We’ve worked with shops and dealerships across the country to help them find mechanics to hire. When it comes to the number of applicants they get, there are some factors that shops simply cannot control (i.e., location, etc.). However, there are far more ways shops can influence the number of applicants they receive.
One of the biggest issues we see has nothing to do with the shop or the job — it has to do with the application process. It’s a candidate-driven market, and technicians have their pick from plenty of job openings. If they come across two good options, but one has a long, clunky application process — they’re not going to bother applying.
Below are some tips we share with our clients on how they can increase the number of applications they receive by simplifying their application process.
4 Ways to Simplify Your Application Process
Include all the details in the job description.
Sounds easy enough, right? Well, you’d be surprised how many shops don’t include enough details in the job description. Job descriptions should give a full picture of the job. This will reduce the number of questions and prevent back and forth communications with candidates. Job descriptions should include:
- Responsibilities
- Required skills and education
- Pay range
- Benefits
- Details about the shop/dealership
For more details on job descriptions and job postings, check out: How to Write an Automotive Technician Job Posting
Explain the hiring process.
- How many interviews will candidates need to go through?
- Will they need to complete any assessments?
- When can they expect to hear back after the interview?
- Approximately how many days can the candidate expect the whole process to take?
These are all questions that are very important to techs when applying to jobs. Shops and dealerships need to be upfront with these details from the get go. Not only will this increase the number of applicants, but it will also help retain candidates throughout the entire interview process, and even increase overall employee retention.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Almost 90% of job seekers say mobile devices play a critical role in the job search process, and 35% of job seekers would prefer to apply to a job from their phone. These numbers are only increasing as younger generations enter the workforce – making it imperative for shops/dealerships to make sure their application processes are mobile-friendly.
Keep the application process short.
Newton research found that under 10 minutes is the ideal length for an online job application. If your job application takes more than 10 minutes to complete, you could be losing out on at least 50% of qualified applicants. Of course it’s important to gather the information you need to determine who to interview, but qualified candidates are not going to jump through the hoops. They’re going to look elsewhere.
