Usability Countdown

10 Steps to a Super Usable Career Site

It is possible to have a dynamic career site that attracts high quality applicants, while reducing the time to fill.  The below strategies will give you a jump start in making a super usable career site.

Be Accommodating

Design the web site for multiple browsers, for mobile, ipad and for plain text readers.

Show Your True Colors

Leverage your corporate brand and decorate your career site with colors, logos and wording that reflects your culture.

Make it Easy to Apply Now

Put a link to your career site on the company’s home page.  Reduce the number of clicks needed to get to a list of active jobs.  Make the apply now button stand out.

Provide Clear and Relevant Job Information

Write easy to understand job titles and descriptions.  Provide information applicants will need to know about the job up-front so they can either become enthusiastic about how well they fit the criteria, or self-select out at the beginning of the process.

Outline Expectations

Once the applicant clicks on the Apply Now button, provide information on how long the process will take, what information is needed, and what the next steps in the hiring process are.

Collect Only What You Need

Put your thinking cap on and figure out exactly what information will need to be collected during the initial application to make a decision to move the applicant ot the next step of the hiring process. Don’t collect info that is needed three steps down the road.  Use a phase 2 application for additional information needed later.

Keep Forms Small

Usability studies show that “short term memory famously holds only about 7 chunks of information, and these fade from your brain in about 20 seconds” (Jakob Nielson, “Short Term Memory and Web Usability.”  Keep forms short so that the applicant’s mind doesn’t wander or get overwhelmed.

Give Progress Updates

Provide progress meters during the online application.  After the application is complete, provide status updates to the applicant via emails and online portals.

Follow-Up Often

Leverage auto-emails to stay in touch.  Let applicants know when they are no longer being considered.

Build a Relationship

Hook applicants up with social media.  Make your career site sticky by providing fresh content via a blog or youtube channel.

Follow these 10 strategies and watch your candidate pool increase in quality.  Stay tuned for more in-depth blogs outlining how to accomplish each of the above.