The Candidate Experience: What Not to Do

Why is the candidate experience so critical for your company?“While leaner staffs and budgets can make it difficult to keep up with a large influx of job candidates, it’s important to provide a positive experience throughout all stages of the application process. Your employees are your greatest ambassadors of your employment brand.You want to make sure that you’re acknowledging all applicants, reinforcing the unique work experience your company offers and seeking feedback for opportunities to improve”,says Sanja Licina, Ph.D. and senior director of Talent Intelligence at CareerBuilder. If you're tasked with the responsibility of filling a wide range of positions in a short amount of time, your main priority may not be your candidates' experience. Unfortunately, having a poor candidate experience may drive away your most valuable candidates.In addition,a poor candidate experience could significantly impact your company's reputation and your business could suffer as an effect. When seeking candidates,here is a list of what not to do. Time Consuming Online Application Too often employers post lengthy, daunting online job applications without giving much thought into the impression this can leave on a candidate. If an application is too long or specific, it can defer the perfect candidates, simply due to the time it takes to apply for the position. Instead of trying to squeeze every detail out of a candidate through an application, create a form that is quick and easy and allows the candidate to highlight their experience and skills. Once an interview is scheduled, you can dig much deeper to see if they are a good fit for your company. Lack of Hiring Management Feedback A simple note or a quick reply to an email will show a candidate that you appreciate their time and are considerate of their feelings. Often candidates will feel that they are being ignored and question whether a job role still exists, if someone was actually hired or why they were not considered for the position. Finding the time to keep each of your candidates updated and informed will benefit your company in the long run. Approaching this discussion with a candidate, whether the feedback is good or bad news,helps candidates go away with a positive impression. Lack of Candidate Feedback There is a two-way communication with candidates. You can learn just as much from them as they can learn from you.An open and honest relationship with your candidates is the only way that you will ever know how your company is being perceived during the interviewing process. Addressing any issues you discover will allow you to create a positive candidate experience. An easy way to collect candidate feedback is by setting up a quick online questionnaire for candidates to fill out after their interview. Make sure to ask candidates how they felt about the experience, from start to finish, whether they got the job or not. Treating the Candidate as a Number Regardless of the number of positions you're hiring for, always treat your candidates with the same level of respect that you would treat your clients. This isn't just an interview process; it’s human interaction. You will never know the positive impact a candidate could have on your company.