The phrase ‘candidate experience’ is pretty self-explanatory—the experience a candidate applying for a job has with a company. Most businesses ignore the idea that they should work toward ensuring all candidates have a positive experience in the hiring process. Regardless of whether a candidate will be hired, positive candidate experiences are beneficial for companies too.
When people are job hunting, they are doing it on their personal time. This means every application they submit indicates some kind of interest in the open position or company hiring. However, nearly three-fourths of potential candidates are passive, which is another way of saying they aren’t actively looking for a job. Passive people can be persuaded to apply but a poor candidate experience from current or past candidates isn’t likely to attract them again.
Nowadays, it’s incredibly easy to submit applications online. That ease of submission might be good for candidates, though it can quickly get overwhelming for businesses. Still, improving candidate experiences in the hundreds or thousands of applicants is an excellent way to garner potential applicants for open positions in the future.
Tips to Improve Candidate Experiences (No Matter the Number of Candidates)
There are numerous online tools designed to help recruiters and hiring managers during the hiring process. The time they save could be directed toward improving candidate experiences. But what about when there are hundreds of candidates (or more) applying for the same job?
- Send out a newsletter
After a candidate has applied for a position, send regular newsletters through e-mail to show the person what the company is like (i.e. company culture), team events, positive testimonials from previous employees. Even if a candidate doesn’t become an employee, he or she may still decide to apply to future open jobs since they have an idea of what could be waiting for them. - Give online tests
A powerful hiring tool that has become essential in the past few years is the administering of online tests. They can cover technical or soft skills and give companies a glimpse into the personalities, skills, professional experiences, and teamwork capabilities of a candidate. Improving their experience in the hiring process at this stage isn’t all that difficult. Online tests can be created by members of the company hiring or through third parties. The problem is that they often don’t acknowledge the candidate’s human side of things. Candidates are frequently disappointed with how online tests leave them feeling. There’s typically a ‘we’ll be in touch’ or ‘we’ll contact you soon’ type of message at the end. The best way to improve their experience here is to provide something they can take away from the hiring process. This could be a list of benefits for the candidate if they’re hired, a reminder of the duties of the job, or something similar. Enticing and giving hope to candidates will make them look forward to hearing from the company they want to be employed by. Ultimately, candidates should be able to leave the hiring process either as a new employee or a satisfied, if not hopeful, candidate for any future openings.
