Do You Know the Abandonment Rate on Your Recruiting Site?
What you don’t know can hurt you—especially when it comes to attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent, one of your organization’s biggest competitive advantages. Have you ever asked your ATS (Applicant Tracking System) vendor about the abandonment rate on your recruiting site? If your application process takes too long, you might be driving good candidates away and even sending them directly to competitors with a simpler, more user-friendly process.
As I’ve written about before, I occasionally go through the online application process for open roles to experience what candidates do. My primary interests? How long it takes to complete the application and what kind of response I receive once I’m done.
Recently, I tried applying for a communications director position at a Fortune 50 company, only to encounter endless frustration. First, I struggled just to register. Both emails I attempted to use were linked to previous accounts, but when I requested my username or password, the system insisted no account was associated with either email. I spent 40 minutes navigating through errors and system loops before finally accessing the application itself.
There’s no way a serious candidate would stick with this process—unless, like me, they were testing it out to write an article.
Liz Ryan, in a Forbes article, notes that “most employers, sad to say, do a better job of driving talented people away than reeling them in, both during the selection process and after they’re on board.” She points out that many companies don’t realize how their outdated systems and policies can frustrate, rather than attract, great candidates.
Wharton professor Matthew Bidwell adds that the easier it is to apply for a role, “the more narrow-minded and automated the screening of the CVs becomes.” This means that while some companies aim to streamline applications, they may inadvertently make screening impersonal, deterring high-quality candidates who don’t fit the automated “mold.” Christopher Ellehuus, managing director at the Corporate Executive Board, highlights that the overbuilt hiring pipelines often result in too many unqualified applications, increasing frustration for both candidates and recruiters.
If you haven’t evaluated your application process or looked into the abandonment rate on your recruiting site recently, now is a good time to start. Every touchpoint—from a candidate’s initial interest to their application experience—impacts your brand. A cumbersome process not only risks losing great talent but also affects how your company is perceived in the market. Taking steps to ensure a candidate-friendly, efficient application process can improve your recruiting outcomes and strengthen your brand’s appeal.
