How to Optimize the Job Search Process on your Career Site

Forward-thinking organizations understand that the candidate experience is of paramount importance. It begins with creative, targeted career site content and ends – ideally – with the online application process. When job seekers reach your career site, their end goal is to search and apply for open jobs—and you need to have as intuitive and seamless a job search process as possible. So, how do you know if you’re following best practices in engaging with candidates at this level of interaction?

Do this: go to your company’s career site and view the experience through the eyes of a candidate; namely, ask yourself:

“Where is the job search button?”
You would be amazed how many career sites almost seem like they are deliberately trying to hide their Search Jobs functionality. It is crucial that a quick call-to-action is always visible. Anchor the Search Jobs feature in the main navigation of your career site and also place prominent buttons at the top and bottom of the page, particularly the job description page—the last step before candidates click on Apply Now.

“How quickly (or not) can I find the right job?”
Are you providing easy-to-use filters for Keyword, Job Title and Location search? These are the parameters most candidates start with in order to streamline their search. Do the results that appear from a search actually fulfill the criteria entered into the search parameters? If not, your technology needs to be updated.

“Can I search by location?”
Most candidates want to search within certain geographic parameters and are mindful of the job’s location, particularly for entry-level positions (read: entry-level pay). Think about it: would you drive 50 miles for a retail or food service job? Or would you be more inclined to search as close to home as possible? That said, does you career site include an interactive map feature that allows candidates to search by location? With NAS’ ACTIVATE™ platform, for example, users simply drill down to a specific location by clicking (desktop) or tapping (mobile) a pinpoint on the map. Which brings us to…

“Can I do this on my phone?”
Ease and simplicity are the mantra of the day in the competitive job search environment. For many companies, more than half of candidate traffic is coming through mobile devices—and the number is only increasing. Make sure you provide a job search experience designed for mobile users that is as easy as the version you offer on desktop. Once you get them to the job search area of your career site, it would be a shame to lose them due to a poorly designed, impossible-to-navigate portal.

“What if I’m not yet ready to apply?”
With the current unemployment rate at 3.7% – the lowest since 1969 – candidates clearly have the luxury of choice of where they work. They have many options to consider and, well, perhaps they’re just not ready to commit to you until they check out all their options (kind of like Tinder, but for jobs). That’s where the Talent Network (HR’s Little Black Book) comes into play. Its purpose is to allow candidates to register with your organization in order to keep their contact info on file and apply for jobs in the future.

A well designed Talent Network allows candidates to self-select their area and location of interest and receive timely job alerts for openings as they become available. A word of caution: don’t let your Talent Network contacts drop into the digital dustbin. It is crucial that your Talent Network provides meaningful, branded communication with timely updates so that candidates are able to make an informed decision – and the best choice – in their next career move.

Learn more about ACTIVATE™, NAS’ cloud-based job search tool. We cover all of the above…and more.

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