The job market is changing. The employers are no longer the ones who choose which candidate they want to have on board. The opposite is the case: Candidates decide which company they would most like to work for. But how can we as thyssenkrupp score in these times? One example is adapted application processes. The #topteam consisting of Arndt Hoppe (tkIM), Jürgen Jost (tkIM), Julian Ertmer (tkIM), Luisa Rettig (tkMX), Ulf Esser (tkS) and Jan Rohde (tkAG) has developed and introduced such a process.

How did you achieve this together?

“At the moment there are jobs at thyssenkrupp that are very difficult for us to recruit for. That's a problem. We asked ourselves the question: What can we do to get more people applying for these jobs again? Our answer: an alternative and mobile-optimized application process – completely without cover letters and resumes. Instead, we ask applicants two to three targeted questions, depending on the advertised position. One question could be, for example, "What school-leaving qualification are you aiming for or have you already achieved?". Or the person is asked to choose the three skills that best suit him or her from nine. Among them: resilience and the ability to work in a team.

The good thing is that the process remains as streamlined as ever for our recruiting and training teams. This is because all data continues to end up in the tried-and-tested ATS applicant management system. For distribution, by the way, we use advertisements on various social media platforms. This means that the alternative application process has no impact on applications that reach us via jobs.thyssenkrupp.com.

We have completed the first pilot phase and are now fine-tuning certain points. Our next target: a "homepage" that clearly summarizes selected information on the respective job and is displayed to interested applicants before the actual questions. We also want to develop a configuration page that will make it easier to process questions about individual tenders in the future.”

How did you achieve this together?

“We regularly exchanged ideas and gave each other open and constructive feedback. That combined with the high level of commitment of the individual team members – that was our recipe for success. We would particularly like to highlight the work of our colleagues from tkIM: You implemented the project quickly and really awesome!”

What does your performance mean for thyssenkrupp?

“The labor market is changing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain good employees. Accordingly, such projects are imperative: Our processes must be lean as well as comprehensible and attractive to interested candidates, so that we continue to receive enough suitable applications in response to our job postings in the future. This is the only way we can attract good people. And only with good people can we together as #GENERATIONTK position thyssenkrupp for the future.”

Congratulations to the #topteam for this great achievement!

Are you also part of a #topteam or do you know people who are? Then send us an email. We look forward to celebrating your successes together!