How to effectively manage an increase in job applications

Are you experiencing an increase in the number of applications you are receiving for your job vacancies? As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, many employers are facing a similar challenge, as what was once a candidate driven job market turns on its head. But do you have the right resources in place to manage this increase in workload effectively? 

In this article, we share our top tips on the best approaches you can take to ensuring your recruitment campaigns are handled with maximum efficiency without damaging your employer brand and reputation.

The UK job market has changed dramatically as a result of recent events. Employers are now calling the shots, with many high-calibre people seeking employment, making now a great time to advertise job vacancies. However, whilst this sounds like a positive change for employers (and indeed it is), it doesn’t come without its challenges.

More job applications means more time will be spent on the selection process, reviewing, shortlisting and managing applications, but not making this a priority could result in the following risks:

Below, we share our top tips to help you efficiently manage the increased volume of job applications you are receiving or likely to receive if you are preparing to advertise job vacancies.

Getting your job advert content right from the very start will help to reduce the amount of inappropriate applications you receive for the role you’re advertising, and of course help encourage those desired applicants at the same time. 

Be sure to list and be clear about the essential requirements you are looking for and, if the job boards you are advertising on support this function, add filter questions focused around these key requirements. The candidate will then have to answer whether or not they have the certain skills or experience you’re looking for, and this will act as a filter to support your shortlisting process. 

Read our handy guide on how to write effective employer branded job adverts.

Did you know that 28% of job seekers lie on their CV? Testing applicants' numeracy, literacy, and IT skills before taking them on can put your mind at ease with your recruiting decision and help avoid those costly mistake hires, whilst working as an effective tool to aid your shortlisting decisions.

Whether you’re hiring for an administrative, sales or accounts role, chances are you’ll find pre-employment skills tests that fit with the requirements you’re looking to assess. 

You can find out more about our range of ready to use pre-employment skills tests here.

Having job applications flooding into your inbox can cause all sorts of headaches and lead to reduced productivity. Ensuring you have the right resources and technology at your fingertips is imperative to successfully managing an efficient recruitment campaign.

Consider using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), as this recruitment software will help keep all of your CVs in one centralised place, whilst enabling you to quickly and easily shortlist and respond to applicants, swiftly organise your interviews, and reduce the time you spend on recruitment administration, enabling you to have consistency in communication for employer brand development.

Find out more about our time-saving ATS with advanced interview scheduling capabilities, which is complementary to use alongside recruitment advertising campaigns we manage for you, explore here.

Whether telephone or video screening interviews are common practice for your business or not, it is worth integrating them into your shortlisting process. Although it may seem to create more work in the short term, it will ultimately save you time in the long run, as it will help reduce down the amount of face to face interviews you conduct once you have your shortlist ready.

We have experienced increased interest in our managed recruitment campaign services here at JVP, which are inclusive of CV-Filtering and Telephone Pre-Screening solutions, taking the time consuming work away from the employers we support. You can find out more about how we do this here.

Whilst there are certainly many positives to an increase in job applications giving you more candidates to choose from, it’s clear that it doesn’t come without its headaches. But, if you take the right approach and if you are willing to invest in the right recruitment resources and technology, it will certainly make your job a whole lot easier and free up your time for all those other tasks.

To discover how our online job advertising and marketing solutions, from employer branded job advert writing, skills and knowledge assessments, to CV shortlisting and telephone pre-screening of candidates, will help you to quickly attract the best people whilst removing the hassle and high costs from the recruitment process, call the JVP Group team on 01745 774 955, or you can click here to schedule a 20-minute free consultation call.