Instant Gratification, Apply On-Line and Value Meals
You are in your car, reading the menu, in the drive-thru lane at McDonald’s.
Then a voice appears-May I take you order please?
With confidence and without a hesitation you reply -I’ll have a number 5.
The voice says-proceed to the next window please!
You pay the 5 bucks at the first window and proceed to the next window
And… there it is, in a neat package-the value meal that you just ordered. And that makes you very happy!
Instant gratification!
That is what we have come to expect from using the latest bells & whistles of technologies. And this drive thru window experience has become the expectation of job seekers when they apply on-line for a job.
Do you really know what happens behind the scenes in a fast food joint, from the time you place your order at the intercom to actually receiving it at the pick-up window?
If you don’t know-ask someone who has worked at a fast food joint.
When you think about it; the apply-on-line job application process is the same concept used by the drive-thru model at the fast food joints.
Let’s compare both models:
SEARCH
JOB: Visit your favorite job search site (Monster, CareerBuilder, Employer Career Page)
MEAL: Visit your favorite fast food joint (McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell)
BROWSE
JOB: You scan jobs by title or a keyword and click search to display the available jobs that might interest you.
MEAL: You scan the huge menu of available meals that might interest you.
SELECT
JOB: You select the job that is most applicable to you and click the APPLY button.
MEAL: You select the meal number that you want and repeat it out loud into the microphone.
APPLY
JOB: You take a huge chuck of your time to complete the application form and click the SUBMIT button.
MEAL: You go to the next window and exchange some of your dollars for the meal.
WHAT YOU GET
JOB: You get the job that you selected. (It will allow you to pay the bills that you are creating every day)
MEAL: You get the food that you selected. (It will ease the pain, lessen the noise in your tummy and give you the energy to get you through the day)
As you can see, both concepts are similar in design and intent; which is to satisfy the needs of the customers in the shortest amount of time.
RESULTS
JOB: 99.9% of the time you will not get the job when you apply on-line.
MEAL: 99.9% of the time, the meal that you ordered will be delivered to you at the pick-up window.
CONCLUSION
With the same expectation from the intended users, one model provide pleasure and the other generates disappointments. It also leaves a few questions unanswered:
Mr. Employer, do you really care if job seekers know what happens behind the scenes after they apply on line for the job you advertised?
Do you know how many you have disappointed in your quest to fill just one open position?
Do you realize that your investment in tools to win the war for a very few are also tarnishing your brand and breaking the hearts of many?
Now, might be the best time to dismantle and rebuild before the demand shifts.
