No qualified applicants for that job posting? Here’s how to turn that around

If you’re struggling to find talent to fill an open position at your company, the reason might be related to how the job posting is written.

That’s according to Kat Kibben, founder and CEO of Three Ears Media. During the recent BambooHR Virtual Summit, she said because of the Great Resignation, you have to approach writing job postings like a marketer.

“We, as HR and recruiting leaders, have to become better marketers to the people on the other side,” she said. “On the other side of that job posting is a candidate who’s willing to change everything … in their life. … That means they change their commute, their insurance, how many hours they spend with their family.”

Fine-tuning job postings

How you ask for candidates to apply matters, Kibben said. If there’s a lack of candidates for a certain position, here are three areas of the job posting that may need to be revised:

1. The job title. Would people find this job in an internet search? Try comparing the search volume of the title vs. similar alternative titles on Google Trends. Pay attention to the related topics and queries and look for titles that are accompanied by words like “job posting,” “salary” or “career search.”
2. The job pitch. Include reasons not only why you’re hiring, but why someone should take the job; the daily tasks and “three things that they have to be good with doing;” and the must-have knowledge to perform the job. If you’re going to include general language that has very different meanings depending on the company, such as “collaboration” or “fast-paced environment,” provide context, Kibben said.
3. The mandatory requirements. Watch out for biased language that pushes people away, such as “must have at least five years of experience” or “college degree preferred.” And if you’re going to use bullet points for listing a position’s mandatory requirements, Kibben recommended limiting it to fewer than seven.

But even if you improved all those elements of the job posting, none of it will matter if the post hasn’t been proofread for typos and grammar and spelling errors. Poor attention to detail can be a turn-off for job seekers.

Technology audit

Kibben estimates there’s a 60% quit rate on most job application processes because they’re more troublesome than they need to be.

She said that if you haven’t tried applying for a job on your company’s website in the last six months, it’s time you had firsthand experience with what an applicant goes through. Do all the links in the application process work? Are there any parts of the candidate experience that could be improved? If you were an applicant who’s never visited the company site before – would you complete the application or give up and continue searching because you got frustrated with the process?