The modern recruitment process is a complex system of parts that can be challenging to navigate. As the industry continues to evolve, new challenges are constantly emerging, and it’s up to recruiters on how best they adopt these changes to provide a positive candidate experience.
Finding talent is far from easy, and doing so at scale can feel impossible. However, there are a few simple strategies that you can employ to keep your hiring process moving and improve the quality of candidates coming through in the long term.
Here are five key ways you can start.
1) Be transparent about your company culture
Candidates want more than just an employment opportunity; they want security and stability, which means getting updates from their potential employer during the hiring process, so there aren’t any surprises later on down the line when things don’t work out as planned at every stage of the hiring cycle which allows them as an employer to improve their internal communication.
2) Make sure all candidates feel welcomed at every stage
Not everyone starts with equal footing or confidence, but if employers make them feel like part of the team from the beginning, it helps candidates feel less stressed and more open to being themselves.
A great example of how a company uses these tips is Accenture who makes its four values very well known: People Matter, Act with Purpose, Make Innovation Happen, and Be Real. They also give information on how they’ve revamped their recruitment process into something more efficient by breaking down each step and sending candidates emails.
3) Never ghost an applicant
Be specific about why an applicant wasn’t the right fit. If you do this, applicants can understand the reason behind their rejections and make changes accordingly before resubmitting applications. Avoid using generic, blanket rejection storms such as “you were not a fit for this position.” Rather, tell them what they need to do to strengthen their applications. For example: “You were a strong candidate overall, but you didn’t have three years of experience doing X.”
The most unsuccessful employers are the ones who don’t give feedback or set expectations about how applicants can improve their application and chances of getting an interview. That failure is often due to a poor recruiting process that doesn’t include steps for contacting and conversing with candidates before actions such as ghosting. It’s important not only because it helps bring in better candidates but also fosters goodwill between your company and potential future employees.
When candidates request feedback after an interview, most successful recruiters offer general and specific information as part of their response. In contrast, less successful recruiters send one canned email with little or no useful information. Offering customizable messages from a database of responses at different stages of an application process can help you personalize your responses which in turn helps you build a positive candidate experience.
4) Be honest and upfront with applicants
If you are not going to hire someone for a particular role, let them know as soon as possible. At least that way, they can start looking at other opportunities, and you don’t end up with wasted time and effort on their part if you aren’t interested in taking it further.
The most successful recruiters send rejection emails within a few days of an interview. In contrast, the least successful recruiters often take more than a week to respond or, worse, contact candidates three months later to turn them down again. It’s important because of how long candidates have to wait and because it shows your company values honesty and fairness, which will increase employee engagement once people start working there.
5) Set proper expectations
One of the biggest frustrations for candidates is when companies don’t set proper expectations during the interview process. If you talk to candidates about a career path early enough in the interview process, it will make them more comfortable with what to expect, and this will increase the likelihood that they’re happy working for your company down the road.
Candidates can form their impressions of a company based on the hiring process. If it is disorganized or unprofessional, they will also think that your whole organization lacks structure and professionalism. But when you have an organized, efficient recruiting team with good people skills, you can create a positive candidate experience, which makes getting top talent easier because candidates want to work for companies where they feel welcome.
