How many applications can I expect?

Benchmarks, key factors and recruitment solutions to help you increase your chances of reaching qualified engineering, technical and IT candidates.

A complete solution for technical recruitment

Every recruitment need is different. A start-up with limited brand awareness, an industrial SME, an engineering consultancy, a tech scale-up or a well-known international company will not face the same challenges when trying to attract candidates.

That is why Engineering.jobs does not only offer job ads. Our goal is to provide a complete recruitment solution for companies looking to reach qualified profiles in engineering, technology and IT.

Depending on your needs, you can combine several recruitment channels: job ads, Premium visibility, CV database access, employer branding, sponsored articles, banners, targeted mailing campaigns and recruitment packs.

For a well-known company, a clear and attractive job ad may sometimes be enough to generate applications.

For a less-known company, a rare profile or a hard-to-fill technical role, it is often better to combine several actions: job ad visibility, proactive sourcing in the CV database and employer branding.

Our role is to help you choose the right combination, depending on the position, the market, your company’s visibility and your recruitment objectives.

How many applications can you expect?

This is one of the most common questions recruiters ask before publishing a job ad: how many applications will I receive?

For engineering, technical, IT and specialised roles, there is no standard answer. The number of applications can vary significantly from one vacancy to another.

Several factors influence the results:

• the reputation of the company;
• the strength of the employer brand;
• the industry;
• the company size;
• the job location;
• the clarity of the job title;
• the quality of the job description;
• the seniority level required;
• the rarity of the profile;
• salary and benefits transparency;
• remote work or hybrid work options;
• the timing of the publication.

For shortage profiles, the volume of applications is often limited. This is normal. Experienced engineers, specialised technicians and IT professionals are less available on the market and are often already employed.

At Engineering.jobs, we prefer to focus on relevant applications rather than raw application volume. One truly qualified application can sometimes be more valuable than many applications that do not match the required profile.

Indicative benchmarks

The figures below are indicative benchmarks for technical or specialised vacancies.

These figures are indicative benchmarks and are not a guarantee of results.

Every recruitment process depends on the market, the role, the location, the company and the quality of the job ad.

A Premium job ad increases the visibility of your vacancy and can improve your chances of receiving relevant applications. However, it does not guarantee a fixed number of applications.

Do not rely only on incoming applications

For technical shortage profiles, it is not always enough to wait for the right candidates to apply spontaneously.

That is why Engineering.jobs also offers access to its CV database. Recruiters can search directly for engineers, technical specialists and IT professionals, then contact candidates who match their criteria.

The Engineering.jobs CV database includes more than 170,000 profiles across Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

A job ad gives visibility to your vacancy. The CV database allows you to be proactive.

For difficult technical recruitments, combining both approaches is often the most effective strategy.

Strengthen your employer brand

The number of applications also depends on how candidates perceive your company.

A well-known company, located in a major city and offering a clear salary package will usually have a better chance of generating applications.

A start-up, SME, industrial company or employer located in a less visible area may need to invest more in visibility and employer branding.

Engineering.jobs offers several employer branding and visibility solutions:

• company page;
• sponsored article;
• homepage banner;
• search results banner;
• targeted mailing campaign;
• visibility packs.

These solutions help you present your company, projects, technologies, work environment and career opportunities to a specialised audience.

Our goal is not to promise an artificial volume of applications. Our goal is to help you increase your chances of reaching the right profiles with an approach adapted to your company and your recruitment needs.