The 3 reasons candidates aren't applying for your jobs

Understand why candidates don't apply for your roles

Have you ever been looking to buy something online and given up because the company just made it too difficult?

The e-commerce world refers to this as “shopping cart abandonment”, and any self-respecting online retailer is constantly looking to prevent it.

In recruitment we face a similar challenge – how do we prevent application abandonment? At every step of the hiring process, a candidate has the choice to continue applying or give up and go elsewhere.

As recruitment becomes more digital, attention spans have dropped. And in a highly competitive and noisy online job market, everyone’s fighting for the best people.

Which means it’s vital that we aren’t giving candidates any excuses to avoid clicking "apply now".

So, let’s explore why candidates aren’t applying for your roles.

1. Your job adverts aren't engaging enough

The first hurdle and--unfortunately, the point where you will face the biggest challenge in attracting applicants--is your job advert.

Data from our ATS shows that on average only 4.7% of job board users click the “apply” button after viewing an ad.

Can you afford to lose more relevant candidates from this pool because of a poorly written advert?

Now, there are some positive reasons that your job advert could put people off of applying. A well-crafted job advert should give a clear insight into the opportunity and your organisation.

This not only attracts quality candidates but also deters those who aren’t the right fit. After all, you don’t want to sift through lots of poor-quality applications during shortlisting.

However, if you’re putting jobseekers off for the wrong reasons then you have a real problem. You could be losing candidates that are perfect for the role.

In local government, this could be the difference between a jobseeker working for you instead of your neighbour.

Quick tips to improve engagement with your job ads

Our studies show that 81% of candidates are put off applying by a poorly-written job ad.

When your advert is one of the first steps on a candidate’s journey then you owe it to yourself to ensure it makes the best first impression.

It can make all the difference to take time to check that all spelling and grammar is correct, information is accessible, and that the formatting is optimal.

Here are our top 3 tips for writing a job advert that keeps candidates interested in you:

• Avoid complex sentences and jargon specific to your department.
• Be transparent about your interview process and expected hiring timeline.
• Give clear instructions on how a candidate can apply for your role.
  
  

Check out our blog on advert copy best practice for more advice on formatting and our job advert template.

2. Your application form is too complicated

Studies continue to show that jobseekers prefer quick and easy application methods, with most wanting to submit a CV online.

What’s more, 57% of Jobs Go Public candidates state they’d abandon an application form that’s too complicated.

Even with a stellar advert, this means you’ll still lose most of the candidates who click apply if your application form’s difficult to use.

Many clients speak to us about struggling to get candidates to complete their applications yet are often still using outdated processes or clunky forms.

If you’re seeing a lot of apply clicks but not many completed applications, then take a close look at your application process. It’s important to streamline the touchpoints in a candidate’s journey to keep quality applications on track.

How can you ensure candidates don't abandon your application form?

Put your candidate hat on and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my form simple and efficient?
• How long would it take me to complete if I did it myself?
• Can I get this information from the candidate’s CV?
• Is the application accessible to disabled jobseekers and those who speak English as a Second Language (ESL)?
  
  

To get ahead of competing employers, you should also consider common pain points raised by jobseekers when they’re applying for public sector jobs:

• Employers often ask candidates to manually list qualifications and experience from their CV.
• Applications that ask for long supporting statements and free-text answers are not necessary for all roles and often inaccessible.
• Employers often don’t proofread or test their applications before asking candidates to fill them in.
• Standard forms may ask questions that are irrelevant to the job description.
  
  

For those of you that do have an online application form, streamlining your questions isn't the final piece of the puzzle. You need to test every aspect of your form to ensure that it’s functional.

There’s nothing more frustrating for a candidate who’s spent time and effort applying for a job than not being able to complete the process fully.

3. You're not keeping candidates well-informed

Many people think that once the applications are in, the work is done. Then it’s just a matter of shortlisting, right?

It isn’t quite that simple.

Always remember that active candidates are almost certainly applying for other roles, and therefore your competition for quality talent is still far from over. 

The more candidates know about what to expect moving forward, the more likely they are to stick with you through it.

Provide applicants with any information you have about the process, including how long you expect each stage to take. This avoids a situation where good candidates might accept another offer due to waiting a long time to hear from you.

This doesn’t mean that you should rush through your recruitment process. You just need to keep candidates updated with a quick email. This can often be done through your ATS.

Jobs Go Public candidates report that they usually have to wait up to 3 weeks to hear back from employers.

However, we all know that life doesn’t wait for us: this is especially the case when a candidate may have another interview or offer lined up. On average, our candidates like to hear back about their application within 5 days.

You may be tempted to wait until the close date of a vacancy to contact candidates. But it never hurts to drop an acknowledgement to your early applicants about your shortlisting timeline.

Moreover, if you’ve been delayed at any point, send an email to inform your applicants that they’re still in consideration. This can go a long way to keeping more candidates in your pipeline.

Optimise your recruitment process so you don't lose job applicants

Attracting and holding onto quality candidates doesn’t need to be a challenge.

Going back to our comparison with online shopping, think about a retail platform like Amazon when looking at your recruitment process.

Generally, product pages have a lot of information about what you’re buying, and it’s easy to access. The buying process is quick and painless (often with a single click of a button), and they keep you informed about when you can expect your purchase to be delivered.

If you can get your recruitment process to emulate this model, you’ll likely find that your application numbers begin to rise.

If you're looking for a little extra guidance or more statistics about candidate experience, don't miss our free checklist.

Updated May 2024.