Why You Shouldn’t Have To Register On A Recruiter’s Website.
I have been seeing a growing trend from most recruiters posting jobs on well-known job sites such as LinkedIn, Pnet, etc. It’s all well and nice to have your “own” website or application where candidates’ harvested data lives, however, the honest truth is that signing up to any website is a very huge commitment to most candidates.
Recruitment websites ask for way more personal information that most people are willing to give out on their first dates – so, this is definitely a big problem. They are opening themselves up to potential abuse and threats (hackers, spammers) or even the possibility of having their information sold.
If you want to redirect candidates from *reputable job websites to your own website, you need to be aware of the following:
*Reputable is used carelessly in this instance to refer to job portals that have a dedicated large team that is responsible for the website health and security. A team that takes ownership of the product.
Lack Of Security
The top reputable job sites have a dedicated team responsible for the maintenance and well-being of the website. They do not simply rely on purchased WordPress plugins or once-off coded websites that never get reviewed or updated.
If you ask for way too much user/candidate information, you need to understand your will be handling sensitive information which can potentially be damaging in the wrong hands of someone who doesn’t understand website security, and they are only excited by the idea of having their own database of candidates.
Invasion of Privacy:
Firstly, a lot of these websites that redirect you to apply for a job outside the reputable job platforms such as LinkedIn, PNet, etc. request more personal information that most of the top websites ask for. You are forced to share way more than necessary about yourself on a website you are likely not to ever return to again in the near future.
Asking For Information You Don’t Need.
There’s a very high chance you are asking for information you don’t even need.
The Option To Delete User Information
Most of the recruiter websites that ask job seekers to register on their website don’t have the option for candidates to delete their personal information or profiles when they no longer have a need for the website/services.
Giving users the option to delete their account will comfort those users who don’t want to leave a paper trail of their activity on the web. Let them know on your sign up form that they can delete their account at any time so that they won’t have to worry about their personal information showing up on your site forever.
In fact, if you ask for users to register on your website, make it a habit to give them the option to delete their profile.
Tedious Process
On top of all of the above, there is a cost issue in developing countries. Internet connectivity is simply a luxury for most people.
All candidates want is to simply apply for a job. You can’t rob them off their money by redirecting them to another website to recreate a profile just to apply for a job. You know very well that mobile connectivity is expensive in this country and the fat cats running those companies are not prepared to do anything about it. There’s a very high chance that the candidate applying for the role doesn't have any money — they are unemployed most likely, so why do you want to make the process more difficult and time-consuming for them?
The Unfortunate Truth
The unfortunate trust is that you only need the following (if they are to be fancy), to assist a candidate land a job of their dreams:
- Candidate Full Names
- Candidate Email Address
- File Upload Field (For the candidate to upload their resume/CV and supporting documents)
- Candidate Contact Number (optional)
- Candidate Cover Letter (also optional in my option)
If for whatever reason they want your resume in a certain format, you can simply provide the candidate with a CV/Resume template. If you need anything else, you have their email address or optionally their contact number.
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Another Problem: The 086 Fax Scam
In South Africa, we have had an issue with what is known as the “The 086 Fax Scam” for years now. Due to the large unemployment rate, expensive and monopolized mobile internet connectivity — which the very last hope for people in remote and rural areas to connect to the internet, keeping up to date with the latest scams and trends is a very difficult process in South Africa. Most people just can’t afford to validate or check the authenticity of anything they come across online because mobile operators are simply too selfish and they find joy in ripping poor and disadvantaged people in remote and rural areas off.
The 086 Fax Scan starts with “fake” recruiters. These “recruiters” post fake job offers and strictly request that job seekers direct the applications to their 086 fax number. The fax number draws high rate charges from your telephone bill, which is always beyond the standard rate. For every page you fax, the “fake” recruiters receive money.
It is very difficult in developing or third-world countries for poor and disadvantaged individuals to:
- Verify the source of the advertised position
- Find our or request alternative means of communication. We just recently came from a world where the cost of a 60 seconds call was well over R3.00 from a very reputable red and leading mobile operator. The very same operator still sells data bundles in Megabytes in 2020 and 500MB will cost your R60 while their competitors will gladly with you 10GB for R200.
- And because of the expensive nature of connecting to the internet, most candidates are simply clueless since connectivity is a luxury.
Stay Relevant
In a nutshell, it’s unfair to ask simply delay or route candidates through multiple channels when they apply for jobs. If a candidate comes across your position on the top well-known and reputable platforms such as LinkedIn, Career24, PNet, etc, the process should ideally end there. You can’t expect the candidates to recreate profiles on your websites again or fax CVs to a 086 number. It’s firstly unprofessional and simply 100% unfair, given the state of the country — economically and so forth.
And you can’t be excited by the concept of harvesting candidate data if you are not prepared to personally be responsible for the data. If you don’t understand website security and you don’t have a team that can help, don’t harvest any personal information.
An email application is in most cases enough. Having your own domain name, website and email addresses will give you and your business a more professional look. Another reason for a business to register a domain name is to protect copyrights and trademarks, build creditability, increase brand awareness, and search engine positioning. You don’t need your own version of LinkedIn on your website unless you’re prepared to do the work.
