When was the Last Time You Took a Good Look at Your Candidate Experience?

If you are looking to actively hire for your company, then examining your candidate experience before you begin searching can help improve your job search. Your candidate experience is what a job applicant goes through when applying to your company. From job posting to interview and follow up, every point of contact or communication you have with the applicant will shape their candidate experience. When was the last time you took a good look at your candidate experience? If you can’t remember then now is definitely the time to re-examine it.

Why It’s Important to Evaluate Your Candidate Experience

When you post a job opening looking for applicants you are starting the relationship with a group of potential employees and at least one future employee. In order to attract the best candidates possible, you want every interaction with these potential employees to be as positive as possible. Any of these applicants could also be potential customers or at the very least a form of brand ambassador. If they have a negative experience with your company then they are more likely to share this experience with peers and less likely to use your products or services.

However, just because an applicant does not get the job does not mean that their experience will be inherently negative. A well curated experience can ensure that even the applicants who are not hired come away feeling good about your company and brand.

Facets of a Positive Candidate Experience

When people apply to a job opening, they realize that there is no guarantee of a job offer. Therefore, it is not essential to a positive experience. So, what makes up a good candidate experience? It boils down to clear communication and transparency in your hiring process. Applicants want to know where they stand and what to expect. Therefore, one of the biggest things you can do is communicate clearly and regularly. Other ways of improving your candidate experience include:

• Write clear and concrete job descriptions

• Make submitting an application easy and uncomplicated

• Send a thank you for applying email

• Send follow ups to any and all applicants no matter what level of the process they got to

Interviewing and job hunting can be stressful for both interviewees and employers. It can be significantly less stressful with a structured interview process. When was the last time you took a good look at your candidate experience? Even if it’s been done recently, your hiring process can always be improved and tweaked. Give it a look, get feedback, and make changes that you feel paint your company and brand in the best light.

Why It Matters

So when was the last time you took a good look at your candidate experience? If the answer is never or more than a year, you could likely benefit from an analysis of your process. Once you know what your candidate experience is like you can improve upon your weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. All of this helps paint your company in a better light and in turn attract and keep more qualified candidates. Proper onboarding and orientation can help with this process. Training & eTracking Solutions can help simplify this process and increase the favorability of your company among candidates with our onboarding and orientation programs.