Make it Harder to Apply [Archive.org URL]

If you look at most applications on Monster.com or Craigslist, the instructions are very simple: “Send a cover letter and resume to (email address).”

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. However, an issue that can come up in a tough job market is that you’ll have a tough time separating the wheat from the chafe.

Let’s say 500 people apply for the position you posted. Chances are that 300 of them will barely read the description and won’t even know what the job is about. Another 150 of them will understand the position, but will be unqualified. And 30 of them will understand the position, be qualified, but not actually be truly interested in your company. This leaves 20 of them who will show up for interviews and could possibly be a fit for your company.

The problem is that that “Core 20” may not ever make it to your front door. While you’re filtering out the jokers in the stack of resumes, you can’t help but let a few good ones slip through the cracks. At the same time, you may let some of the wrong ones in for interviews.

The way to solve this is to make your initial application require greater concentration and personal investment than the other jobs someone may be applying for. Some companies choose to take care of this by including personality tests and extensive questions in an online application. This is fine, but it’s actually not necessary for most industries.

Instead, simply instruct the candidates to answer some specific questions in their cover letter. Even three to five can be enough. These can include questions like:

“What are your greatest strengths?”
“How would you handle a situation where (insert situation)?”
“What was the best thing about your past employer?”

The laziest applicants can’t be bothered with this, so they will just skip to another position to apply for. You can also just delete all e-mails from people who apply, but don’t follow the instructions. You don’t want to have a new employee who can’t get this right, do you?

Another idea is to require a video cover letter. Most people will have a smartphone, a digital camera, or webcam, so there should be some way for an applicant to record him or herself.

Like this content? Why not share it?