Would you say: Applying to your company is as easy as buying a shoe online? No? Then you should definitely read on now, because we believe that the modern job search should be as easy and appealing as a virtual shopping trip in order to receive up to 4x more applications*. Do you accept this assumption? In this blog post, we'll show you why it's worthwhile to understand your candidate journey like an online purchase and why this is the key to your recruiting success in 2024.
The ease of the application process — An online shopping experience
How do big brands like Nike promote their products directly via Google and social media? They guide potential buyers directly to the product they are looking for — without detours. All the important information needed to make a purchase decision is then waiting there. And to make the customer journey perfect, the shopping cart is not far away — always in sight and just a click away.
The HR world can learn a lot from this “direct-to-consumer” strategy and transfer it to a comprehensive recruiting goal, namely the”Direct-to-Talent” concept. Similar to e-commerce, where customers are guided to relevant information through targeted communication, applicants on a career page should also be guided through a clear and well-structured candidate journey.
It is important to make the application process as simple as possible, comparable to an online shopping experience. With just a few clicks, applicants can find exactly what they're looking for and ideally apply directly via smartphone. All relevant information should therefore be available where the “Apply” button — similar to the “Buy Now” button — is not far away.
Two inspiring examples — Hettich and Schmitz Cargobull
We take a closer look at two companies that have successfully transferred the principles of e-commerce to their career pages: Hettich and Schmitz Cargobull. These companies use clever strategies to convert visitors into suitable applicants.
Let's start with Hettich: The company not only has an appealing career page with a well-thought-out candidate journey, but also manages to optimally address different target groups with varied content. Inspired by the e-commerce structure, they not only offer clear job advertisements, but also present different job families, team ideas and areas of activity — similar to product categories in an online shop. This allows potential applicants to quickly orient themselves and find exactly what they are looking for. In 2023, this convinced almost 1,000 applicants for 170 different job offers. *
Another impressive example is Schmitz Cargobull: This company has also recognized how crucial it is to design the candidate journey in such a way that it takes up the principles of e-commerce. Through clever mobile optimization of the entire application process, Schmitz Cargobull enables 50% mobile applicants to apply effortlessly from their smartphones — something that has long been commonplace in e-commerce. The clear structure of the career page allows visitors to quickly and easily navigate through various job offers and find relevant information. In addition, the company uses Google for Jobs as an effective channel to present job advertisements to a wide audience and to be found directly. The result: an excellent application rate of 9% for the education sector. *
The role of data in recruiting
The key to understanding and managing your entire recruiting strategy: data insights from your career page. For example, if you want to hire 20 IT professionals in three months, then key figures such as traffic to your jobs, the length of time users spend, and Conversion Rates Not only useful, but essential.
Imagine that your top jobs are like high-end products in an online shop. Where is the best place to place them on your career page? Is a job market the ideal location or is there another area that generates more traffic? Data is the navigators that not only show how many visitors click on a job, but also how many actually complete the application.
A meaningful data dashboard becomes a reflection of your recruiting success. This allows you to find out which channels have the highest reach — comparable to marketing channels in e-commerce. Which channel brings the most qualified applicants to your target group? Is it social media, the company website or maybe a job platform? How long do users stay on your site and what content helps them make their decision? Only with detailed key figures can you identify the gold mines and use your recruiting budget in a targeted manner. With tools such as JobShop by talentsconnect Do you have full access to all recruiting figures on your career page.
Five tips to go for your career page 2024
1. Most important measure: Transform reach into applicants
Transform your visitors into applicants and increase your conversion rate. Make sure that your career site is as simply structured as a good online shop. Potential applicants must be able to easily find information about the job, benefits, the team and the selection process. The candidate journey should be designed without unnecessary clicks and with clear call-to-action elements such as the apply button. In this way, you ensure good orientation on your career page and sufficient information for your target group. This ensures that potential candidates not only stop by your career page, but are immediately convinced to stay there and take the next step in their application process.
2. Mobile first: Think of the entire candidate journey from a smartphone!
Design the entire candidate journey with a focus on mobile devices, because almost half of all job seekers use the mobile device. In this way, you ensure that all information is clearly presented even on small screens and enables a smooth application. And if the entire candidate journey is already controlled from a smartphone, why not the application itself? The use of WhatsApp applications is becoming increasingly popular and is an innovation that can pay off in the race for the best talent.
3. Google for Jobs: With one click from Google directly into the job ad
Optimize your page for Google for Jobs to go directly to the job ad with one click from Google. This allows you to maximize your visibility with a free channel as if by yourself. Make sure to use structured data, such as company information, job location, title and end of the application deadline, in your job ads so that Google crawlers can identify them as relevant to a corresponding search query. If you want to know more about it, we recommend our free Google for Jobs white paper.
4. Achieve the goal with insights: Success comes with tangible data
Integrate data analytics to measure the success of your career site. Track conversion rates, visitor numbers, or length of stay to gain insights and continuously improve performance. Stop relying on your gut feeling, but real recruiting indicators that help you make valid decisions about marketing measures, channels or necessary content.
5. Job branding: Your key to success
Think of your specific jobs as products that you want to market: Focus on job branding! In order to convince and win over applicants right from the start, you should offer them insights into the team, the work environment and the potential tasks. An authentic picture of the working environment helps applicants better assess what is waiting for them and whether the position is a match. Your job ads are the window into your company. Similar to a product launch, focus on presenting your jobs attractively and attractively in order to attract the best talent to your company. This allows you to easily use your job ads as campaign pages and direct your target group directly to your job offer from all channels.
Our Conclusion
We've shown why the future of career sites should be as uncomplicated and appealing as a virtual shopping trip. In 2024, career sites should therefore be flexible and responsive. They must adapt to current recruiting conditions and be the figurehead of your company. You need targeted content and support on your career site right where things aren't running smoothly, and you can find out this through data that gives you information about the behavior of your potential applicants. This is the only way you can ensure continuous improvements and ensure that your career page not only impresses but also attracts the best talent.
If you would like to take a closer look at the JobShop, simply make an appointment for a free demo!
*Sources:
This data is based on internal data collection from 200 JobShops.
