Get Ahead of the Competition by Improving the Candidate Experience

Written by: Lauren Lloyd

A candidate’s experience impacts many of our recruiting outcomes. In today’s tight market, it’s more important than ever to deliver first-class service.

Talent acquisition professionals help bring new opportunities to candidates’ lives. However, those in the field can feel like they’re spinning their wheels — especially in today’s labor market. The enormous number of open positions and lack of candidates can make it feel like everyone is fishing in the same pond, and you’ve arrived late.

As of July, unemployment is down 3.5 percent. A low unemployment rate means there are more jobs available than workers to fill those jobs. A 2022 Gartner survey anticipates that annual employee turnover will likely jump by nearly 20 percent from pre-pandemic totals. That means candidates have more leverage in their job search and throughout the entire recruitment process. Setting a foundation for an excellent candidate experience is the key to being successful and keeping your candidate interested.

A recent article by virtual events leader Brazen describes several methods for attracting and retaining talent during this highly competitive labor market.

Streamline the Application Process

Review the touchpoints of the candidate journey and see what needs to be improved. Start by applying for your own jobs to find pain points for candidates. Is it taking too long for the candidate to apply? Maybe this process can be shortened.

Many options on job posting sites allow employers to shorten the candidate application experience. Reduce the time required by eliminating redundancies and unnecessary inputs. Simplify information gathering to help the candidate get their resume and application submitted promptly. Candidates will lose interest if it takes too long for them. According to an article from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), the candidate drop-off rate for people who click “Apply” but never complete an application is a whopping 92 percent. If a candidate must log in, forget about it — they’re gone.

Communicate About the Application Status

People value transparency, especially after an interview. They expect to hear back on their progress. Not to mention, our society may have a slight obsession with instant gratification. A recruiter contacting a candidate may not be as exciting as an Amazon package delivery notification but it can ease a potential employee’s anxiety. Consider automating parts of your communication process. Try by creating a task in your applicant tracking system or by creating a calendar reminder. Candidates don’t expect a long conversation when you call, email or text them. Potential employees simply want to know they are still in consideration.

Humanize the Candidate Experience

Stewarding candidates through the process, and even after, is a great wat to humanize the candidate experience. Candidates love having an easy way to communicate with recruiters. Never be afraid to share contact information with a prospect or connect with them on LinkedIn. There’s no reason to say adios a great candidate because one position didn’t work out. Let them know you’d love to stay in touch for future opportunities. They always appreciate the connection and it never leaves a conversation in a negative tone.

Measure Results and Ask for Feedback ?

For a recruiter, the candidate is the customer. Surveys are an excellent way for organizations to see how satisfied customers are.

A candidate survey can be as simple as asking five to six questions. It’s best to keep it short. These surveys can offer organization a glimpse of how candidates feel about their experience, where things can be improved and what is working. Here are a few examples of survey questions:

• How easy was it to apply for the position?
• Were the application instructions simple to follow?
• Did the job description leave important questions unanswered?
• How would you rate our internal recruiting process?
• What was the recruiter response rate?
• Did your interview improve your perspective of the company or degrade it?

Measuring feedback with a rating from one to five and averaging the responses will give you an idea of where you stack up. if you’re doing a great job, you’ll see that in the scores — so keep it up!

It’s Not Over Until They Start

Don’t give up on a prospect just because they signed an offer. The candidate's experience isn’t over until they’ve started. Although rare, candidates can still decide not to start despite you doing everything right. There could be several reasons why this happens. A current employer could decide to counteroffer or the candidate decides to go with a company that was better suited for them. Anything can happen in those two weeks, or longer. So, it’s best to continue to engage.

Partner with the hiring manager and HR and see if there’s a way to complete some onboarding paperwork. If a candidate is moving to start a new position, check in on them and see how their move is going. This is the fun part. The candidate should be excited about their new opportunity, so checking in should feel natural. If there are any concerns, you can address them right away.

What could your business do today to improve the candidate experience? At the end of the day, people won’t always remember what you said to them, but they will remember how you made them feel.

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