Your Candidate Experience Cost You A Customer

My first memories of [Your Company] probably go back to my childhood. [Your Company] was always around our house. I suppose my parents were really the customers then, but the seed was planted for lifelong fandom of [Your Company] at an early age.

As I got older, I guess the torch was passed. I was now the one paying for [Your Company]. It’s funny how brand loyalty can be passed down from your parents, but to me [Your Company] was always a known thing. A [brand/product] I trusted.

Imagine my surprise when I decided to look for a new job and found that [Your Company] was hiring [my career] roles! I was so excited. Having grown up a loyal [Your Company] customer, the idea of working there was something I never considered.

I read the job description and it looked like my resume. All of the requirements and experience aligned so I updated my resume and cover letter, and clicked “apply” with confidence. I could barely contain my excitement at the idea of working at [Your Company], a [brand/product] I grew up with. How cool will it be to tell my family? I can’t wait to interview and learn more about what it’s like to work there.

It’s been two weeks and I haven’t heard back from my [Your Company] application. That’s okay, I know [Your Company] is a great [brand/product] and I imagine they have a lot of applicants. I applied early so maybe I have to wait until the position closes to hear? I’m not really sure. I got an email from their online application saying my resume was received, but it didn’t have any other details. I’m sure they’re busy.

It’s been four weeks now and I haven’t heard anything. I thought my background was a great fit, but maybe it wasn’t. Did I stress my experience in [insert skill] enough in my resume? Hmmm, the job is still open on their career site, so maybe I just have to wait until it closes to hear something? I thought about applying to other jobs, but [Your Company] would be my dream job so I’ll wait to hear back. I’m sure I’ll hear soon.

It's been seven weeks now. The position came of their site two weeks ago. Crickets. The other day my recruiter friend joke about a "black hole", where you apply to a job and never hear back. I never imagined [Your Company] might be the one to show me what that meant. This sucks. [Your Company] has always been such a big part of my life, but how can I support a company that wouldn't even tell me "no thanks?" I guess it's time to find a new [brand/product].

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Do you still think candidate experience isn’t important? The reality is that many applicants to our jobs are also customers/consumers of our products. Their connection to our brand may run deep. If we’re cavalier about our hiring practices it can cost us more than candidates, it can cost us customers.

In today’s connected world, a bad candidate experience this morning can be live on Glassdoor this afternoon. Recruiters have to be mindful of optimizing CX at all stages of the process – from application through interview and rejection. Many companies understand this, and are taking steps to continually iterate and improve their CX. PwC recently launched a new career site with job search tips. Hootsuite recently updated their decline emails to include curated job search tips and resources. Gerry Crispinhas been leading their charge for years through his work in the Candidate Experience Awards (#CandES). Look no further than past CandES for best practices in CX you can bring to your organization.

Candidate Experience is no longer a “nice to have” effort within your talent strategy. It’s imperative and needs to be iterated and enhanced regularly. It’s time for the conversation to shift from “why” to “how”.

Read the full post on Take The Interview's TTI3 Blog.

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Lars Schmidt is the Founder of Amplify Talent, an employer branding and recruiting consultancy based in Washington DC. Prior to launching Amplify Talent, Lars was the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition & Innovation at NPR where he was responsible for providing leadership and advocacy for talent acquisition strategies that aligned with NPR’s strategic mission and core values. Lars held various HR and recruiting leadership roles with companies including Ticketmaster, Magento, Pencom Systems and several startups in Los Angeles. He was named a “Top 100 Influencer” by HR Examiner and "Top 100 Most Social HR Leaders on Twitter" by The Huffington Post. You can follow him on: Twitter at @ThisIsLars, Facebook, and LinkedIn.