In a candidate-driven market, creating a positive candidate experience becomes crucial for attracting and securing top talent. A great candidate experience can give your organization a competitive advantage by engaging job seekers and influencing their decision to choose your job offer over others.
Candidate experience is key for the success of your hiring process
In the digital age, creating a successful, engaging, and meaningful candidate experience requires leveraging technology while maintaining a personal touch.
Candidate experience strategies need to look forward and backwards; be both reflective of good and bad practice and aware of what’s coming next; and be able to take forward only the strategies and processes that connect with modern job seekers.
Here are our ideas on how to create the best candidate experience;
Feedback – it matters!
Feedback is a two-way street – it should be leveraged throughout the hiring process, especially around the interview period, and should be given freely by both employer and candidate.
The reasons are simple but incredibly effective in building a culture of respect, care and attention.
● The cost of providing feedback is low – the time it takes to write an email or send a LinkedIn message to a candidate breaking down their application is minimal, but the results – respect and context-led information on a hiring process – are immeasurable.
● Feedback can help companies improve their hiring process – by understanding what went well and what could be improved during a hiring process.
● Feedback builds relationships – even if a candidate is not selected, they may be interested in working for the company in the future because they were given good advice on improving their applications, and had a chance to build a relationship with an employer.
Simplify the hiring where possible, but never compromise on detail where it matters.
Quality doesn’t mean complexity. Take a leaf out of the school of UX and simplify the hiring process where efficiency is key. But when it matters, be detailed and spare no expense in getting as much information to a candidate as possible.
● Streamline hiring processes – only ask for essential information, avoid requiring candidates to create an account or complete multiple steps, and be fast with replying and updating candidates on their application standing.
● Reduce barriers to application – allow candidates to apply directly on social media or job boards, and avoid redirection to third-party sites or via multiple holding pages.
● Be context-led and flexible – allow candidates to submit their resumes in a variety of formats – every candidate is different, has different digital skills and has different access to application formats, so be open to candidates, don’t turn them away at the first stage!
Hold better interviews!
Modern candidates want what every candidate wants – to be treated with respect, individuality and honesty
But a long, delayed, or impersonal hiring process can lead to dissatisfied candidates and decreased offer acceptance rates – it can lead to candidates losing interest in the position, and even push them into accepting another offer. In high-demand sectors like tech, this is kryptonite to hiring managers.
● Candidates get bored – being ignored post-interview is a no-no. Candidates will feel forgotten or undervalued. You will lose applicants if word gets out that you’re known for slacking on interview feedback.
● Candidates will accept other offers – If a candidate has multiple offers on the table, they may be more likely to accept an offer from a company that has a quicker, more efficient, or simply more empathetic hiring process.
● Set interview plans and expectations – set yourself a series of non-negotiables when it comes to interview processes, feedback turnaround, what you need from a candidate, and what your candidate can expect during an interview.
● Share interviewer details with your candidate – who is your candidate meeting? What role do they have in your business? Give your candidate a chance to build an idea of the person interviewing them so they can ask the right questions and set the right expectations.
Personalise, and contextualise your job descriptions.
Create a compelling case for joining your company, don’t just write down a list of responsibilities and expect your candidate to feel inspired!
● Use simple, direct language – candidates don’t want to have to decipher a job description that’s full of jargon and buzzwords. Use clear and concise language that’s easy to understand.
● Break it down into sections – Don’t make your job description one long, unbroken block of text. Break it down into smaller sections, with clear headings and subheadings. This will make it easier for candidates to scan and find the information they’re looking for.
● Paint a picture – don’t just list the responsibilities of your advertised job. Give candidates a sense of what it would be like to work in the role. What are the day-to-day tasks? Who would they be working with? What are the challenges and opportunities? What’s the work culture? What do you gain from working there?
● Be clear about your working expectations – What are you looking for in a candidate? What skills and experience are required? What are the key performance indicators for the role? By being clear about your expectations, you’ll save both you and the candidate time.
Remember, a positive candidate experience not only helps you attract and secure top talent but also contributes to your employer brand reputation.
Candidates who have a positive experience are more likely to recommend your organization to others, even if they don’t ultimately join your company.
At Brookwood we help our clients find better and more diverse talent whilst ensuring we support our candidates every step of the way, providing complete transparency throughout the recruitment process.
If you are looking to secure the best talent why not drop us a message and talk to one of our team at info@brookwoodrec.com, and find out how we can assist with your talent search.
https://www.ibm.com/topics/digital-transformation
https://hbr.org/2023/03/using-technology-to-create-a-better-customer-experience
https://resources.workable.com/tutorial/what-candidate-experience-looks-like-in-2023