Job application statistics on job boards

Job application statistics are becoming an increasingly popular statistic quoted by job boards. But what are they and why are they important for recruiters?

What are job application statistics?

Job applications statistics simply count the number of applications made by candidates on a recruitment website. The application method or process measured usually takes the form of a person applying to a job by email, clicking a button that takes a candidate to an application form on an employer’s or recruitment agency’s own website, or the submission of a CV via the job board’s own application driver.

Usually the job application figure quoted is the monthly total of all applications made on the site or, less often, the average number of applications per job.

Why are job application statistics important?

Again this statistic can give an indication of how active the users on the site are and how many applicants you may get for your job. The more applications, the logic goes, the more chance you have of filling your job. However, like unique users, registered users and email subscribers, it’s not simply about the biggest number.

Firstly, the use of this statistic by job boards is far from consistent. Some job boards say that they have an average of 14 applications per job; others say that they have a total of 3,000 applications per day; while still others say that they have 1.5 million applications per month. It can be hard to compare one site against another when using such differing statistics.

Secondly, the size of the number doesn’t always mean the job board is better. Too many applicants can be a annoyance, especially if most of them are irrelevant.

Thirdly, application rates are different for different sites and different jobs. For example, you might expect many applications for a secretarial job in London; but for a forensic accountant with 10 years’ tax experience in Bristol you would expect far fewer. The reason for this is that there are simply fewer forensic accountants with ten years’ tax experience in Bristol than secretaries in London. Indeed, specialist and niche job boards make a virtue of the fact that their sites will give you fewer applicants than generalist job boards but that their applicants will be more relevant.

So, once more, while job applications can give an indication of the popularity of a job board it pays to be aware that the job application statistic means little in and of itself and must be viewed in context of the job, the sector and the job board.

Next step? Read the next article in the series

1. Unique users and visits on job boards
2. Registered users on job boards
3. Job application statistics on job boards
4. NEXT>> Email subscribers on job boards
5. CV database statistics on job boards
6. Page impressions and hits
7. Audited statistics on job boards
8. Using statistics to choose a job board