How to Design an Application Flow That Helps–Not Hurts–Your Hiring Process

Most people—a whopping 92%—never finish online job applications. 

During the past few years, we’ve seen the popularization and near-omnification of the application tracking system and other automated screening tools. 

An application tracking system benefits recruiters by growing applicant pools for future use, quickly parsing through resume data, bringing more objectivity to the process, making job posting easier and faster, centralizing candidate tracking and documentation, improving data security, and more—but recently, they’ve been hurting the recruiting process more than helping. 

Now, job seekers are complaining about the less-than-optimal, clunky, time-consuming experience of applying to jobs online via an ATS. 

How an Application Tracking System Hurts Your Recruiting Efforts

In many cases, job seekers will upload their resume and then have to type their information in again to form manually, otherwise, it will go into the system incorrectly. 

Other times, applicants have to create a brand new account for every job they apply to, even when those applications are hosted on the same platform (i.e. Workday). Almost always, the system will ask for an exorbitant amount of personal information (including a social security number!) that doesn’t feel pertinent to the role or application. 

Application tracking systems have long been criticized for having built-in discrimination and bias that unfairly filter out diverse candidates. On a more basic level, qualified candidates are regularly overlooked because their resumes don’t contain the right keywords. Today, candidates are designing resumes to beat the ATS  instead of resumes that speak to who they truly are.

Plus, most are not optimized for mobile, although 54% of worldwide job search traffic on sites like Indeed comes from mobile devices. 

Not to mention the fact that online job listing sites are riddled with scams. LinkedIn stated that it uses technology and teams of experts to find and remove unsafe jobs and those that don’t meet their standards. In May, the company said it would start to show verifications related to a job post, meaning that the information has been verified as authentic by the job poster, LinkedIn, or its partners.

In a tight labor market, candidates are like consumers; they want a quick, easy, and informative process. Otherwise, they’ll move on.  Apply flow is critical to the hiring journey—the faster you can get a candidate into the funnel, the faster you can hire them. Employers must revisit their application flows today to ensure quality talent doesn’t pass them by. 

Improve Application Flow to Boost Your Talent Pipeline

Below are some ways to do just that: 

• Collect less data. Many employers are shifting to a much simpler lead generation approach for growing pipeline, recognizing that the company only needs certain information up front—and that collecting too much information could deter key talent. They’re asking for just the basics (name, phone number, email, some employment history or a LinkedIn profile), then following up for more information if they want to move the applicant to the next step. The result: happier, engaged candidates, a large applicant pool, and a shorter hiring cycle.
  
• Show fewer screens. An excessive number of steps and clicks are involved in completing an online application. According to recent research, after clicking “Apply,” candidates must make nine clicks on average before even getting into the application, and, on average, 51 clicks are required to get through an application. Along the way, job seekers are asked to create user accounts and passwords, enter data already contained in the uploaded resume, and authenticate their identity via email before they can log back in to complete the application. Hiring professionals should configure their ATS to cut down on these unnecessary steps and screens or switch to a platform designed to optimize the candidate experience for them.
  
• Save interview questions for the interview. While it may be tempting to thoroughly and proactively screen candidates upfront via the ATS before allocating people hours to the task, too many questions will reduce applications. A recent Indeed study found that including 30 screener questions reduces applications by 50%, and over 45 questions reduces applicants by almost 90%. Companies can streamline their application process by pushing some of those “must-ask” questions further down the hiring funnel.
  
• Provide a mobile-first solution. More and more job seekers are using their smartphones to search and apply for jobs. A recent study shows that 78% of candidates use mobile devices to find jobs, and 55% prefer to apply on mobile—especially applicants from younger generations. As a result, employers with an ATS that is not mobile-friendly risk losing out on qualified, diverse talent. In today’s digital world, companies need an application tracking system with a responsive design that makes it easy for candidates to apply from their phones. 
• Configure communications to nurture leads. Candidates who apply for jobs via an ATS complain that after sending in their resume and information, they never hear from the company again. No interview request, no auto-response saying they didn’t get the job, no “thank you for your time.” Candidates who hear back from the company in some way say they’re more likely to continue networking with that company, recommend it to a friend, or apply again for another position. 

The best way to identify bottlenecks in your application process and make interventions to improve hiring outcomes? Put yourself in your candidate’s shoes and apply to your open roles yourself. 

Or, check out this week’s episode of America Back to Work. 

We sat down with recruiting expert and founder and CEO of HiredHippo, Adam Gellert, to get his take on the current online application process and how employers can improve the experience to unlock access to more talent.