A candidate experience during the recruitment process can be the difference between getting a superstar over the line or not.  As competition for talent increases, jobseekers are becoming ever more selective about the role they are applying for.  A great candidate experience can reflect greatly on your company which will increase the chances of people wanting to work for you.

Read Talentlyft’s ‘Top 3 Causes of a Bad Candidate Experience.’

How can you improve yours?

1.      Make sure they know how to apply

Be clear on how you want people to apply for your position and what you want them to send you in response to your position.  If you want a cover letter – say you want a cover letter and let them know exactly where to send it.   Something like ‘to apply for this position please send a cover letter and your CV to apply@companyname.com’.

2.      Don’t make the application process too long

Application processes which are too long often deter people from applying for the position.  Your position may not be the only one a candidate will be considering so make it a positive experience. Only ask for crucial information in the application process as you don’t want candidates to abandon the application process half way through.

3.      Acknowledge every application received

Not every application you receive will be someone of interest, however this isn’t an excuse to throw their CV to one side and forget about them.  If you can email them and offer them some insight into why the role isn’t right for them – this reflects greatly on you and the company.  If you don’t have time to offer feedback to every person then a simple email saying they have been unsuccessful is easy and much better than nothing.

4.      Assess applications quickly

If you’re serious about finding someone great for a position then you need to stay on top of things.  If you wait weeks to look through applications, you may find these people have been snapped up by your competitors by the time you want to meet them. Set yourself some time everyday to go through the CV’s sent through that day.

5.      Let candidates know your recruitment process

You may know your recruitment process but your candidates don’t.  Every recruitment process is different, so let your candidates know.  Make sure they know the details of how long it will be, how many stages there will be and where the interviews will be.  Letting candidates know what the recruitment process will be will reduce the amount of people who pull out of the process.

6.      Provide feedback to rejected candidates

Not everyone can be successful but it’s beneficial to let them know why.  Calling them to let them know why they haven’t been successful doesn’t take long, and it provides the person with valuable insights on what they can improve next time.  Adding value to the recruitment process through feedback creates a recruitment process which is appreciated by everyone involved.

7.      Make sure you have a smooth onboarding process

The recruitment process doesn’t stop once the right person has signed their contract.  The nurturing process starts through their current notice period – keep in contact with them so they don’t change their mind, look after them when they start so they feel welcome and make sure they seamlessly become one of the team.