Applying for a job in 2023 be like !

Being stuck in the Stone Age with some employers' outdated job boards and application processes. Filling in pages upon pages of information is like writing an ancient scroll rather than applying for a job! And here's the funny part: part of this information could be perceived as unnecessary unconcious bias. What's even funnier is that if you're successful, this information will be collected again and again during onboarding and throughout your employment journey, thanks to employee surveys. Do we really need all this sensitive information right now? Is your company using it to drive better hiring outcomes? If not, why is it there?"

Let's not forget about the good old cover letter. Candidates spend hours pouring their heart and soul into crafting the perfect pitch, or these days they just use ChatGPT, only to have it end up in a black hole. What's interesting is that some job applications won't let you hit the submit button unless you submit a cover letter. Does it seem fair to ask candidates to divulge everything from their gender, citizenship status, DOB, expected salary, and fill in their employment history, box by tedious box, only to ask them to write a cover letter that no one will actually read? Can any hiring manager or recruiter out there honestly tell me that they read every cover letter they receive before deciding to reject a candidate or move them forward in the recruiting process? If not, then making this step mandatory is an incredible disservice to your applicants and complete waste of time.

While we understand that rejection is part of the game, receiving a generic, poorly worded rejection email after spending hours on an application can feel like a punch to the gut. Why not get creative and soften the blow with rejection GIFs? Or better yet, provide a little smidgen of feedback to ensure that candidates, who have shared their entire work history and personal information, are provided with a tad more than just an automated bulk rejection email.

During my time at Souq, Amazon, and AWS, I learned one lesson stands out the most: candidates are your customers. They're the ones who purchase your products and services, and they talk. When they have a negative or positive experience, they talk even more. So, let's make sure that their experience is positive from the first touchpoint to the last and fortunately, there are companies out there that get it and make the application process enjoyable. Shout out to the innovators who have streamlined their application process to just a few clicks and don't make candidates jump through unnecessary hoops.

To the talent teams reading this who haven't evaluated their current applicant journey, feel stuck with their tools, or need help bringing together their candidate experience, let's chat! Let's discuss how you can create a positive candidate journey, regardless of the outcome.

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