Cast your mind back to a time before the internet, when applying for jobs took a little more thought and selection.

Fresh out of University in the early Nineties, I would religiously buy the local paper on a Thursday and sit with my highlighter in the vain hope something would be suitable for a marketing graduate with little experience.

I would also spend a small fortune on trade journals such as Marketing Week, with the rest of the mediocre wages from my Our Price job spent on 2^nd class stamps and stationery.

Add that to the wasted hours I spent pointlessly copying my CV out onto a plethora of job applications or the gazillion CVs I printed and posted,''I must admit I feel a little envious that applying for jobs these days doesn't require the leg work it once did.

With that though comes a whole host of issues for recruiters and employers alike.

And then it all changed

Before the advent of the World Wide Web, the likelihood was that when you printed a job ad in the press, the majority of replies coming through would be from serious applications all with at least a realistic chance of being in the running for the vacancy.

You would perhaps get a handful of time wasters, chancing their arm and applying for a position that would never be considered for.

But the introduction of one-click application buttons on job boards means that many candidates adopt a scattergun approach to applying for jobs.

Within minutes they can apply for dozens of jobs, throwing their CV at anything that looks vaguely suitable for what they are looking for.

Will this scattergun approach ever end from candidates?

Of course, you will never eradicate people applying for jobs that they are blatantly unsuitable for.' It is widely regarded that a lot of people draw a great sense of satisfaction from applying for many jobs, regardless of their suitability for the role.' It somehow bizarrely gives them a false sense of achievement.

Some don't even read the advert, they may just see a particular keyword, others are desperate and perhaps a little daft and just click apply to everything that is on offer.

Preventative Measures

Here at Response, we know that for every 200 job applications, we will probably end up with just 10 serious contenders.' So, how can you try and prevent candidates applying for jobs they have absolutely no chance in getting?' Here our top three tips to succeed:

'Preventative tip one: Improve your Job Adverts

Be concise and clear on what you are looking for.' This may hopefully attract the right type of candidate and dissuade those chancing their arm.

Cutting down the amount of applications will also save you valuable time. Think about it.' If you receive 150 applications to a position you have advertised and you then spend an average of just 2 minutes reviewing each application; that will be a total of 5 hours of time you need to dedicate to that one element of the process.

We have been working with some of the UK's leading companies such as Asda, the AA, Tesco and Greggs since 2003 to help them understand the massive difference writing a good job advert will have to the success of their recruitment campaign.

Preventative tip two: Post the vacancy on the most appropriate job board

In an era where job adverts are on a plethora of online job boards and social media portals, reaching the right candidates can be a difficult task.

So how can you start deciphering where your recruitment drive will get the best results?' From myriad social media platforms to a bewildering abundance of job boards, it is all too easy to take a misguided punt with your hiring strategy only to wonder why it has failed.

And as you may be recruiting for a number of varied departments from sales to logistics, distribution to marketing, how can you ensure that you posting your job advert on the media which will deliver the best results for each particular sector?

At Response, we understand that to attract the top talent, your business needs to be found through this extremely saturated media environment.

We also understand that there is a direct correlation between finding and recruiting the best available candidates and the reach of your recruitment campaign.

To achieve the optimum reach with your campaign, it is vital that you understand what advertising methods will help you reach, attract, access and recruit the right candidate in each sector.

Consider whether the staff in your organisation possess the right skills available to achieve this effectively, or whether you need to consider outsourcing your recruitment needs to an expert such as Response.

Preventative tip three: Don't be nervous, write content that attracts the best

A successful recruitment campaign shouldn't always be measured on receiving 1,000 job applications to a job advert.

If you start writing web-optimised job adverts that use the vernacular used by your target sector, then you should see the quality of the applicants improve and the number of applications reduce.

We also scour social media and CV databases to try and unearth those hidden candidates who could be perfect for the vacancy, but just don't know it.

If you would like to see why Response are the UK's leading online recruitment providers, then why not get in contact here or give one of our advisers a call on 0121 362 2305.