Long or Short Job Descriptions and Titles ? Click-to-applies are up to five times higher for job descriptions between 2,000 to 10,000 characters

We at Appcast.io recently tracked nearly 400,000 job seekers looking at job advertisements across various platforms and the 30,051 applications that resulted from those views. The data supports a “Goldilocks” logic when it comes to optimizing the ROI of job descriptions.

• Too-short job descriptions of 1,000 to 2,000 characters (170-250 words) returned a click-to-apply of just 6.7 percent. For job descriptions containing less than 1,000 characters, click-to-apply dropped to 3.0 percent.
• Too-long job descriptions over 10,000 characters (around 2,000 words) achieved a similar click-to-apply of 6.7 percent.
• Click-to-applies are up to five times higher for job descriptions between 2,000 to 10,000 characters. For descriptions between 4,000 and 5,000 characters, click-to-apply spikes at just under 15 percent.

Too-short descriptions do not influence candidates who need sufficient context in order to make an application decision. Too-long job descriptions may suggest a stifling working environment and demand too much effort from candidates who already are investing a great deal of time in their job search. The “just right” description is detailed, without being too long, as the bell-curve shows.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  Long Job Descriptions and Titles Can Hurt You. And So Can Short Ones – ERE.net.