From an employer’s perspective

Currently, the Bangladesh HR scenario is such that when we employers post a job, irrelevant of how large or small our organisation is, we are receiving over thousands, or at the least hundreds of resume applications to our job posting.

At first glance, my team and I were ecstatic. We were brimming with excitement at the potential of recruiting five star candidates to take our start-up operations to the next level! However, little did we know, out of the thousands of applicants that had applied we had no choice but to filter out roughly 80% of the applicants.

From a job seeker’s perspective you may start to wonder why that is so. Is the company so strict about grades or is it that screening is tough in general? The answer oddly enough on both accounts is a big no! The problem is more entrenched. Half the seekers who had applied either did not read the job requirements properly or they missed mentioning crucial information on their resumes.

Another half of this 80% did not even have the skills the job posting required in the first place, yet they still believed it was a good idea to apply. We started wondering, why were seekers brush firing their resumes in this manner? There must be more to this than meets the eye.

Once we put some more thought into it, the answers became apparent. The reason why job seekers are applying to as many job postings as they can find, irrelevant of whether or not their skill set or education matches the requirements of the employers, is due to the fact that there is a major disconnect between the seekers and the employers.

In a day and age where social media integration and technology is at its peak, the job boards in Bangladesh are still very dated in comparison. For the most part, seekers do not receive instant feedback from a majority of the employers. Many employers follow best practices and do conform to letting the seekers know if they’ve made the cut or vice versa. But the reality is, to many seekers it is just a black hole application process.

Thus, seekers are now applying to countless jobs in hopes that at least one of the employers will call them in. On the flip side, what are the adverse affects of the black hole application process?

 The employers end up receiving an array of resumes that do not fit the basic necessary skills required for the job position/role. This in turn becomes a time consuming effort and sometimes even a fruitless endeavor on the employers’ part. An increased number of candidates pouring in for interviews end up not knowing what position they are being interviewed for at the organisation. This is because they have applied to so many job postings that they cannot really recall if the position was, for instance, for an executive or manager? In the sales department or marketing? Moreover, the job posting had already expired on the online job site hence there was no way for them to make sure.

What could be the solution?

  A job board that fosters an engaged community, where seekers can receive instant feedback from employers each time their resumes are viewed or shortlisted as favorites. A standardised form where amongst other things seekers must mention their skills, level of education, experience, salary expectation and language proficiency. Enough statistics being provided to seekers which guides them to apply for jobs that match their skill-set best. This particular portion would eradicate the fact that candidates apply to jobs they aren’t really suited for.

And the subsequent results?

 Increased Job Satisfaction Motivated Employees Increased Efficiency Fewer Turnovers

In conclusion, the next time you apply for a job, take into consideration your five mandatory must-mentions and whether or not the job you are applying for is truly the sort of position you want. We employers know that employees content with their job always perform better. And so, on that note - good hunting!

 

The writer is the Head of Marketing & Sales for loosemonkies.com