40% of candidates opt out, here's why.

I've just finished some research with job seekers, here are two of the headline findings:

Lack of information is the most frustrating part of the job search for 70% of people.

4 in 10 people decided not to apply because they couldn’t find enough information.

Employers and hiring teams: This is a huge missed opportunity.

If your job ad lacks clarity, omits important information or fails to attract and hold attention, you lose.

The modern employment and hiring landscape is very different to that of the past.

Tenure is down. Job mobility is up. People stay in jobs less than half the time they did 10 years ago. Two-thirds of Australian workers intend to change jobs in the next 12 months.

Competition for talent is the new normal. Even when you hear people say it's an employers' market, you still want to attract the right people — people who are aligned, engaged and 'all in', right?

Clarity and transparency create confidence.

Without these things, your job opportunity will get lost in the noise and at least 40% of people won't bother to engage.

Recruitment is not simply a process or task for HR to manage — it’s a marketing challenge.

As any marketer will tell you, effective marketing begins with understanding your audience.

Dear hiring team

When I read your job ad, I wonder if you’ve thought about the person reading it, your audience.

I am trying to figure out a) can I do this job b) can I see myself in your organisation and c) will this job work for my life?

Often I find a laundry list of requirements, unrealistic expectations that don’t seem grounded in reality, and job ads asking for a unicorn (sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically). Often, I lose interest.

What’s even more frustrating is the basics I need to know are often missing. Salary is such a strange hidden factor. I’d love to know a little about who I’d be working with, the structure, the reporting lines, the team size. All of these things matter. I also want to know why I would want to work for you. A lot of organisations don’t explain that.

I’m a human with a life, priorities, and hopes for the future. When I read an ad that is vague, unrealistic or full of jargon, I wonder — do you know what you’re looking for? Are you open to someone like me? Your job ad is the first impression I get of your organisation, it really matters.

Yours sincerely, your future team member.

This is an excerpt from my book manuscript. It's drawn from insights gathered through my current research — as well as anecdotal and organically-gathered insights over two decades working in recruitment.

Since 2005, I’ve had more than 25,000 conversations with job seekers — people at every stage of their career, from graduates to C-level and Directors.

These conversations are a privilege. They inform how I support nonprofit leaders to attract the right people to their teams.