Getting qualified candidates to apply for your position is difficult enough at times, so don't make it any harder for yourself. If you've posted a job advertisement and haven't received many applications, it might be time to look at your online application process.

Maybe its too long, not clear enough or simply not optimised for mobile. Whatever the case may be, if your job application process isn't user-friendly, fewer candidates will apply which means the less likely you are to find the perfect person to fill your role.

Follow these tips from two real estate recruiters to make sure your online job application is seamless for candidates.

Make sure the online job application is mobile friendly

A majority of job searches happens on mobile, so its important to ensure your job application experience is user friendly and works seamlessly across all kinds of devices and platforms. 

Sharon Bennie from Specialist Property Recruitment told WILLIAMS MEDIA over 65 per cent of applicants apply for jobs online, so its important to make applying easy.

"The application process should be as seamless as possible, with easy navigating and the ability for the form to be filled in across all technology including iPhone, Android, tablet and fixed desktops," she said.

Visit RECON jobs to post your latest real estate job vacancies with an easy online application process.

Pop-up menus or bad font choices don't always translate well to mobile. Endless scrolling, zooming or an excessive, multi-step application process is extremely frustrating for candidates who are applying for jobs on a mobile device. 

Virginia Brookes from Resolver Recruitment told WILLIAMS MEDIA the process should be as simple as possible to ensure more quality candidates apply. 

"If the process gets too complicated, people lose interest. If candidates have to create accounts to apply for every role, or if generic email addressess are listed as the contact to send the resume to without specifying the company or recruiters name, thats another big issue. People want to know who and where they are sending their application to," she said. 

Keep it simple 

It sounds obvious, but the online job application process should be very simple and straightforward. Too many redundant steps or website redirects only increases the chances of the candidate getting frustrated and abandoning their application altogether.

"Advertisers will see candidate application rates slip away if the applicant is taken to a secondary or external website to complete their application," Bennie said. 

Virginia Brookes told WILLIAMS MEDIA online job postings should be very straightforward.

"Often there are too many clicks for people to have to get to the end of the application and with every click, you're bound to get candidates dropping off," she said.

Try out the job application process for yourself. The areas of the application that are time consuming or frustrating will become obvious very quickly. An online job application should ideally take no longer than five minutes, so aim to streamline the process as much as possible. 

Visit RECON jobs to find all the latest real estate jobs.

Avoid confusing jargon

Candidates want to know about the company culture, the team they will be working with as well as the specific details of the role, so leave out any industry jargon.

Internal language like "Level 4 Associate for DFQ1" is too confusing for candidates, so make sure the job titles are very clear for an outsider to understand. 

Don't ask too many questions

Its a job application, not an interrogation so don't overwhelm prospective candidates with hundreds of questions. Put yourself in the candidates shoes and go through the application process yourself. If you get distracted or give up, its a safe bet candidates will too. 

"Too many questions is counter intuitive for many HR departments who like to see candidates jump through hoops pior to an interview. Times have changed and in a tight candidate market, you will have more successs if you change that mindset and aim to receive as many applications as possible and screen in other ways.

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"Sometimes the perfect candidate who had full intention of completing the screening may have been interrupted and not come back, run out of data credit mid application or lost signal," Bennie said. 

Think about what information is most critical to the first screening and pare down your questions to the bare minimum. Questions that dig deeper into a prospective candidate can be saved for later rounds of the interview process. 

Visit RECON jobs to find all the latest real estate jobs.

Bennie told WILLIAMS MEDIA female applicants in particular need to feel they can fulfil at least 80 per cent of the requirements before they apply. 

"Female applicants need to feel that they can fulfil circa 80 per cent of the criteria or they won’t apply. If the employer is open to, or particularly hopeful of a female applicant, requirements should be limited to five," she said.

Visit RECON jobs to advertise your latest real estate job vacancies.

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