Screening job applicants is a cumbersome process but you can save time and money by making your company's website an integral part of your recruiting strategy.
How? Design an online career center and applicant screening program. You can hire a firm to handle the task, or if your company has skilled IT staff, you can do it on your own. In the long run, you'll save money. The automated process means your managers can spend time on tasks that are more productive than sifting through applications and answering every inquiry, e-mail and phone call.
Here are five steps that will take candidates and guide them through your career center.
- Have a clear hyperlink on your home page to a career or jobs center. Reference the link in "Help Wanted" ads. This section should include some company background. Keep the information compelling and pertinent since it's meant to help candidates make a decision. Tell them how you've grown, what your goals are and include a clear statement of your company mission.
- Link to a page describing your company benefits. Treat your benefits and perks as a valuable asset that distinguishes you from the competition. Even passive job seekers may be swayed by attractive benefits.
- Place a link to a questionnaire for applicants who are interested in a job with your company. In essence, the questionnaire is replacing a preliminary interview, so ask applicants about their experience, education, goals and any other pertinent information you would want to glean from a first meeting. Keep the questions short.
- Design the program to evaluate the results and bring up a list of openings that match the candidates' qualifications when they click to submit the questionnaire. If there are no matches, a message should pop up thanking them for their interest and suggesting that they check back later.
- If there are matches, each one should link to a description of the position and an explanation of what to do next if the candidate wants to apply for the job. Meanwhile, your managers have answers to the pre-screened questions to help decide if they want to pursue the applicants.
Remember, the added features on your company's website give potential job candidates their first impression, so keep it simple and straightforward.
Clearly no computer program can pick out the nuances and details of a face-to-face interview. But it offers a simple system to screen applicants so only those with a good chance of success go on to the interview process. In the end, everyone saves time and you save money.
