Last updated on August 26, 2026
Last updated August 2026.
“How do I find more candidates?” usually has a hidden assumption: that the problem is reach. Sometimes it is. Just as often, the employer has enough clicks and is losing them at the application, or has enough applicants and is losing them to slow follow-up. So this list is ordered the way we’d actually work through it — cheapest and fastest first — with the data from our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark next to each item, so you can tell which one applies to you.
First: which candidates are you missing?
| Symptom | Real problem | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Few clicks on the ad | Reach | #4, #5, #6 |
| Clicks but few applications | The ad hides pay, or the form is long | #1, #3 |
| Applicants but few interviews | Slow follow-up | #2 |
| Interviews but no hires | Job and ad don’t match; pay below market | #1, #10 |
1. Put the pay in the ad (free, today)
The largest single driver of application completion across every industry in our data. Hourly rate, pay frequency, shift, location and the one hard requirement — in the first line. If you can’t state the pay because it’s below the local rate, that’s the finding.
2. Text every applicant within a minute (free to cheap, this week)
Many employers who “need more candidates” have a queue of applicants they never reached. An automated text confirming the application and asking for a call time, plus interview reminders, typically doubles the applicant-to-interview rate. Templates in how to use text recruiting; automation via text recruiting software.
3. Cut the application to under a minute (free, this week)
With in-app forms and two or three knockout questions, warehouse roles convert about 20% of clicks to applications, trades and technicians 15–16%, CDL 8%. A careers-site form with account creation converts a fraction of that from the same clicks. See our shorter-application guide.
4. Text your past applicants (free, today)
Everyone who applied, interviewed or no-showed in the last year is a warm list. One text — “we’re hiring [role] at [pay], interested?” — frequently fills a role before an ad runs.
5. Run social job ads in a radius around the site (paid, applicants within hours)
This is the reach fix. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok ads reach every worker within commuting distance whether or not they’re looking — the employed majority a job board never shows your role to. Across 891 frontline campaigns, the volume-weighted cost was $8.02 per applicant and the median campaign $13.88. Employment ads can’t target by age, gender or ZIP, so the creative (pay on screen, a real employee) does the qualifying. Details on our social media job advertising page; the Facebook specifics in our Facebook ads for recruiting guide.
6. Widen the radius or add a placement before adding budget
If a campaign is producing cheap applicants but not enough of them, the fix is usually more reach, not more spend per applicant: widen from 15 to 25 miles, turn on automatic placements (Reels, Stories), add TikTok for young-skewing roles. Adding budget to a saturated radius just raises frequency and fatigues the creative.
7. Refresh the creative, not the targeting
When cost per applicant climbs on a campaign that was working, the ad is tired. Three or four variants — a different employee on camera, a different first line — restart it. Video of 9–15 seconds beats still images for nearly every role we run.
8. Ask your employees (cheap, this month)
A referral program that pays at 90 days, with a link employees can text to friends the day a role opens, is the cheapest source of hires most employers have and usually the best-retained. See our employee referral program entry.
9. Fix the job description
The posting is often the problem: no pay, a laundry list of “requirements” that aren’t, and nothing about the shift or the site. Rewrite it around what the applicant screens on. Our job description templates for CNAs, CDL drivers, forklift operators, machinists, warehouse associates and more are built that way.
10. Check whether the job is the problem
If you’re re-hiring the same role every quarter, more candidates won’t fix it. Look at 90-day retention by supervisor and shift, compare pay to the local rate, and put the supervisor on camera in the ad so applicants know who they’re working for. The longer discussion is in why you can’t find employees and our employer branding guide.
Where to find candidates by role
Role determines everything from cost to the age of the applicant pool. CNC machinists and general labor cost under $5 per applicant on social; warehouse around $10; skilled trades around $14; CDL drivers around $27 (and 64.6% of them are 55+); therapy roles over $70. The role-by-role data is on our frontline, trucking, skilled trades, manufacturing and healthcare pages, and the channel comparison is in alternatives to job boards.
Frequently asked questions
How can I get more applicants for a job?
In order of cost: put the pay in the ad, text past applicants, cut the application to under a minute, then run social job ads in a radius around the workplace. Most employers who do the first three find they need less of the fourth than they expected.
Why am I not getting applicants?
Usually one of three things: the posting hides pay, the application is too long for a phone, or the only place the job is visible is a job board that active searchers aren’t visiting. Check click-to-apply rate first — if clicks are fine and applications aren’t, it’s the pay or the form.
Where can I find candidates besides Indeed?
Social job ads (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), your own past applicants, employee referrals, local training programs and trade associations. Social ads are the only one that produces applicants on demand at scale.
How much does it cost to get a candidate?
On social in 2026, $8.02 per applicant volume-weighted across 891 frontline campaigns, $13.88 at the median campaign — from under $5 for machinists to over $70 for therapists. Referrals and past-applicant texts cost close to nothing.
Adrienn Herendi
Adrienn is a Content Strategist at Boostpoint, leveraging her extensive experience in writing for the recruitment industry. With her passion for crafting unique, engaging and informative content, she is on a mission to build a community where Talent Acquisition teams thrive and succeed.
