Be more specific about the work, state the pay range and the non-negotiables in the first paragraph, and add two or three knockout questions to the application. Then check where your volume comes from: a single aggregator often supplies most of the noise. Precision at the top of the funnel beats heavier screening at the bottom.
Usually because the advert is vague enough to look like a match to almost anyone. Titles that mean different things at different companies, a duty list that could describe five jobs, no salary information and no location rules produce exactly that outcome. One-click apply features on large aggregators amplify it, since applying costs the candidate nothing and rewards volume. None of this is candidate misbehaviour. It is a design consequence. The remedy is to give people enough information to disqualify themselves, which most will do willingly. Publish the range, the location policy, the level, and the two things the person absolutely must have done before. Vague adverts move the filtering work to your recruiters, where it costs the most.
Lead with the work, not the company boilerplate. Describe what the person will do in their first quarter in concrete terms, then list the small number of genuine requirements and mark everything else as optional. Say the salary range and the working arrangement plainly. Name the level, since senior and mid mean different things across companies and candidates cannot guess yours. Keep the requirements short: long lists attract people who ignore lists and deter the careful applicants you want. Writing a sharper [job description](/job-descriptions) is the highest-leverage change available, because it filters before anyone touches your inbox and it improves the quality of the people who do apply. Read the advert back as a candidate would and cut anything that does not help someone decide whether to apply.
They work when they cover facts, not judgement. Two or three questions about work authorisation for the location, availability, or a specific verifiable requirement will remove a large share of clearly unsuitable applications at almost no cost to genuine candidates. Keep them binary or short-answer, and never use them as a hidden test. Long questionnaires do the opposite: they lose strong applicants who have alternatives and they keep the persistent. Rules on what you may ask differ by country, so confirm locally before adding anything that touches personal circumstances. Pair light knockouts with [resume screening software](/resume-screening-software) to rank the remainder, and always review rather than auto-reject on a single signal.
Measure applications and hires by source rather than by volume alone, then act on the ratio. It is common to find one aggregator supplying most of the applications and almost none of the interviews, while a niche board or your referral programme supplies few applications and several hires. Turn down the first, fund the second. Your own careers site usually converts best because those people arrived deliberately, which is a reason to invest in a proper [careers page](/careers-page-builder) rather than relying on syndication. Look at cost per application against cost per hire before cutting anything, since a channel that delivers volume cheaply can still be the most expensive per hire.
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