One easy way to end application spamming

It’s a tough world out there for anyone looking for a new job. Most jobseekers face stiff competition. Perhaps they have a 1 in 10 chance of success. Or 1 in 100 and frequently worse. But putting aside the state of their local job market, a key reason jobseekers are facing odds like these is down to the internet and the way it’s being used today.

According to some statistics, job boards today help to fill about 20% of vacancies in Europe and they have made it all too easy to apply for a job. Follow a link, input some basic data, upload a CV and – bingo! My application is in! Why apply for just 5 jobs when I can apply for 50? Who cares whether I’m a fit for the role or not? Anything to improve my chances of success.

The trouble is that few recruiters have the systems or processes to effectively handle volumes like these. Smaller businesses may not have dedicated recruiting resources, while larger organisations and the more popular employers will have the resources but face exponentially higher volumes of applicants to sift. In the face of an avalanche, they may simply just dodge where they can. And so perfectly suitable, even perfectly perfect candidates slip through the net. A large and vicious circle begins. The end result is all too often a negative experience for both the unsuccessful applicants and the recruiters.

We recently advertised a vacancy on a well-known jobs board for a support position. It’s an important role, if not the most glamorous, and we’re not (at least, not yet) a power employer brand that compensates for the lack of glamour. But we received over 160 applications.

We invite all our applicants to record a video interview. And not just because we practice what we preach. A key reason lies with a paraphrase of the email we received from one applicant: “I recently received an invitation to record a video interview with you. Because I’m looking for work at the moment, I’m applying for several jobs every day and I’m not 100% sure who I’ve applied to any more. Please can you tell me a bit more about your company?”

Unsurprisingly, his application won’t be progressing any further. And there were candidates who applied multiple times for the role, some on the same day. Really.

And this is the dilemma: how do recruiters today identify the best candidates without wasting time on those who are wasting their time?

Hence the video interview. Because at this stage, the spammers will exclude themselves from the game. We can be sure that those who record an interview are genuinely interested in the position. They may not be the right person for the position – although that too will quickly become apparent when they are screened this way. Of the 164 applicants for the support position, only 38 recorded an interview. While the 23% response rate might not sound too high, that’s still 38 candidates whose videos need to be viewed.

So this is our challenge to recruiters: use an automated video interview as your very first screening too! Leave the application reviews until your candidates have recorded their interview. Then watch their video and you’ll know very quickly whether you want to learn more about them. You won’t have spent any more time than necessary deciding whether you want to meet them.