10 Ways to the perfect Candidate Experience

With the race for top talent growing by the minute, every organisation is rethinking their approach to how they currently attract prospective employees. You can use the multiple touch points in the candidate journey to help you create an outstanding candidate experience. 

1. Welcome them with a smashing careers page- If their first visit to your careers page doesn’t ‘wow’ them, then it’s unlikely they’ll go through with applying for a role. Put your careers page to work with eye-catching design, useful resources, employee stories and what benefits you have to offer. Here’s a great example from the team at Booking.com.

2. Jazz up your job post- When you begin to read a job advert, does it fill you with excitement? Well, that rarely seems to be the case! Candidates spend an average of 14 seconds looking at a job description before deciding whether to apply. If you want to create a compelling advert, then consider re-wording your job descriptions to showcase the personality of your company.

3. Be transparent – How often do we provide our candidates with all the information they need right at the get go? Almost never! Prioritise transparency at every stage to establish trust and help build relationships right from the start. For example, publish the expected salary or salary range like Glitch so a candidate can understand whether a job will be financially viable for them or provide a step-by-step guide on your careers site like Procter & Gamble with details of different types of assessments they may need to complete, how long it will take and how soon they’re likely to hear back from the recruiting team. 

4. Simplify your application process – On average candidates spend 3-4 hours on submitting one job application! No one these days has the patience for lengthy application processes so work on making yours more simple. Consider how Userlane simplified and humanised their hiring process by constructing their applications like conversations though the use of Typeform. 

5. Acknowledge receipt of applications – This sounds like such a simple thing to do and yet a majority of organisations rarely do it. If you consider the time and effort a candidate has put into applying for a role with you, then it’s imperative to take the time to send an acknowledgement. And as that can be automated nowadays, there’s even less reason to not be doing it! 

6. Use technology to improve the user experience – Use tools that will help you automate routine tasks – saving you time and improving the user experience for your candidates. For example, PwC started using technology that sends a calendar to candidates showing the times interviewers are available for a virtual interview. Once candidates schedule their time on that same calendar, PwC’s software sends them information and tips for the interview.

7. Shake up your selection process – Rethink your selection process so you can begin to look beyond educational qualifications, years of experience and sector-specific skills. For example, consider presenting candidates with ‘real life scenarios’ to test their skills like McKinsey & Company. 

8. Ask for feedback – To show the candidate that their experience and opinion matters, ask for feedback at the end of the process. Nothing long or complicated, just one or two questions that will give you useful data to help you make any necessary changes to your process. For example, Citrix uses the Net Promoter Score metric to measure candidate experience after an onsite interview via an email containing a single question. 

9. Build the working relationships and skills of your hiring managers and recruiters – There’s nothing worse than spending all that effort to create a wonderful candidate journey if the people involved in the process aren’t supported to lead the change. Help your hiring managers and recruiters build a healthy working relationship and provide them with resources and training to upskill them so they are better prepared.

10. Give feedback – LinkedIn research shows that 94% of candidates want to hear feedback after an interview – and they’re four times more likely to consider a future opportunity with your company if offered constructive feedback. Send a gentle nudge to your hiring manager reminding them to provide honest and constructive feedback the next time they are interviewing someone. 

Final top tip…. Constantly build and update your talent pool- There is no reason to wait for a vacancy to arrive before you start your hunt for the ideal candidate. Spend time consistently building your talent pipeline and build relationships with them so they are ready to join you when the need arises.

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