Similar to how recruiters or hiring managers judge job candidates based on first impressions from their resume or an interview, companies are judged by job seekers based on their first impressions of their careers page. A career site is one of the most important channels when it comes to recruiting for a position in your company. Your careers page needs to be the best it can be to leave the best impression and convert job seekers into applicants. Missing information, mistakes, and broken links are just a few of the problems that may exist with your site and can cause job seekers to leave your website without applying. Here are six issues job seekers may have with your careers page.
Your Careers Page Isn’t Easy to Find
Don’t make job seekers play hide-and-seek with your careers page. The page should be simple to find on your website, such as located in the footer or header of the home page. This shows that your company is serious about hiring, and keeps potential employees from getting frustrated and leaving your site. This may seem like a simple concept, however, you would be surprised by how many businesses don’t have clearly visible link to their careers page, if one at all. It’s also wise to make the URL something simple, such as /jobs or /careers.
The Page is Broken
Possibly a much more important issue than the careers page not being easy to find is a broken careers page or website. Nothing really says to job seekers “don’t apply” better than a careers page that doesn’t work or contains broken links. Here are a few things to consider when evaluating the careers page of your company’s website:
- Do all of the links work?
- Does the page load correctly and quickly?
- If there’s a search function, does it work properly?
- Does the page load properly on mobile devices?
The Application Process is Too Long
One of the things job seekers don’t want to see when they finish going to an application page is a dreaded “next” button. Even more infuriating are fields to fill in asking for the same information that’s included in the resume they just uploaded. There may reasons to ask for this from candidates on the back end, but you take a risk doing so, as often job seekers get frustrated or annoyed and leave your site altogether. Ideally, the application for jobs on your careers page should be limited to one page. Another thing that can cause frustration in the application process is requiring applicants to create a login.
There are No Job Postings
No job seeker wants to go to a careers page and discover there’s no available job postings.
If job seekers able to easily find available job positions on your careers page. If your page only provides general contact information or sends applicants elsewhere to actually apply of a position, you’re making them take extra steps. Make sure your company offers a simple process for applying to jobs and includes a search function if you have positions in multiple locations. Just like candidates are judges by their resumes, companies are jud
Missing Information
Similar to a resume, a career site needs to be captivating and contain the right information to get the reaction from job seekers companies hope for. Most job seekers want to know what’s like working for your company. Your careers page needs to give these potential candidates what they’re looking for if you want them to seriously consider applying for a position. This information can include working conditions, company culture, benefits, and core values. You can describe job categories or positions as well to give candidates a better idea about them as well.
Unable to Apply by Phone
With the dramatic rise in mobile device use, having a mobile-friendly careers page is only growing in importance and is one of the main concerns of job seekers, this includes providing a mobile-friendly job application. Having the ability to attach a resume from Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox will make completing the application process a much easier task on mobile devices, providing a better user experience for job seekers who will look more favorably on your company.
Conclusion
These are some simple, but often overlooked issues that job seekers may have with your career page. Removing these problems or barrier for candidates will create a better user experience, potentially leading to more qualified candidates for positions. Try putting yourself in the shoes of a job seeker and test things out yourself to find out if your careers page includes any of these problems.
