Tackling the Candidate Application Race- Perception versus Reality

Job search in this economic climate has been hard. But, like many of the job seekers out there, I have had my share of reflections and learnings which I will carry as winds of change to my future roles.

One of the biggest learnings I have had is “Getting your application to the right eye in the organization”. Even if you are a great candidate, you will still have a hard time getting your application reviewed or picked. Why? Because you are in a sea of GREAT candidates and No.2 you are in a SEA of candidates where your application may or may not get reviewed because of the sheer volume.

As talent acquisition professionals, there is often a difference between what we perceive and what is actually happening in the background with a candidate's application. I wanted to list out a few of those in this article to disclose this huge area of opportunity we have to make application processes much more efficient.

1. Example 1- Organizations feel candidates are too desperate & impatient because they are applying through every possible source (Be it referral, job posting, careers website, etc).

• What's actually happening - The majority of the job posts in India within a matter of 48 hours get 400+ applications and because a lot of companies follow compliance measures of keeping unreviewed applications under zero, they unpost it within 48- 72 hours. So, the candidate literally has 48- 72 hours to see the job post, and apply via every possible source before they lose their chance to be considered.
• What can organizations do in this case?- For candidates, fairness is a chance for their resume to be reviewed. If the candidate’s resume is reviewed and an email notification is sent to them within 48 hours, that solves the problem. Because recruiters can't possibly review so many applications themselves, leveraging knockout/screening questions can help filter out candidates for recruiter phone screens OR leverage AI here to help you filter out candidates basis those questions. This is where AI in recruitment is needed.

2. Example 2- Organizations wonder why didn't the candidate wait for him/her to be referred if they have a referrer before applying directly?

• What’s actually happening- Why do candidates ask to be referred? Because referral SLAs for review in companies are strictly followed and easier for recruiters to review as well because the volume is comparatively lower than direct applications. Linkedin is the one place where you get the chance to ask your connections to refer you. But, here is the thing- you may or may not have a connection in the company you wish to apply to. So, as a candidate you have to play the probability card of connecting with 5- 6 employees from that company with the request to refer you. Again remember, a candidate has 48- 72 hours to make this happen. Now a few connections do respond and offer to help. But, not everyone actually goes and completes the task to refer. So, what’s the choice left before the job post closes for the candidate- apply directly. It may just happen that the connection comes back after the candidate has applied saying “Hey you have already applied, hence the system won't allow me to refer you”. This way the candidate loses a chance to stand out as a referral.
• What can organizations do in this case?- One possible solution is figuring out a way for the ATS to allow multiple applications clipped to the same email ID. But, the main glitch here is ATS's today dont allow it as it's see as a way of creating duplicates. So, if there is a way for the application to be one single unit identified by the email ID and sources become tags or a sub-unit to the main application- it might work. This gives a chance for a candidate to apply both via referral and direct and on the other hand the system clips the applications together into one unit via the email ID as the primary identification for a joint action on the ATS. I know this sounds simple! But, actual execution might be tough but not impossible. Another way is for the employee to send the referral via email to the recruiter. But, I won't recommend it as it defeats the purpose of accurate tracking and data collection.

Example 3- How can we give credit to an employee referring when the person has already applied?

• What’s actually happening- The candidate is fighting through the sea of applicants to get themselves noticed even though they are perfectly qualified. It's all a probability game- Use maximum ways of approach to submit your application out of which one may eventually work.
• What can organizations do in this case? In the second pointer, I mentioned applications coming from multiple sources. So, if you want to make the process fair, it should be basis "Who is claiming the application?". If the candidate’s application is in the unreviewed stage and gets referred as well. Basis claim, the referee should get the credit. If the direct application has been reviewed and moved to the next stage by the recruiter and then the referee adds the referral after that action, the source will be identified as direct application.

Example 4- Organizations feel why there is a need to review so many applications and referrals when there is limited number of roles open?

• What's actually happening- There may be some really great candidates. who have applied to your company who's resumes don't even get reviewed or considered after the role closes. Now this same candidate may just be a candidate you want to consider for a role in the future. A candidate may not recall your organization's posts on product launches, expansion plans, culture, benefits etc....but they will always remember the one act of kindness of a nurture call or closure email. Imagine as a company you doing that act for 1000s of candidates- That is what builds your brand recall. When hiring volumes are back, this brand recall will help you bring in top talent even if they are been pursued by your competitors.
• What can organizations do in this case? Think about your ATS and how much data and applications it's collecting year on year. If you are able to organize your candidates in your ATS in the right way, it can end up becoming your own personal job board. Sounds wild right! But how can you make that happen? It's a small step each recruiter needs to take every time a position has to be closed on the ATS. Usually, the recruiter after a position fills, rejects the entire pool of unreviewed candidates. But, add in 1 hour of review to filter out the good candidates from the unreviewed lot and add in a "Save for later" tag (Name the tag to ensure its easily searchable in the future). As I mentioned earlier, leverage knockout/ screening questions to the filtering easier. Now search for this tag on the system, select all the candidates and send out an email mentioning "The role has closed for now, but your application is suited for future XYZ roles. We will get in touch with you as soon as a relevant role opens up in the ABC team". Ideally I would suggest adding the really great candidates on a nurture plan, but many recruiters may not have the time for that. In that case, you can add a link to your talent community on that email for them to get a chance to receive newsletters and invest in learning about your company. The next time the same role comes back, type in the tag and pick up the already filtered candidates and process directly.

These are the top 4 live examples I listed out basis the numerous interactions I have had with candidates in the market and what I am experiencing as a job seeker as well. I am sure there may be many more gaps we can identify, but the purpose for me to write this article is to voice this issue out to all companies and TA teams out there to think about how to make the “Process of application review” more fair and worthwhile to identify great talent.

The fact of the matter is that while today there are limited roles, there will be a volume of roles coming in the future. Companies in this economic climate might feel that there is no need to invest in employer branding because of limited roles getting filled quickly. But, this is the time to stand out as an employer of choice for the future by building your brand recall amongst candidates who are applying to those limited roles now.

Upali Sarkar