How to speed up the developer application process!

It's an open secret that developers find the application process in many companies to be tedious and in need of improvement. Many job-seeking tech professionals would be happy if companies took notice.

Have you already optimized the job interview in such a way that the candidates feel they are in good hands and each applicant is individually and professionally followed up by you? Unfortunately none of this counts if the first touchpoint in the application process is not optimally organized.

Whether it's just making a mandatory field on the application form optional, or re-examining your entire application process, this article provides some ways to shorten your application process for developers.

No cover letter

Although we haven't met anyone who loves to write cover letters, most companies still insist on this antiquated piece of writing. Ask yourself whether the cover letter actually has a positive influence on your recruiting process. Is the information you can glean from the letter really that helpful in learning more about the candidate? Or does the CV give you enough information through insights into the portfolio and open source projects?

According to stackoverflow, 14% of developers state that writing the cover letter is the most annoying aspect of job hunting or applying. Ultimately, developers feel that there are far better ways for companies to access their technical capabilities to assess their capabilities.

Candidate Approach

Imagine you are a passive candidate. You receive an email about a vacancy from a recruiter for a developer position in company X. You are already employed and are not actively looking for a new job, but we are always open to new opportunities and the offer arouses your interest. Now imagine that you still have to fill out a standardized CV and write a cover letter. Not a great experience, is it?

To make life easier for passive candidates, they should not go through the same and linear process that active applicants have to go through.

Fast application

Depending on the ATS system (Application Tracking System) used, quick application functions can help to shorten the application process. The major applicant tracking systems have features that allow candidates to import resumes from other websites, or automatically fill out portions of the resume to save time. For this reason, applicants can apply to "devjobs" directly, with their own CV, or with a LinkedIn or GihHub profile.

If you've already implemented all of the above and think you can do even better, ask your current employees what else they can do. Remember, your developers have gone through the application process before and can certainly give good and critical feedback.