The 2023 Job Application Trend: Short Apply Method

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Despite a looming recession, the Netherlands experienced seven quarters of rising tension in the labour market. At the end of the third quarter, according to the CBS, 449,000 vacancies were open.

A shortened application process is an important element in this new approach. The thresholds for candidates to respond to a vacancy must be as low as possible. And if there is a response, it requires rapid follow-up, preferably within 24 hours. In a competitive market, as an employer you have to strike quickly and cash in on the momentum. But the Short Apply Method (SAM) consists of more building blocks. I describe them below.

Ten years ago, an organization placed a vacancy on its website, and possibly on a job board, and responses automatically followed. “If people don’t respond to the vacancy, then they’re not the right candidates”, was and still is often the thought. But do the people you’re looking for actually know that you have a vacancy? Organizations need to dare to ask themselves this question critically. Is the vacancy visible in the window, with the right story?

Employer branding

Using social media and the Google Display network helps to make a vacancy more known within the group of latent candidates. How likely is it that a young person who has just graduated from vocational education will look at Monsterboard.nl on Monday morning and how likely is it that he will visit Nu.nl or Instagram? Mobile bannering also allows you to target very specific target groups: by age, interests, location, etc. The message will therefore reach the target group that is relevant to you as an employer.

A practical example illustrates this. The municipality of Zuidplas brings a vacancy for a recruiter to the attention of 18,000 people living within a radius of 20 kilometres via social media. This results in 18 responses in one week. As a side effect, the campaign boosts the image of the municipality, because the vacancy has been displayed more than 200,000 times. This means that the target group has seen content from the municipality of Zuidplas an average of ten times. For commercial organisations, this form of employer branding can be even more valuable.

Honest advertising

In 2023, a vacancy can no longer consist of just text. No, to attract the attention of candidates and to get them excited about a new position and work environment, employers use photos, videos and testimonials much more often. No stock photos or actors, but as much as possible a reflection of the real work environment and future colleagues. Honest content that fits the organization. After all, it's all about a good fit on both sides. In this respect, the tight labor market offers an advantage: candidates choose a certain work environment more consciously. They are no longer necessarily looking for a job and income, but for a company with a mission and vision that suits them. Because candidates are more selective, a good match is more likely to occur. The employer also benefits from this. After all, nothing is more annoying than investing time and energy in a candidate who leaves again after a few months.

Low threshold

Another characteristic of the Short Apply Method is the removal of barriers to responding to a vacancy. In fact, it has been the custom for 40 years that applicants send their CV, accompanied by a letter of motivation.

But leaving a name, phone number, email address and LinkedIn profile is in many cases more than enough for the first contact. On that occasion, the candidate can also convey his motivation verbally.

Succession

The new approach requires a quick follow-up, preferably within 24 hours. That way, you can capture the applicant's experience. If that takes a week, their interest and enthusiasm will have waned considerably. Moreover, a lot can happen in a week. In a competitive labour market, there are more competitors. Perhaps your applicant has already seen another attractive offer in the meantime.

The Frisian company Dotec recently went a step further and had the follow-up taken care of by owner Wouter Verhagen himself. That does something to the applicant, when the boss himself makes contact directly and shows the first interest. People were then invited for a cup of coffee. Not for a heavy assessment, but for an introduction and an open conversation. On that occasion they could bring their CV, but a motivation letter was completely unnecessary.

The result of that approach was there for the company in Joure. Within four weeks, Dotec had filled four vacancies that had been open for more than half a year. Vacancies for which a recruitment agency had already been used and that had been on their own website and vacancy sites for months.

Feeling with company

My advice to HR professionals: see posting a vacancy as a campaign. A campaign that revolves around engaging content, with which the organization shows who it is, what it does and what its mission is. Potential candidates are then shown that there is also a nice vacancy available.

Within the shortened application method SAM, candidates can respond with a low threshold. A telephone number and e-mail address are sufficient for the first contact. If HR ensures direct follow-up, a match can sometimes be achieved within a week. A decisive weapon in the tight labor market.

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