Ask us – recruitment overwhelm

I am in the process of recruiting and I have used the free job boards on LinkedIn and Indeed. The problem is I’m getting so many applicants that do not meet the criteria I have set. It looks like they are not even reading the job description. This is creating a huge task in even shortlisting.  What can I do to encourage applicants read the job requirements?

Sadly what you are experiencing is the effect of online recruitment and it being very easy to apply for jobs in this way – alongside a huge increase in the number of job applicants in the labour market.

There are however some things you can do to reduce down the number of applications you are receiving:

• Use the screening questions functionality that are available to you. This way you force applicants to specifically declare they meet the criteria you set
• Be really clear what it is that you are looking for. Communicate this using bullet points and larger/bold font so it is really clear what criteria are essential for the job
• You can also use the functionality of the online platforms to automatically screen on your behalf so you will not have to assess unsuitable applications
• Finally consider what the key 2 or 3 qualities are that you are looking for and screen applicants in rather than out.  That will help you shortlist more quickly.

Remember, you will need to keep a record of your shortlisting decisions should there be a challenge from an applicant that is not shortlisted, so keep your decision making discrimination free. 

If you need further guidance on record keeping, selection/de-selection decision making or any other part of your recruitment and employment processes we run interactive recruitment and other HR related workshops to fully explain how to get the best out of your employment activities whilst complying with the law. Do get in touch.