“It’s not us. It’s them.”

That – or at least some variation of it – was one of the most common responses to my previous posts about why recruiters and hiring managers don’t call job seekers back.

It seems many of you are bombarded with so many applications – and so many unqualified applications, at that – that it’s virtually impossible to get back to everyone…

As one commenter puts it, simply, “The problem is that so many candidates send their resumes for jobs they are clearly not qualified for.” A valid complaint, yes.  But what if there were a way to alleviate this problem yourselves?

Certainly, you’ll never be able to fully control job seeker behavior (might be a scary world if you could)…but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to minimize the number of unqualified applications you receive. Try the following:

1. Look to Promote from Within First.  Promoting from within (when it makes sense for your business) not only cuts down on costs associated with new hire training, but it sends a positive message to your employees that you appreciate them and are invested in their development, which can ultimately increase both engagement and retention.
2. Re-Evaluate Your Job Postings: Start at the source – If your job posting sounds generic, job seekers who are applying to anything remotely to their field of interest are just going to scan it over before blindly applying.  Make sure that you clarify the responsibilities of the position and creating an accurate skill-based profile of the ideal candidate to get more targeted results. Also, format the posting into a concise, easy-to-read layout by breaking up information into categories so job seekers are more likely to read important information (like “Requirements”).
3. Respond to Applicants: An auto-response letter to acknowledge receipt of application could go a long way in cutting out duplicate resumes from job seekers who ‘want to make sure’ you’ve received their resumes and apply more than once.
4. Utilize Screening Questions: Attaching filtering questions to your job postings will screen out unqualified candidates from the beginning. Screening systems can be one of the first things to fall off the list when budget cuts are made; yet, they ultimately save recruiters and hiring managers time and save the company costs associated with lost production and turnover (and remember that screeners are free if you’re a CareerBuilder client…That doesn’t suck, right?).
5. Create and Implement an Employee Referral Program: Who knows the kind of employee your company wants better than your own employees? Get the most use out of it by making it as easy as possible for an employee to recommend a candidate or forward a job posting to a friend, offering an incentive when an employee’s referral is hired – and by making sure your employees are aware of both the program and the opportunities available with clear, constant communication.