Online job applications are increasingly popular with both candidates and recruiters. Job seekers are turning online to save time and money compared with traditional paper-based applications. But at the same time, most recruiters also see benefits from the electronic job application and support the move to online recruitment.
The differences between printed and online applications are seen primarily in practical terms: 51 per cent of European HR managers agree that online applications are more convenient to process. This is one of the findings of research published by StepStone, Europeís leader in online recruitment. The research covered over 1,600 HR Managers across seven European countries and was carried out in conjunction with the market research organisation easyquest in early 2004.
But the potential of online applications has not yet been fully tapped: even more recruiters would welcome online applications if the quality were to improve. 47 per cent of recruiters report that online applications are often composed less accurately than printed applications. And only 15% believe that online applications are more clearly arranged than print.
Compared with their colleagues in other countries, the Italian and Belgian respondents have the most positive view of the quality of online applications: only 10 per cent and 16 per cent respectively stated that traditional applications are more accurate than their online equivalents. In contrast, in both Germany and Norway, 61 per cent believe print applications are more accurate. Recruiters in Germany and Sweden seem most wedded to the printed job application with almost half of respondents feeling that print applications have more substance than online.
StepStoneís sites across Europe carry over 20,000 online job vacancies. Just as in the offline world, recruiters will favour candidates who take care to present themselves in a clear and accurate manner. StepStone provides helpful advice to online job seekers both directly on its sites and through newsletters to which candidates can subscribe.
The survey, entitled Current trends in the job seeker’s market, covered 1,635 HR Managers and Recruiters across various company sizes and business sectors in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. For fuller results and demographics, please
Online applications are in vogue
but recruiters find room for quality improvements according to Stepstone research