Have you ever been uncomfortable, too, that more and more companies solely offer online application for jobs?
Sure, recruiters, internal or external HR professionals, have their work eased a lot if all the entries are done by the applicants, and they only have to run a key word algorithm on the data. Additional benefit: you then have the GPRS checkbox checked with permission to process the data for own purposes.
But what does that mean for the applicant – and as what is he seen actually? Does he belong to the – as said – urgently looked for professionals who all companies are competing for? Or is he anonymized by the machine processing upfront to become a impersonal data set, reduced to the fields which are of primary interest for the company? Who is then in fact in the center of interest, the one looked for or the one searching?!
Digital recruiting may be an adequately efficient means of choice for standard profiles and jobs “off the shelf”. But for most of the higher or more special qualifications it simply cuts off the impressions that make the difference between an average and a good candidate. Because there is no individual (surplus) qualification requested in the form. The personal style and a well-educated wording, the fast distinction between a true interest in the task and company, and a standard application set, is sacrificed for “analyzable” key words. Don’t we frequently criticize that many people aren’t able to articulate better than in shortened messenger talks…?!
Particularly with leading positions, e.g. with project managers, there are so many facets, levels, and experience backgrounds, that an application cannot be standardized, but even “lives” by its individuality. And, what an online form is not able to do: there is no opportunity to finetune expectations by questions and answers. That only comes to effect if the standard questionnaire has passed the machine to arrive at an interview – many well skilled applicants have been sorted out until there.
That is why I have decided not to apply to job offers any more which do not contain a person to talk to with a telephone number or email. Though I do not look for a permanent position, I have enabled quite a number of companies ad interim to achieve a quicker time-to-ROI until a suitable internal candidate has been found, who I then was able to board and bring up to speed effectively.
Think about it, how you want to address qualified professionals attractively and effectively (not only cost efficiently). It pays back !
Read more Lessons Learned…