Clicks are not hires
Paid social and search can inflate top-of-funnel numbers fast. People teams need applications, quality and time-to-fill. Marketing and HR must share definitions or optimisation targets the wrong outcome.
Core KPIs
- Cost per application (CPA): media spend divided by valid submissions
- Visitor-to-application rate: exposes careers UX friction
- Cost per qualified applicant: closer to business value when screening exists
- Interview yield by source: long-term strategic north star
Tracking hygiene
Standardise UTM patterns, use thank-you pages or server events and deduplicate platform reporting. Mobile redirects and double firing distort CPA.
Optimisation loops
Test creatives and audiences first, then landing experiences. Falling CPA with rising rejections means you are buying cheaper—but wrong—traffic. Reflect HR must-haves explicitly in ads and job copy.
Conclusion
Treat recruiting like performance marketing: one definition of success, reliable events and weekly HR–marketing sync.
Explore our performance recruiting services or request a recruiting KPI workshop.
