Nick Misa

The commute to work is a huge factor in recruiting and considering candidates. Out of the 1,000’s of job ads we’ve looked at, <1% include this information.

Long commute times result in more stress, late attendance and missed meals. All of these things contribute to low job satisfaction (an employer’s nightmare).

An Example of Commute Information on Job Ads

The commute widget is near the bottom of this job description and powered by Google. It gives the candidate directions and commute time for 4 choices of travel (walk, bicycle, car, transit).

Wendy’s

Wendy's Job Ad with Commute

 

6 Reasons to Include Commute Time on Job Ads

  1. Commute time was ranked 4th (43%) in top factors employees and job seekers looked for in job ads. (Source)
  2. A convenient, easy commute ranked 2nd (47%) in what would make Americans more inclined to submit a job application. (Source)
  3. 85% of U.S. professionals said they would take pay cuts for shorter commutes. (Source)
  4. Candidates are more qualified at the top of the funnel.
  5. Candidates who feel commute is too long will not apply, saving you and the candidate a lot of time.
  6. If a candidate sees a convenient commute time (even before reading through the job description):
    • You have a better chance of converting the apply
    • Candidates have a better chance of remembering YOUR job ad
    • Candidates don’t have to leave the page to see commute information.

Adding Directions with Commute Time to Your Job Ads

To add a recruiting widget with directions and commute time like Wendy’s does takes custom dev work.

Here are some items to leverage and help get you in the right direction:

  • Google Maps Javascript API — This API integrates the ‘Directions Service’ that is the ‘workhorse’ of producing the directions.
  • Displaying Text Directions With setPanel() within Maps Javascript — Select a new start and end point to see the directions render on the map and inside the directions panel to the right of the map.
    • Your endpoint will be set to the office or job location.
    • The candidate puts in their address as the start point.
  • Distance Matrix Service —  Fetches the distance between a set of locations.

Why I Wrote This

Ongig’s mission is to give you the best job descriptions in the world. And Google Commute is a great idea to help that. If you want Google Commute, or any other cool recruiting widgets, added to your job pages, just request a demo with us and we’ll show you how.

by in Job Ads