Screening Applicants: Do You Disqualify Low-Effort Responses?
I recently posted a help wanted ad on Facebook (business page + shared to personal). It outlines our service model—handyman work focused on active real estate listings—and includes tiered roles with pay ranges.
At the end of the post, I asked interested candidates to message me with:
- Their experience in handyman/construction work
- The types of projects they’re comfortable handling
- Whether they have their own tools and transportation
I’ve received a decent number of responses, but most are extremely low-effort—things like “Hi” or “I’m a contractor looking for work.” Not a single person has followed the instructions in the post.
That’s raising a concern for me, since this business relies heavily on clear scopes, communication, and the ability to follow directions, especially when working on inspection-related repairs with tight timelines.
My question:
Am I being unreasonable to treat this as an initial filter and write these candidates off? Or is this just typical behavior at the top of the funnel that I should expect and manage differently?
Would appreciate how others are handling this. This is my first time hiring help.
