Welcome to the world of application volumes management. If your Inbox gets flooded with unsuitable applications, ask yourself three questions:
1. WHO IS MY TARGET AUDIENCE?
Identifying the demographics of your target candidate market should be one of the primary issues to consider before a job posting is placed. Which age group generation would they fall into and what is the average ''connectedness'' of this generation pertaining to Social Media Platforms? A digital native (Millennial) hangs out on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, whilst a digital immigrant's (Baby Boomer) preferred communication channels are telephonic, SMS and maybe Linkedin if you are lucky. The nature of their job function is also important: do they work underground in a mine, in a noisy factory or in an office with assumed internet connectivity and a laptop at hand?
2. DO THE ADVERTISING PLATFORMS RESONATE WITH THE AUDIENCE?
Placing an advertisement for a Pr.Eng Engineering Manager with GCC on a job portal will not render suitable responses, as they do most of their scouting on Linkedin. What you will receive though, is masses of applications from Production Technicians or Artisans, convinced that they can do the job. Advertising for an Admin Manager on the company career page will land you stacks of resumes from eager graduates needing a foot in the door and good luck in finding an Actuary that will respond to a job posting on Facebook.
3. IS THERE A LEVEL OF PRE-SCREENING AUTOMATION IN PLACE?
Creating a pre-test or assessment for candidates to complete as part of the application process is crucial. Using an elimination test will automatically discard candidates without sufficient years of experience and/or qualifications. Subsequently, a multiple choice competency test will cast aside applicants providing incorrect answers or actions not completed within the required time frame allocated to the tasks.
Are you screening to exclude, instead of recruiting to hire?