What contributes to a positive candidate experience?
There are many companies which still think that the interaction with the candidates who don't get hired finally, carry much of a weight. But, the fact is that the candidates who interact with the company as job seekers are much likely to share their experiences and share the company’s practices with other prospective candidates. So, it's absolutely important to create a unique experience for the candidate in order to market the company to the future potential employees, even if the candidate doesn't get the job at the end.
If an organization wants to get the best of the talent, they need to invest in building a positive experience for the candidates. Lets’ have a look at some of the ways by which a business can generate a very positive candidate experience.
1. Understand clearly and empathize with the candidate’s entire journey
In reality, the candidate experience is a journey which is a sum of all the experiences which they go through from the beginning till the end of the hiring process. So, you can't expect that a candidate will have a good experience just because you addressed only one step very well out of the entire journey which has many steps. You need to put yourself in the shoes of all your candidates right from the beginning till the end and then see how you feel.
2. Have transparency and regular communication
All the candidates look for transparency and regular communication throughout the entire process. So, you have to set clear expectations with them on how and when you will communicate, what the entire process will be and how long it may take. Further, you need to make sure to follow through and be on time for the calls or the meetings and be transparent about a candidate's progress in the run. It’s quite simple and easy to follow, but there are not many hiring teams and recruiters who are actually doing it.
3. Demonstrate the company’s values clearly
If your company values innovation, then you have to make sure that your recruiting technology reflects that innovation. If your company values trust, then make sure that your communication with candidates are transparent. You need to remember that a successful recruiting process attracts the best talent and builds excitement for the candidates about how good it would be working for the company. It gives the candidates a glimpse of their future work environment, so you need to stick to your good values.
4. Value the candidates and be supportive
You need to always remember that every person you interview, they are also interviewing you equally. So, it's absolutely important for the candidate to walk away from the interview feeling valued, supported and heard. As that impression and experience will stay with them forever and they will recommend others to the company, so you need to pay great value to them and be supportive during the entire process.
5. Use the best recruiting technologies
There are good recruiting technologies which you can use in order to automate the notifications to let candidates know if they have been shortlisted for the next round at regular intervals, even if it's letting them know they were not a perfect fit. You need to send personal notes and guide the candidates who reach out to you through email or the social media and for that they will remember you forever.
6. Treat them as your employee
There are several benefits of treating a candidate in the same way as you would treat an employee of yours. You usually provide feedback and suggestions to the employees for their improvement, so you need to do the same during the interview process too. Irrespective of whether you hire them or not, your feedback and suggestions provide candidates the insight into working at the company, professional development and the knowledge which they can use in their future interviews.
7. Personalize the interactions
As the recruiting efforts contribute to support marketing the company as a brand ambassador, each interaction with prospective candidates offer an opportunity to leave a long lasting positive impression. So, the recruiting teams have to curate each exchange with a personalized attention in their conversations and messaging. By doing so you will win the candidates over as advocates, even if they might not get the job.
8. Value their time
Taking the time out to let the applicants know their status is the very basic and the first step a company can take in order to build open communication and goodwill with the candidates. One of the biggest complaints the applicants have is that the employers are disrespectful of their time they spent applying, and don't even bother to respond to the follow-ups or even let them know if the position has been filled or what is the status.
9. Never keep them in dark
It is recommended that the employers should treat the entire process of hiring as a fact finding mission for both the parties with a lot of attention to given to frequent and transparent communications. You shouldn't keep your candidates in the dark. It has been found that communicating regularly at intervals to the talent is not only appreciated, but also leads to reciprocation on the candidate’s part and more data points for the hiring team.
SUMMARY:
You need to always keep in mind that a candidate experience affects more than just the applicants. It plays a quite significant role in you’re the recruiting results and the business as a whole. If you offer a poor candidate experience, it will impact you and your organization very badly. However, if you evaluate your candidate experience from time to time and find the suitable ways to strengthen it, some of which we have mentioned here, you will reap the various benefits in the long run which will come along with providing a positive candidate experience.
1. Understand clearly and empathize with the candidate’s entire journey
In reality, the candidate experience is a journey which is a sum of all the experiences which they go through from the beginning till the end of the hiring process. So, you can't expect that a candidate will have a good experience just because you addressed only one step very well out of the entire journey which has many steps. You need to put yourself in the shoes of all your candidates right from the beginning till the end and then see how you feel.
2. Have transparency and regular communication
All the candidates look for transparency and regular communication throughout the entire process. So, you have to set clear expectations with them on how and when you will communicate, what the entire process will be and how long it may take. Further, you need to make sure to follow through and be on time for the calls or the meetings and be transparent about a candidate's progress in the run. It’s quite simple and easy to follow, but there are not many hiring teams and recruiters who are actually doing it.
3. Demonstrate the company’s values clearly
If your company values innovation, then you have to make sure that your recruiting technology reflects that innovation. If your company values trust, then make sure that your communication with candidates are transparent. You need to remember that a successful recruiting process attracts the best talent and builds excitement for the candidates about how good it would be working for the company. It gives the candidates a glimpse of their future work environment, so you need to stick to your good values.
4. Value the candidates and be supportive
You need to always remember that every person you interview, they are also interviewing you equally. So, it's absolutely important for the candidate to walk away from the interview feeling valued, supported and heard. As that impression and experience will stay with them forever and they will recommend others to the company, so you need to pay great value to them and be supportive during the entire process.
5. Use the best recruiting technologies
There are good recruiting technologies which you can use in order to automate the notifications to let candidates know if they have been shortlisted for the next round at regular intervals, even if it's letting them know they were not a perfect fit. You need to send personal notes and guide the candidates who reach out to you through email or the social media and for that they will remember you forever.
6. Treat them as your employee
There are several benefits of treating a candidate in the same way as you would treat an employee of yours. You usually provide feedback and suggestions to the employees for their improvement, so you need to do the same during the interview process too. Irrespective of whether you hire them or not, your feedback and suggestions provide candidates the insight into working at the company, professional development and the knowledge which they can use in their future interviews.
7. Personalize the interactions
As the recruiting efforts contribute to support marketing the company as a brand ambassador, each interaction with prospective candidates offer an opportunity to leave a long lasting positive impression. So, the recruiting teams have to curate each exchange with a personalized attention in their conversations and messaging. By doing so you will win the candidates over as advocates, even if they might not get the job.
8. Value their time
Taking the time out to let the applicants know their status is the very basic and the first step a company can take in order to build open communication and goodwill with the candidates. One of the biggest complaints the applicants have is that the employers are disrespectful of their time they spent applying, and don't even bother to respond to the follow-ups or even let them know if the position has been filled or what is the status.
9. Never keep them in dark
It is recommended that the employers should treat the entire process of hiring as a fact finding mission for both the parties with a lot of attention to given to frequent and transparent communications. You shouldn't keep your candidates in the dark. It has been found that communicating regularly at intervals to the talent is not only appreciated, but also leads to reciprocation on the candidate’s part and more data points for the hiring team.
SUMMARY:
You need to always keep in mind that a candidate experience affects more than just the applicants. It plays a quite significant role in you’re the recruiting results and the business as a whole. If you offer a poor candidate experience, it will impact you and your organization very badly. However, if you evaluate your candidate experience from time to time and find the suitable ways to strengthen it, some of which we have mentioned here, you will reap the various benefits in the long run which will come along with providing a positive candidate experience.
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