-
How to Create the Candidate Experience That Top Talent Expects
The way an organization treats its candidate experience is fast becoming a point of competitive advantage. The pool of top talent in any industry isn’t big—and when workers have a poor experience interviewing with a company, they’re not shy about letting their peers know. The candidate experience isn’t just a matter of finding candidates with the right stuff, it’s a matter of your brand’s reputation.
Here’s our advice on how to improve this critical experience throughout the recruitment pipeline.
It’s All About Communication
Everyone pays lip service to the value of communication but fewer actually follow through. Clear and consistent communication is the bedrock of the candidate experience.
This begins with the job posting itself. Clearly line out the job’s responsibilities and expectations in your posting. It sounds obvious but think about the big picture. People thrive in situations where they know what to expect. Your goal as a recruiter isn’t just to find top talent, it’s to help the top talent put their best foot forward and to give them a chance to prove themselves to the company.
And while we’re on the subject of communication…
Consider what the candidate will take away from the experience
Naturally, you’ll need to maintain a consistent communication channel across every recruitment stage. As we touched on above, this is for your benefit as much as the candidate’s.
Consider that each candidate walks away from your interview with a perception of your brand—for better or for worse. If they feel valued (due to your being up front and communicative!) they may advocate for your company in future interactions, even if they didn’t get hired. But if you never call them back, or reject them with an impersonal form letter after a series of lengthy interviews, you can bet they’ll be frustrated. This will inevitably lead to some social media vitriol aimed at your brand—an outcome you want to avoid at all costs.
Overall, there need to be multiple touchpoints for each candidate before they even get close to being hired. Not only will this improve their own onboarding experience, but it’ll guarantee that your company has given all candidates in the pipeline the respect they’re due. That’s where positive experiences come from.
Internal Management of Candidates
Seeking top talent is a process of courtship; you need to entice candidates and make them feel welcome once they’re ready for a meeting. This process of internal management encompasses everything from how you greet candidates to the way you interact with them in each interview stage.
Consider having a team member act as the “point person” for every candidate interview. Have him/her greet candidates, offer them tours of the building, and answer any questions that come up. In essence, create a personal liaison to guide them through the process. This personal touch can help acclimate candidates before the meeting and will guarantee they interview at their best.
But don’t stop there—personalize the interview further by doing your research on each candidate ahead of time and creating personalized questions based on their experience. Be as specific and concrete as possible, and try not to resort to stock questions.
The more comfortable your candidates are, and the more in-depth you get in the interview, the more likely it is that you’ll get a true understanding of the candidate’s capabilities. And thus, how successful they’ll be at your company.
And of course, if your company is struggling to find the best and brightest talent in your industry, feel free to contact Urgenci for an assessment of your recruiting practices.
Urgenci
