SEEK Application Volume: What Low, Medium and High Mean

What Low, Medium and High application volume mean on SEEK

SEEK application volume is a short line in a job's details: "Low application volume", "Medium application volume" or "High application volume". On a desktop search page it sits in the job you have open, near the posted date, not on the result cards. Not every job has one, and none comes with a number or a cut-off.

The best clue to what the levels mean comes from SEEK's advice to employers. SEEK says it usually gives a job ad a rating of "low", "normal" or "high", "based on a comparison to other similar ads on site and how many applications were started or completed". Its example: a customer service role in Melbourne is measured against "other customer service roles in Melbourne in recent times".

That rating is written for employers, says "normal" where you see "Medium", and does not mention the label you see. If the label works the same way:

• A level compares the job with similar jobs. High on a niche role can be fewer applications than Medium on a popular one.
• It says how busy the ad is, not how many applicants fit it. A High pile can be full of people who miss the must-haves.
• Applications build up while an ad is open, so a level you saw days ago may have moved.

Because the line only shows in the job you have open, comparing a page of results means clicking through every job. HideJobs' Deep Scanner does that for you on SEEK Australia: it reads the level for each job on the page that shows one and puts a Low, Medium or High badge on its card.

Medium application volume: the middle, where your fit decides

If Medium follows the employer rating, it is the "normal" band: about as many applications as similar ads get. That makes it the least informative of the three levels, and on its own it gives you no reason to rush or to skip.

• Decide on fit, as you would for a job with no label. If you meet the must-haves and want the job, apply.
• Look at the posted date. A Medium on a job posted a few hours ago may mean interest arrived quickly, and the level may climb. A Medium on a job that has been up for weeks has had weeks to collect applications.

Should you apply to a job with High application volume?

Yes, if you meet the must-haves. On an ad with screening questions, a big pile matters less than it sounds, because of how SEEK helps employers sort it. SEEK tells employers: "If you include screening questions when writing your job ad, we'll show you the candidates who best match what you're looking for first so that you don't have to wade through unsuitable applications." Employers can also filter applicants "to those that meet your 'must-have' question requirements".

So on an ad with screening questions, a strong match is shown nearer the top, and a missing must-have can drop you from the list if the employer filters on it. Decide by the must-haves:

• Apply when you meet every must-have and can honestly answer yes to the screening questions.
• Apply with a tailored resume when you meet most requirements, including the ones at the top of the list. In research for SEEK, "almost three-quarters (71%)" of employers said they would still consider hiring someone who did not meet the minimum requirements.
• Skip when you miss a true must-have, such as a licence, a clearance or a required qualification. If a screening question asks about it, the employer can filter you out.

Must-haves often sit deep in the description. HideJobs' Deep Scanner reads every full description on the results page in the same scan that reads application volume. Add words like "clearance" or "licen" to its keyword list (it matches parts of words, so this catches licence, license and licensed). It flags any mention, including "no licence required", and Hide flagged hides every flagged job. Before you use it, check the matched jobs listed in the panel: open any you are unsure of, and your words are highlighted in the job's details. Once you pass on a job, click Mark as Dismissed on its card so it stays out of your next searches while the Dismissed filter is on. For the bigger trade-off between quality and quantity, see how many jobs to apply for.

Low application volume: check the date and the salary first

Low is good news only when you also fit the job, because the employer still screens against the same requirements. Three things on the ad itself help explain a Low:

• The posted date: on a job posted a few hours ago, Low may only mean few people have seen it yet.
• The salary: SEEK says "there's roughly a 40 per cent increase in the number of applications when a job ad shows a salary versus when it doesn't show a salary". A Low on an ad with no salary may partly reflect that, so ask about pay early if you apply.
• The job title: SEEK tells employers that ads with a clear job title tend to perform better, because with a title like "Director of First Impressions" for a receptionist, people searching are "not necessarily going to know what it is or if it's a relevant role for them". A Low on an oddly titled ad may just mean people did not recognise the job.

After a HideJobs Deep Scanner scan, the Low badge sits on the job's card, where the title, the posted date and any salary also show, so you can check all three for every job on the page without clicking into each one.

When few applicants fit, a near miss can still get a look. A career coach quoted in SEEK's career advice says that when no applications quite fit, the employer or recruiter will "need to reassess and realise they are aiming too high" and start to look at those who come close. If you are close on a Low ad, say plainly how you would cover the gap.

How to get noticed on a busy SEEK ad

On a High or Medium ad, the goal is to be easy to match. SEEK's employer tools and career advice show where to put the work:

• Answer every screening question truthfully and in full. A SEEK ad can have up to eight.
• Use the ad's wording for skills you really have, so an employer's search finds them. In SEEK's candidate management platform, an employer can "search within the document for a specific skill that's required for the role."
• Back up skills with numbers. An expert quoted in SEEK's career advice on standing out suggests figures such as a sales increase or money saved.
• Your SEEK profile counts too. The same page says employers often look at online profiles, and that credentials verified with SEEK Pass "can also help employers efficiently identify you as a suitable candidate".

If you came from LinkedIn, the closest thing there is the "Over 100 applicants" line. Is it worth applying to jobs with over 100 applicants covers the same decision with a number attached.

See the application volume of a whole results page at once

HideJobs reads application volume for the whole results page. It works on SEEK Australia search pages (seek.com.au and au.seek.com) in a desktop browser, from the browser's side panel.

1. Run your search on SEEK, open the HideJobs side panel, and click Go Scan on the Deep Scanner row.
2. Keep Application Volume ticked and click Scan. HideJobs opens each job on the page in turn and reads its label.
3. Open Hide jobs and pick the level to set aside, for example Hide High when you want to work through quieter ads first. Each option shows how many jobs on the page have that level. Unhide all brings them back.

Limits to know:

• A scan covers one results page at a time (SEEK shows about 20 to 30 jobs), much faster than opening each job yourself. The open job changes as it works, and you can stop it with Cancel.
• Jobs where SEEK shows no label get no badge, and hiding a level never hides them.
• A reading older than 2 days is shown faded with a hint to rescan.
• The job you have open stays visible, even if its level is the one you hid.

The keyword part of the same scan can also hide not flagged jobs, to keep only the ones that mention your words. It uses its own keyword list, separate from the Keywords filter, which reads only the card.

Other HideJobs filters on SEEK keep the rest of the page clean:

• Applied and Dismissed. Mark as Applied and Mark as Dismissed buttons on each card; marked jobs are hidden while the filter is on. Mark as Applied also asks "Add to Job Tracker?" so you can save the job to your HideJobs job tracker. Click Mark as Applied on each job you apply to.
• Private Advertiser. Hides jobs whose company name shows exactly "Private Advertiser".
• Companies. Click the eye icon beside a company name to hide all its jobs. Matching is by exact company name.