Drowning in Applications? You’re Not Alone.
When we take the brief from a client on a new role, it’s sufficiently detailed, clear and concise as we are curious and inquisitive and know the right questions to ask. Our clients know the skills they need, the experience that matters, and the type of person who’ll genuinely strengthen their team and suit their culture. We then write an advert to incorporate all of the above, but the moment that role goes live on LinkedIn or a job board, not only is the the volume of applications often huge, but then begins the hours of sifting and qualifying suitable candidates to identify the right one.
Here’s a snapshot from a recent HR role we filled. A real example of how wide the gap can be between application numbers and true role fit.
So, what was the client looking for? The brief was for a Head of HR in Surrey, paying up to 90k with specific role requirements and skills. The client knew their business and having had someone in the role previously that hadn’t been right, knew getting the perfect person was crucial.
682 applications in total – how many fitted the brief?
People apply to job adverts for a variety of reasons. There’s the passive job seekers who receive a job alert and with a ‘one click’ application are sending their CV, the active job seekers who are searching daily and applying to a multitude of different opportunities, or the aspirational job seeker hoping a hiring manager might spot potential even when their experience doesn’t align nor fit the brief, but they like the sound of the role and want to be in with a chance. It leads to hundreds of applications that can look encouraging, but can create hours of work. On the surface, it looked like we’d achieved a great market reach until we started to review them against the very specific criteria given by our client
Filtering the Volume
After carefully screening every submission and talking to 50+ potential candidates, only 23 made the long-list and were through to 1 stage interviews with us. From there, just 7 people were compelling enough to send to the client. That shortlist resulted in 6 first interviews, 3 second interviews, and ultimately one great hire. This is where a specialist agency can bring real value. We filter, qualify and hand select only the candidates who genuinely match your brief; saving you time, lifting quality, and ensuring every CV in your inbox is worth reviewing. If you want the talent without the overwhelm, we’re here to help. We don’t just match skills, we match behaviours, expectations and culture.
If you’d like to speak to a recruitment partner who can take away some of the administration burden on your HR hires – speak to Kerry or Jemma — HRLife would love to help!