If the number of candidates who apply for your jobs is something you struggle with, you can always spend more money on advertising to them. However, before you spend anything, you should definitely try out the three tricks described below — all at no extra cost!
1. Create a Speculative Application Form
People submit speculative — or unsolicited — job applications if the position they’re interested in hasn’t been advertised; you should be particularly interested in employing those who do just that. Think about it — they’ve discovered your company’s website, they’re interested in who you are and what you do, and they’re willing to work for you if the right type of job is available. Being unable to find any opportunities on your Career page doesn’t mean that you should send them away. Use this as a free resource and collect spontaneous applications via a special application form, allowing them to add their resumes to your candidate database. Then, when a new opening arises you can dig into these stored applications.
2. Make the Most of Automatic Email Notifications
You probably send a couple of emails to each applicant throughout every recruitment process that you run. You can also be 100% sure that they read them — after all, they want to know their progress, right? So, why not take advantage of this channel and profit from their undivided attention? Add a line to your automated updates with direct links to your other vacancies, encouraging them to apply to those as well. For example, “We’ve just received your resume — thank you for applying! Meanwhile, check out our other openings here:” You can also place a similar message on the application confirmation pop-up.
3. Encourage Rejected Candidates to Apply
At first, this may seem like a weird idea, but it’s not so weird after you give it some thought. When you reject a candidate during recruitment, you’re not saying that they’re horrible and should die — you politely tell them that they’re not what you’re looking for in this particular case. Being unsuccessful in one recruitment doesn’t mean that they don’t have a chance to succeed in another. Bear in mind that they’ve already invested some time and effort into applying to your company — so when informing them about the rejection, be sure to redirect them to your other job openings and encourage them to apply.
Conclusion
Grabbing someone’s attention can be hard — so every time you know you’ve grabbed it, make sure that you kill two birds with one stone. Take advantage of the methods described above and it’s very likely that you’ll notice an increase in the number of job applications you receive — all at no extra cost!
Good luck!