AgCareers
April 17, 2025
Newsletter ArticleAgCareers focuses on Talent Sustainability for the entire agriculture and food community, continuously attracting, developing, and retaining talent with the skills for success. An essential segment of this focus is a commitment to building the talent pipeline by improving the job application process to help candidates find the perfect career and enable effective talent recruitment for employers.
AgCareers launched the Application Motivation Survey in late 2024 to assess the ease and user-friendliness of online applications, including what entices candidates to apply and what deters them from completing the process. Analyzing the survey results for the newly released report led to the identification of significant areas to help agriculture and food employers enhance job postings and the application process to drive more candidates.
“Many of the key findings in this research point clearly to pay transparency as an essential aspect of any job advertisement,” said Bonnie Johnson, Marketing & Communications Manager, AgCareers.
The analysis found that salary/benefits information was the most critical detail for employers to include in a job advertisement and the most encouraging to apply for candidates. Only 32% of candidates said they would apply to a job posting that did not include salary details. “This means that employers could lose nearly 70% of potential applicants if they do not list a salary on the job posting,” added Johnson.
Even after the application, the survey found that compensation was the top consideration of candidates when selecting their employer of choice and moving to another organization. Respondents said that “salary/compensation” was the most crucial factor influencing their selection in an employer and the top motivator for them to leave a job if offered another opportunity elsewhere.
In addition to competitive compensation, the trifecta of essential information in an employment advertisement includes the job description and location. Respondents said location was the top way they searched for jobs online, while details in the job description were most likely to motivate them to click “apply now” and select which jobs to apply for. An employer’s brand and reputation also played a significant role in candidates’ decisions when choosing which jobs to apply for; an employer’s brand reputation was important to 93% of candidates.
The full complimentary AgCareers Application Motivation Survey report is available for download, including extra details on the job search, employer branding, application process, and communication. Download the full report here: AgCareers Application Motivation Survey Final Report 2024-2025.
