Despite my best attempts to avoid the platform, I was recently sucked into LinkedIn and came across a post about one-click applications.
With nearly 20K positive reactions and almost a thousand reposts, it clearly struck a nerve with people. Which is unfortunate because it’s foolish and wrong.
A ‘Shortcut’ that Makes More Work
I’ll be the first to agree that meaningless extra steps and overly complicated processes aren’t signs of a healthy hiring process. But, that’s not what this is about. Mr. Ibrahim wants a shortcut so potential job seekers don’t have to expend any time or energy applying to a job, offloading all the work to the hirer. Just read the CV. It’s that easy!
Oh, don’t I wish. First, let’s talk about being flooded with one-click applications. The hiring manager is not diligently reading each lovingly crafted CV and grading it. We recently tried an experiment at Atomic Object by syndicating an internship application across several job sites, not just our own website. Even with our “onerous” form asking candidates to enter meaningless extra information, we received more than 2,000 applications. That’s for ONE internship position! One hiring manager could spend 10 weeks reading resumes non-stop eight hours a day just to get through them all.
I can’t imagine how many applications we’d have received if it were as simple as just clicking a button and uploading a single file. Conversely, a different non-syndicated internship position only received about one-tenth the number of applications. As a job seeker, ask yourself: which bucket would you rather be in?
So, when hundreds of applications pour in, employers have three choices. They can: 1) hire an army of recruiters, 2) use automated screening tools, or 3) significantly limit how thoroughly they screen candidates. Since option one is a myth, congratulations! You spent 30 seconds applying, and the employer spent 30 seconds (automatically) rejecting you because your CV didn’t contain the right keywords. If there’s a complaint about hiring that’s more vigorous than, “Don’t make it so hard to apply,” it’s, “I’m being rejected before a human even really looks at my application.” When making applications as simple as possible, job seekers can’t have their cake and eat it too.
Lack of Crucial Details
A one-click job app also ignores the fact that your professionally formatted CV probably doesn’t include crucial things employers need to know. Are you willing to relocate? Do you prefer remote work? Are you authorized to work in this country? What pronouns should we use when we contact you? How did you hear about our company / this job posting? Etc. Those “annoying” application fields actually save everyone’s time. It’s also not guaranteed that automated tools will correctly process every submitted resume. Wouldn’t you rather ensure we have the correct email address to follow up with you than rely on imperfect technology to correctly render it out of your custom-formatted PDF?
But perhaps most importantly, as an employer, I’m not just looking for someone who can do the job. I’m looking for someone who wants to do THIS job, at THIS company. Hiring is hard. That candidate who took time to fill out our application thoughtfully? They’re showing us they’re genuinely interested, not just playing a numbers game. If filling out a 15-minute application is too much effort, I have to wonder about your commitment level when actual work challenges arise.
I’m sure there are many cynical readers out there who feel a job should just be a job, and pretending that they “care” about a particular one is also an annoying part of the process. They think all employers are soulless and everyone is an interchangeable cog in a machine. But if you don’t want to be treated like a cog, don’t advocate for processes that expect you to behave like one.
Making the Hiring Process More Human, Not Less
Look, I get it. Nobody enjoys filling out forms. But we’re not talking about asking people to travel, dress up in a suit, and print out their resume on fancy paper stock to hand-deliver at the corporate office. This is an intake process. As someone whose job is to find not just qualified candidates but the right fits for our team, I can tell you that proper applications make the hiring process more human, not less. They help us give serious candidates proper consideration instead of letting algorithms make snap judgments based on keywords. These applications also allow serious candidates to cut through the noise. They give you, the job seeker, some actual agency in the process. Maybe, just maybe, those extra few minutes aren’t so meaningless after all.
And, if you still think two-click applications are the best process, feel free to send your CV into the void. Just don’t be surprised when the void doesn’t write back.