-focused recruiting website. In Part 1 we took a broader approach to understanding how best to determine the audience of your recruiting website and how to cater your digital presence to reflect that audience. In Part 2 we considered what best practices should be implemented in order to develop a compelling and effective client-focused recruiting website. In this final installment of the series, we consider what defines a candidate-focused recruiting website and what elements are integral to its success.

There are several focal points that we could discuss in terms of creating a dynamic candidate-focused recruiting website, but of all those points there are two that continually prove to be the most vital:  resume submittal and job search. Before we discuss the impact and importance of those two factors, we need to take a moment to consider perhaps the most overarching design element of a candidate-focused recruiting website:  responsive design.

Candidates Are Mobile

According to Recruiter.com, 68 percent of the job seekers between the ages of 18-25 use mobile devices to conduct job searches. It is important to consider that this particular statistic comes from 2014, which means that the upper edge of that range is nearing 30, expanding the pool of candidates that are using mobile devices for their job searches. Combine that with a market that has become even more saturated with mobile devices and it is impossible to ignore the fact that every aspect of a candidate-focused recruiting website has to be designed with a responsive framework at the forefront. As we move into discussing the importance of resume submittal and job search functions, it is imperative to continually consider how to best design these functions for a mobile layout.

Resume Submittal

The primary reason for candidates have for visiting your recruiting website is to find a better, more exciting opportunity. If you are not providing uncomplicated access to these opportunities, they are going to abandon your website for someone who is. Resume submittal can quickly become a jumbled mess, with candidates vying for different, and sometimes faulty, formats and designs, this might encourage you to urge your candidates to fill out a form in lieu of submitting your resume. This is a misstep. Consider your candidates, many of whom are already on a mobile device, and ask yourself if you would be very likely to complete an entire form while on your commute or on your lunch break. If you are truly working to create a candidate-focused recruiting website, you have to keep your candidate first. Make a process that allows them to quickly and easily supply you with their information.

Job Search

Again, the ultimate goal of candidates is to find that next great job. If you have those jobs, do you make it easy for your candidates to discover those opportunities? Prominent, attractive calls-to-action that encourage your candidates to search your jobs, as well as a strong SEO strategy that helps qualified candidates find you through search engine results are essential to maximizing the effect of your job search function on a candidate-focused recruiting website. And, as always, be mindful of how responsive your job search function is. A mobile-friendly job search page that is intuitive and easy to navigate can mean the difference between making placements and missing great talent.

Is your candidate-focused recruiting website responsive and mobile-friendly? Do you make it easy for you candidates to submit resumes? Do you provide easy and accessible job search functions? If you’re doing these things then you are well on your way to having a more productive candidate-focused recruiting website.

Adam is a copy writer, content specialist and editor with Recruiters Websites, a web design firm specializing in websites for the recruiting and staffing industry.