How to upgrade your apply process from ordinary to VIP

Technology has advanced and fundamentally transformed the way we interact with and experience everything. We no longer wait in long lines at toll booths during our morning commute thanks to fast pass options. No more wasting time and precious caffeine making a large pot of coffee when you can make just one cup. Headed out on a quick flight? No need to wait in long security lines at the airport when you upgrade to TSA PreCheck.

The advancement of technology has enabled us to create more efficient and personal experiences, therefore improving our lives and the way we function.

Good experiences yield good impressions so it's easy to see that there's no reason to continue enduring complicated and frustrating processes like the airport security line when you can upgrade to PreCheck.

Apply this same idea to the hiring process. The rise of the candidate experience has influenced the way employers interact with job seekers, but most application processes are still more like going through airport security than a simple trip through TSA PreCheck.

Employers know that converting job seekers to applicants is critical in order to hire the right talent so why don't more employers upgrade their application process from the dreaded airport security experience to the ideal TSA PreCheck experience.

Upgrade your apply process

Why do people travel? Because they want to experience new things. People change jobs for the same reason - to experience new things. A candidate's journey throughout the hiring process is reflective of what their experience could potentially be like when working for an employer.

Don't make job seekers dread applying for a position at your company. Upgrade your apply process to treat candidates to a much better experience - one that excites them about the opportunity to work for you.

The standard

Bad experiences yield bad impressions. When you arrive to the airport before heading off on your long-awaited vacation and reach a seemingly never-ending security line - the stress begins to set in. Not only is the TSA security process stressful, but the line is so lengthy that it seems virtually never ending.

It's no surprise that job candidates feel the same way when filling out job applications. Lengthy applications immediately begin to overwhelm candidates causing them to feel stressed. Some applications can take over an hour to complete and require candidates to separate their skills and experience into various boxes, just like going through standard screening at the airport.



As applicants progress through the application process, they may get confused. If airport travelers get confused while in the airport security line, you bet they will figure out their problems because there is no way a frustrating airport process will prevent them from making it to their destination. However, this is not the case for job seekers. If they get confused or frustrated with the apply process, they will simply abandon the process and move on.

The application process doesn't have to be like the dreaded standard screening in the airport security line. There are simple ways to upgrade your apply process to impress job candidates and make them desire a position at your company.

VIP apply

When we replace frustrating processes with simpler ones - we are left with a much better experience for both job seekers and employers. The first step to upgrading your current application process is to simplify.

Avoid overcomplicating the apply process by eliminating any unnecessary steps that can be covered later on in the hiring process. Invite analytics into the process to see where applicants are abandoning the application and fine-tune your application to avoid these drop-offs.

Use design to give visual cues to applicants that help drive them to complete the application. Avoid confusing text boxes and drop-down menus to keep the process streamlined and simple.

Instead of forcing candidates to enter their professional history into individual boxes, allow candidates to import their information via professional networks like LinkedIn or cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive.

Other various aspects may distract applicants from completing applications so allow candidates to save applications to complete later on. You can also send automated emails to applicants to remind them to finish their application, which will help keep applicants engaged.

Remember that people want to experience new things and they also want to have good experiences. The rise of the candidate experience has inspired many employers to reconsider many aspects of their hiring process in order to improve the hiring experience for everyone. Upgrade your application process in order to impress applicants and attract more quality candidates.



A lot goes into creating a candidate experience. To learn how to audit your candidate experience to help you diagnose and solve problems, and create a candidate experience that attracts, engages and converts top talent - watch our webinar by following the link below.