A Guide To Managing Job Applications

Many employees dread posting a job advert for several reasons. Firstly, a job vacancy typically means a member of your team is leaving, and for the most part, this is disappointing because a valued employee will be going on to pastures new. Secondly, time has to be blocked out to train the new person which can put a delay on certain aspects of your business. Finally, there are now so many job seekers out there, that each advert can garner the attention of a small army. This means endless afternoons of going through job applications.

The last thing you want as a busy employer is to be sifting through hundreds of CVs and spending weeks conducting interviews. Rather than struggle with the process, read our guide on managing applications.

Strong and Concise Job Advert

The first step to managing job applications is to limit the number of void candidates through a strong job advert. You need to be clear about the job title, the academic requirements, the level of experience you require and what the pay is. In addition, make the location and the working hours common knowledge. This should prevent people who are not qualified from applying (although some will inevitably still slip through the net).

If you have a good job advert, you’ll find the people who apply are generally more suited to the type of candidate you’re looking for. When you consider an average of 118 people apply to a vacancy, you can imagine how much that already-high figure would rise by if you posted a vague advert. With this in mind, spend adequate time curating an advert that is accurate and concise.

Organize Your Inbox

The next step to managing job applications is to create an effective organization system. Rather than opening job applications as and when they come in and then forgetting who you’ve already looked at, create a folder on your inbox for potential candidates and those who are an immediate no. This will separate applicants from your usual emails and make it easier when it comes to the shortlisting process.

In terms of looking at the emails in depth, we’d recommend doing it as and when they come in. You might think it’s easier to set aside an entire day, but how often can you actually block out a chunk of your day? Probably very rarely, so don’t put that pressure on yourself. It’s easier to steal five minutes here and 10 minutes there to have a quick look. You can then save time when you begin to look for potential interviewees because you’ll already have an idea of who’s who.

Recruitment Agencies

If you’re too busy to manage applications yourself, employ a recruitment agency. They will do all the leg work for you and screen candidates before they get to you. For particularly difficult jobs like sales recruitment agencies can be excellent because they’ll filter out the best candidates for you. All you need to do is manage the interview process!

Set Timeframes

We’ve all been stuck in interviews that have gone on for far too long through small talk and needless chat. This can make the job application process messy and long. Avoid this by setting specific boundaries. The average job interview lasts around 45 minutes. This is a good amount of time to scope someone out, ask them all the questions you have and allow them to ask you questions, too.

Any longer than this is unnecessary, and if you have a day of interviews, it could throw things off. Setting time limits and sticking to them will allow you to have all your interviews in one go, therefore meaning you don’t need to try and remember what candidate one was like three weeks ago by the time you conclude interview eight sometime later.

Summary

Finding the right applicant is essential, and so is not rushing. Like any other aspect of your business, make sure you’re doing due diligence in the application process to get the best results.