What Questions Should You Have on Your Job Application Page?

The employee recruitment process starts long before screening resumes and interviewing job applicants. From the moment you post an open position online, you’re competing for top talent. How candidates interact with your organization’s website and job application page can be the deciding factor in whether or not they actually apply to the job. What should organizations have on their job application pages and why does it matter?

Why is a Simple Application Process Important?

Inefficient hiring processes put small- and mid-sized organizations at a recruitment disadvantage. While these businesses can struggle to find quality talent, most are not prioritizing a swift recruitment process. 

As a result, quality hires are off the market too quickly for searching employers. However, being smaller than the competition doesn’t necessarily mean that these companies will never land top talent. Streamlining the hiring process presents a critical opportunity for HR leaders to improve recruitment and retention rates.

Some organizations require job applicants to complete a complicated, multi-step process, entering the same information multiple times or through multiple websites. There is sometimes a perception that these steps will “weed out” less capable employees, and this mindset may have made sense when unemployment was much higher and businesses saw an overwhelming number of applicants. However, it deters quality candidates from applying. 

Many applicants are looking for positions on mobile devices on job sites like Indeed, so taking the hiring process online through job boards and applicant tracking software can make this process easier for both potential hires and admins.

What Should Be Included on Your Job Application Page?

With an application page, less is more. HR and hiring managers should focus on including only the information that they’ll need to screen resumes quickly. However, there are a few things that should definitely be included on an organization’s application page: 

• Name
• Address 
• Phone Number
• Email 
• Resume

2. Compliance Statements

While including an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy statement on a job application page is optional for most employers, it’s a good idea to have it somewhere on your website. It’s important to note that having the “EEO is the Law” poster visible in your workplace or on your website is required.

3. Screening Questions

These should be minimal, such as where the applicant is located, years of experience in the role or industry, and education requirements. If the position requires someone with a certain level of education or specific training and certifications, include it on the application page. This will help the applicant know whether or not they have the proper qualification and save not only their time, but the hiring manager’s time as well.

What Should Not Be Included on Your Job Application Page?

There are certain things that do not need to be included on the application page. Remember, it’s early in the process, and asking too many questions or providing too much information can overwhelm a candidate. If you need more information from candidates, you can always ask. The following information is not necessary to include on an application page:

1. Too Much Information: If your application page is bogged down with repetitive information, it can quickly lose engagement from candidates. Likewise, if your application page asks too much from candidates upfront—like a skills assessment, reference checks, and too many work samples all at once—it can deter top talent from applying to your organization. 

2. Background Check Requests: Background checks can be helpful for organizations to avoid potentially hazardous situations for their employees and protect themselves from lawsuits that may follow. However, there’s a lot of compliance red tape that comes with background checks. It’s not a best practice to have applicants agree to background check so early in the application process.

3. Disability-Related Information: According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers are not allowed to ask or request any information regarding disabilities in the application process until after they’re offered a conditional job offer. 

How Can an Applicant Tracking System Help?

To streamline this process, use an HRIS that has built-in applicant tracking software (ATS) features. Applicant tracking software allows HR to improve their time-to-hire, and their quality-of-hire due to streamlined recruiting. Likewise, these automations allow you to spend more time focused on relationships and selecting the top-talent your company needs. In the best ATS platforms, administrators can post openings to job boards directly from the system, as well as share them on various social media channels.

Using that same system, hiring managers can easily and efficiently screen resumes they receive thanks to a central candidate repository that stores all necessary application information. Likewise, hiring managers should work with all relevant decision-makers to collaboratively review candidates within the system.