How Can You Improve Your Candidate Experience?
In the realm of talent acquisition, attracting and retaining top performers hinges on one crucial element: candidate experience. It’s no longer enough to simply post a job and wait for resumes to roll in. Today’s candidates are savvy, research-driven, and have choices. They expect a seamless, respectful, and informative journey throughout the hiring process, from initial contact to the offer stage. This paradigm shift in hiring means that for companies to remain competitive, prioritizing the candidate experience has to be at the forefront of their recruitment strategy. In this article, we’ll discuss what candidate experience is and the importance of candidate experience, and we will offer actionable tips to improve it.
What is the Candidate Experience?
Candidate experience is the candidate’s journey through the recruitment process. From the job satisfaction you put out there through to successful candidates starting with your company. It includes all communication and meetings throughout the process and can influence brand perception.
A positive candidate experience not only enhances an employer’s brand but also increases the likelihood of securing high-quality candidates. Conversely, a poor candidate experience can directly harm your organization’s reputation and employer brand.
Why Does the Candidate Experience Matter?
Here’s why a positive experience matters:
Impacts brand perception: The candidate experience directly influences how candidates perceive your company, which can significantly impact your employer brand. Positive experiences make the organization seem like an attractive workplace, while negative ones can harm its reputation.
Retention and referrals: A positive experience, even for candidates who aren’t hired, increases the likelihood of them referring others and reapplying in the future. Prioritizing candidate experience often results in higher retention and a stronger workforce.
Competitive advantage: In today’s candidate-driven market, offering an exceptional experience sets you apart from competitors and helps attract top-tier talent. Don’t be like everyone else. Strive to be different. Having a competitive edge in this market is a must. This is especially crucial for startup hiring and new office setups where first impressions matter significantly.
Enhanced engagement: Candidates who have a positive experience are more likely to engage with your company’s content and follow your brand, even if they don’t get the job. Make such an impression that they will continue gaining experience to one day be able to circle back and land a job with your organization.
Tips to Improve Candidate Experience
Below are a few actionable tips on how to improve candidate experience:
Elevate Your Job Description
Write a clear and concise job description using simple language. Avoid jargon and a long list of requirements. Include the must-have skills and experience. Be clear on the responsibilities, qualifications, and expectations for the role. A well-written job description sets the right expectations and attracts suitable candidates.
Be Transparent About Your Selection Process
The right candidate experience begins with company transparency. Setting expectations about the whole hiring process is a must. Set up communication checkpoints to establish a point of contact for every phase of the hiring process during your initial conversation. In doing so, you are actually elevating your candidate experience by making your candidates feel valued.
Additionally, understanding all that is expected helps in erasing confusion and nervousness for them. While every organization mostly likely has a straightforward process, in the interest of delivering the best candidate experience, it is imperative to communicate your process with your candidates.
Improve Your Career Site
Never underestimate the power of a good company career site when it comes to elevating the candidate's experience. Career sites represent a company’s best recruiting tool, and often, they are the first element in delivering a top-rated candidate experience. Even with the rise of social media sites and third-party career sites, your company’s career site is probably your most used asset. Ways to ensure that your career site stands out include:
- Easy access to information
- FAQs section about the company, company culture, and the hiring process
- Organized links for your job opening, including International hiring and other specialized roles.
Simplify Your Application Process
Most companies have adopted long application processes. According to research, candidates take between 3-4 hours to fill in online forms. As a result, a large percentage of the candidates quit midway through the process. Always test your application process before making it available for candidates to utilize it. That way, you have a firsthand account of your application process as it relates to the candidate experience.
Streamline your application process by minimizing the number of steps, incorporating technology, and minimizing unnecessary delays. Ensure that your career portal and application forms are mobile-friendly for candidates who prefer to apply using smartphones. Additionally, provide clear instructions and guidance on how to complete the application, including any required documents or information.
Respect a Candidate’s Time
Any recruiter will tell you that “time kills all deals,” In fact, according to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, it takes top talent ten days to find another job. This information indicates that a company should make sure to incorporate a brief process if they are to stand any chance of landing these highly coveted individuals. Failure to do so will almost always result in a lost opportunity with your ideal candidate.
Timely Communication
If you are searching for ways to elevate your candidate experience, constant communication is vital. Candidates have invested time and effort in applying to your organization and feel frustrated when this effort is not reciprocated. Keep candidates informed throughout the process, even if it’s just to update them on delays. Don’t leave candidates waiting for days or weeks for a response. Provide timely feedback after an interview and advise them on the next steps. Get in touch with candidates as much as possible, even if you’re telling them that they have been unsuccessful.
Elevate Your Interviews
Most candidates perceive interviews as a two-lane street, and according to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, a negative interview process can jeopardize the interview process, while a positive experience can help convince a candidate about a role. Ensure that candidates know what to expect from your interviews and what they should do to prepare by providing clear instructions, including how long the interview will take, what the format will be, who they will be meeting, how to access your office, and (for in-person interviews) what the dress code is. Send a calendar invitation containing the information they need.
Simple ideas to elevate your interviews can include offering to take the candidate on a workplace tour, introducing them to other company employees, and even providing lunch. Or use video interviews to fully elevate candidate experience and save valuable time trimming talent acquisition costs.
Give Specific Feedback
Delivering feedback to applicants who didn’t make the cut helps them grow professionally. This also helps them develop a liking towards your organization, thus increasing the chances of them applying again in the future. Additionally, the interviewer should ask for feedback that can be used to enhance the overall candidate experience for future candidates.
By providing specific feedback about which skills they needed more experience in for that designated role, you’re helping the candidate understand why they were disqualified from the hiring process. In addition, you’re also giving them direction for considering future training or related experience-based opportunities that you may require in the future.
Maintain Your Relationship
Most people presume that a Candidate’s experience ends when you decide not to have them as part of your team. If you really felt they were a good candidate, but maybe not for your current role, maintaining a relationship is actually advised. Keeping close contact with top talent actually opens up potential for future recruiting opportunities that may arise. An easy and effective way of doing this is by connecting with them on LinkedIn. This will also allow you to keep updated on their future career moves and extended experience that the candidate gains.
Embrace Technology to Simplify the Process
There are many ways to use technology to improve candidate experience, and the options are increasing all the time. Tools like automated interview scheduling, video conferencing, virtual chatbots, and AI-driven assessments can simplify recruitment for both recruiters and candidates. Technology enables a smoother, more accessible experience, allowing candidates to engage with the process without friction.
Additional Tips:
Show appreciation: Thank candidates for their time and interest, even if they are not selected.
Be honest and transparent: Don't make promises you can't keep or mislead candidates about the role or company.
Celebrate diversity and inclusion: Actively seek and welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Promote employee advocacy: Encourage employees to share their positive experiences on social media and online platforms.
Conclusion
A positive candidate experience goes far beyond making candidates feel good- it’s about building a strong employer brand, attracting the right talent, and setting the foundation for a successful employee journey. By focusing on clear communication, streamlined processes, utilizing technology, and maintaining relationships, you can create a candidate experience that stands out, leaving even those who don’t get the job with a positive perception of your company. In the end, investing in your candidate experience pays dividends in both talent acquisition and retention.