Back to the Future: 4 Ways to Update Your Career Portal

Ahhh, the 1980s: the era of Madonna, neon accessories, and sky-high hair. The decade gave us a lot of things to look back fondly on and remember; however, the original online career portal isn’t one of them. Quite a few organizations are still using this ancient beast to recruit talent and collect job applications. However, by doing so, these companies are missing out on qualified candidates and potentially arresting the growth and performance of the entire organization.

Still using that grody old portal? Here are four ways to improve the new hire experience by updating the tools you use to attract that talent. (While you’re at it, it might be time to start introducing some new adjectives into your vocabulary.)

1. Put Yourself in the Applicant’s Shoes: According recent Aberdeen research, only 11% of companies think that they understand what it takes to strengthen the applicant experience. This number is shockingly low. Approach your organization’s career portal as an outsider considering whether or not to pursue a job opening:
   
   
   
   • What’s the first impression you get of the company?
   
   
   • What can you learn about the company from the portal?
   
   
   • Can you engage with people at the company through the portal in any way?
   
   
   • Can you connect socially through the portal?These are all elements that today’s top candidates are looking for when applying to jobs through career portals. If yours doesn’t offer any of these accommodations, then you’re likely missing out on the best people for the job.
   
   
   
   


2. Make Your Portal Mobile-Friendly: While the adoption rate for mobile recruitment solutions has doubled in the past year, those applications rarely go beyond scheduling and push notifications to actually allow users to apply for jobs. Optimizing the application process for mobile, and measuring how much traffic comes through the medium, will push hiring organizations to the forefront and attract more highly qualified candidates.


3. Include Video: Video in the talent acquisition process has become such a mainstay that candidates expect to see it; if your technology doesn’t include a video component, you’re seriously behind the curve. Video can engage candidates and showcase a company’s culture – an important element to all job seekers, and millennial workers in particular.


4. Leave the Career Portal: After all, setting up the career portal and hoping candidates will visit is a passive recruiting strategy. One of the fastest growing areas of talent acquisition, the talent community, offers a more active way for companies to reach out to and engage with talent. Make yours robust and interactive, and connect it to the career portal.

Change can be scary, but just like we all learned to put down the Aquanet and take out the side ponytails, your career portal can adapt to the times and net you more top candidates. A good first step would be to read Aberdeen’s full report on career portal usage and best practice recommendations.

Back to the Future: 4 Ways to Update Your Career Portal