A potential employee’s experience during your company’s recruitment procedure plays a pivotal role in shaping the employer’s public image.

When companies emphasize smooth and uplifting candidate engagement directly during the hiring process, they bolster their public standing, magnetize elite professionals, elevate staff enthusiasm and secure a dominant position in the employment landscape.

How Negative Interview Encounters Shift Views

Conversations about your candidate engagement may be more widespread than you anticipate. Prospective employees frequently share their interview stories with their close circle. A negative experience? It’s undoubtedly a topic of discussion.

Two out of every three candidates publicly broadcast their experiences, good or bad. Only a fraction, about one-third, opt to keep these experiences to themselves.

Before diving in, let’s glance at some compelling statistics underscoring the imperative nature of a gratifying candidate engagement during the hiring cycle:

  • 58% of potential hires lean towards job offers following an upbeat engagement experience.
  • 72% spill details about lackluster recruitment encounter online or in personal discussions.
  • For 82% of hopefuls, a sour interview episode can pivot their perspective on a company.
  • 78% contend that the entirety of their recruitment journey sheds light on a company’s valuation of its workforce.

So, where do you commence the journey to impeccable candidate experiences?

  1. Pinpoint your target audience
  2. Segment and categorize
  3. Craft personas for each segment
  4. Construct a CJM (Candidate Journey Map) for these personas – a graphic depiction illustrating all touchpoints candidates encounter with your brand during their recruitment odyssey.

Mastering the Candidate Engagement Blueprint

Genuine and Transparent Dialogue

Guarantee punctual, open, and tailored communication throughout the recruitment cycle. Illuminate the steps involved in the application, interview phases, and projected time-frames. Periodically update candidates on their application journey, ensuring they remain in the loop

Simplify the Application Journey

Redefine the application procedure to mitigate candidate obstacles and irritations. Application mediums should be concise and intuitive. Abolish redundant phases or over-the-top mandates, facilitating effortless application submissions. Instances of deterrents include:

  • Needlessly long qualification lists unrelated to the role.
  • Forms demanding repetitive or excessive personal data.
  • Overburdening candidates with irrelevant tests or assignments.
  • Consecutive interview rounds lacking clarity or defined objectives. An agile and candidate-friendly application framework elevates the company’s perception, motivating candidates to progress.

Infuse Personal Touches into Candidate Interactions

View each candidate uniquely, tailoring their journey. Customize dialogues, interview queries and interactions, aligning them with their expertise, history and career ambitions. For instance, enlighten a budding professional by narrating tales of peers who transitioned roles successfully. Their success stories can invigorate the aspirant to chase their dreams.

Projecting genuine intrigue and meeting their distinct necessities fosters feelings of significance and gratitude.

Extend Constructive Feedback

Disseminate insightful feedback, irrespective of hiring outcomes. Highlighting areas to refine showcases reverence for candidates’ endeavors and propels their professional growth. This approach is especially pivotal for developing talents. Create a repository with developmental suggestions for every role, incorporating valuable resources. These knowledge nuggets can leave an indelible positive mark, even when a candidate isn’t the final choice, bolstering the corporate image.

Prioritize a Rewarding Interview Session

Get in touch post-interactions like in-person interviews or digital meetings. Create an equitable and cogent interview blueprint, creating a comfortable candidate ambiance. Furnish comprehensive details about the interview modus operandi and anticipations in advance. Enlighten your prospects on forthcoming steps in their recruitment saga.

After application, vetting, interview and subsequent phases:

  1. Define expectations proactively.
  2. Forge a congenial space allowing candidates to flourish.
  3. Respect their time by curtailing unnecessary waits and reverting promptly post-discussions.

Blunders to Dodge in Candidate Experience Crafting

Steer Clear of Communication Blackouts

Abstain from neglecting updates, especially when you’ve committed to them. Steady correspondence keeps candidates captivated and aware of their recruitment trajectory. Communication lapses can breed discontent, casting shadows on your corporate image.

Leave Behind Overwrought Application Procedure

Ensure your digital application portal offers an intuitive, streamlined experience. Sidestep intricate and prolonged requirements that could alienate candidates. Overwrought procedures can deter accomplished professionals, squandering recruitment potential.

Avoid Over-hyping or Distorting Role

Maintain forthrightness regarding job roles, responsibilities and the corporate milieu. Shun excessive glamorization or misrepresentation. Establishing authentic anticipations ensures clarity, which is integral for sustained satisfaction and loyalty. While candidates recognize not everyone secures the job, transparency and fairness are paramount.

Don’t Dismiss Candidate Feedback

A majority of candidates face rejection without subsequent communication. This oversight taints their experience. Cherish feedback throughout the hiring expedition. Solicit opinions actively, be it through surveys or casual chats. Integrating constructive feedback continually refines candidate engagement. Overlooking or sidelining feedback impedes brand enhancement endeavors.

Resist Treating Candidates as Mere Statistics

Candidates aren’t mere data points in your hiring algorithm. Foster genuine rapport by personalizing every interaction. Feel free to provide soliciting feedback, and demonstrating genuine care and interest.

Wrap-Up

The journey candidates traverse during recruitment is instrumental in shaping corporate reputation and luring proficient talent. Firms emphasizing delightful experiences fortify their brand, magnetize top-tier talent and secure a formidable stance in the recruitment arena.

By integrating transparent communication, streamlined applications, tailored experiences and constructive feedback, respect and appreciation radiate. Adhering to these principles ensures recruiters foster a delightful candidate experience, amplifying corporate repute and captivating premiere talents.

Recruiting
Candidate Experience Communication Recruiting
Authors
Alisa Lagovska

Alisa Lagovska, Head of Recruitment at Jooble, a job aggregator. Alisa is a recruitment specialist with 11 years of practical experience in hiring and launching recruiting processes in outsourcing, retail, logistics and IT. Alisa joined Jooble in 2019 as a recruiter, and after 9 months she became Recruitment Team Lead. Alisa manages a team of 11 people. Among her responsibilities are hiring new employees in tech and non-tech positions, managing the launch of all recruitment-related internal processes, and onboarding and adaptation of new team members.