Job applications: the winners and losers

We’ve kindly collected and analysed our data from job applications and their apparent diversity to hopefully provide some interesting insights into the habits of the modern-day job-seeker. The data is quite fascinating, and the results vary considerably. What conclusions can we draw from this and what is job-title click bait these days? Read onwards if you’d like to find out, it might just help your candidate outreach.

The 5 MOST-applied-for roles in 2019:

 1) PR Internship

 2) Events Logistics Coordinator

 3) Finance Internship

 4) Freelance Graphic Designer

 5) Social Marketing Strategy Internship

Clearly, people are drawn in by exciting titles and what they perceive to be stimulating industries. Titles including: 'Marketing', 'PR' and 'Events' are always sure to draw in candidates like a moth to light. They elicit images of rousing office spaces with vibrant and creative cultures and the like. But this may not be a guarantee and it really depends on your role; some marketing roles can be incredibly analytical, so one must be thorough in reading the job description.

break-v1

The 5 LEAST-applied-for roles in 2019:

 1) Graduate Sales Representative

 2) Sales Executive

 3) Sales Development Representative

 4) Graduate Sales Associate

 5) PR Account Manager

Hopefully, you’ve spotted the common denominator here – if not, it’s sales. Sales roles are clearly throwing graduates off. We believe this is because sales elicits negative imagery of days populated with cold-calling and brash bosses. This is far from the case today as the means and tools of sales have altered dramatically. Sales can encompass the development of new business avenues and creating strong relationships with new clients.

Role (3.) ‘Sales Development Representative’ was in fact for a company who specialises in the 'Internet of Things' industry. They aspire to help businesses that need a way to digitise an integrated network of connected devices, for example, a security company that uses a vast network of alarms can keep updated in real time with their vast web of active devices. The sales role, in this case, would be to enlighten aspiring clients to the incredible potential of this new product.

The founder of this company has sold a connected devices company previously for $100m and his new venture shows a promising trajectory – it's a true shame that potentially great candidates were deterred by a single word. We've seen a much higher click-through and apply rates when the wording is more in line with 'Business Development' or similar.

Why is Role (5.) there if it’s PR? This might seem like a contradiction, but it isn’t. Again, wording can be problematic in this case. We believe it’s the presence of the word ‘manager’. Graduates can be deterred by this word because they believe a manager can equate to managing a team of people, which they might believe is above both their experience level and pay grade. But again, this is rarely the case. It simply refers to managing in this instance, accounts, which means the company’s clients.

Take home message:

Job titles are important, and it pays to get it right (literally). For sales roles, stick to Business Development as the title. The presence or absence of key buzzwords can mean the difference between vast oversubscription, or total avoidance.