Average time to apply through an employer’s Appliant Tracking System “ATS” is 30-60 minutes. There are many cumbersome technical steps from registering for an account, creating a unique password with a thousand characters, to then taking the time to clean up your so-called “parsed” resume. At times, their sites have technical difficulties and many times of the ATS systems with call to action buttons that don’t work.
Oh, and wait – there’s more! Now of all of a sudden the system has either timed you out because you needed a potty break after being on the site for an hour. Erghhh! And how about that employer that forces you to give them a social number, date of birth or submit for the government WOTC.
Guess what? Now your resume goes “into the cloud” somewhere or better yet, a “black hole” where you never hear anything back…not even a pithy automated email from the nifty ATS system saying, “Thanks, but no thanks”.
The ATS system, while beneficial for the employer and government compliance has certainly added the cold technology touch to the applicant experience.
However, most employers set it up this way because they secure permission from the candidate allowing them to verify what has been listed on the application and not necessarily what is on the resume. It also protects employers from potential legal issues.
But employers are losing out on hundreds of qualified candidates because of their lengthy online process. The abandonment drop rate is about 60% “Recruitingjobs.com”. As we know, time is precious today and the 30-60 minutes application is a thieving process!
SO WHAT’S THE EMPLOYER TO DO?
1) Build a Talent Community “Network” where candidates can upload resumes for review and consideration only. If they actually interview, then require the completion of the application.
2) Allow for short clip videos where candidates can upload a 1 minute video clip of self, outlining their key experiences and skills
3) Add a quick and easy to apply mobile app. Most systems have this option.
WHAT’S THE CANDIDATE TO DO?
1) Don’t give up. If there is a job you truly want, find a way to get it to their HR department.
2) Get on LinkedIn and see if you can find an internal Recruiter for that employer and try connecting to them. Or find someone on LinkedIn that you may know at that company.
3) Go old school. Print out resumes and either mail it in or if you can drive it over, mark it confidential in red.