With the go-go-go nature of recruiting, is it possible the candidate experience suffers? If you find yourself completely wrapped up in the race to source and recruit the perfect candidate, you need to consider how the experience is for job seekers. A positive job candidate experience will ultimately help your organization, but a negative one filled with poor communication and direction will likely leave a slew of eager candidates frustrated or confused.
Crafting a positive candidate experience begins with a memorable and informative career page. Many complaints that job seekers have about the recruiting process come from career pages that are too difficult to navigate or don’t supply the necessary information. To make your career page eye-catching and educational, consider adding some of these elements:
- A live answer chat option to talk with recruiters.
- Video testimonials from current employees talking about what it’s like to work at the company or how the interview process works.
- Employee blogs that convey similar information to that above.
- Newsletters about the latest job opening or recruitment news with the company.
In a recent blog post, Johnny Campell on Recruiting Blogs says that 77% of job seekers reported receiving ”absolutely no communication from a company after sending in their CV to an advertised position.” Not only does this lack of communication frustrate job seekers, it also reflects poorly on your organization’s commitment to the job search.
To remedy this sad statistic, opt in to automatic replies to job applications. This simple email signals to job seekers that their application has indeed been received. In your auto-response, consider including information such as when the resume will be reviewed, who they can contact with questions, or when to expect a response. Some companies will even say things like, “If you haven’t heard from us within XX days, we are proceeding with other candidates who more closely match the requirements for this job opening.”
Improve your auto-responses with a personal touch. Try out some of these creative ideas:
- Embed or link to a video thanking the candidate for submitting an application. You could take this opportunity explain how the recruitment process proceeds.
- Link to the social media profiles of the recruiters involved. Eager job candidates will likely follow up with recruiters through other channels, thus showing their commitment to the position.
Another way to appear engaged in job candidate selection is building a reliable, interesting employer brand on social media. Recruiters tapped into the brand can interact with candidates, answer questions, and post job openings in real time. Learn more about social recruiting my recent blog post.
What strategies are you using to improve the candidate experience? Let us know in the comments below!
