A candidate who has turned down a job offer because of an unpleasant experience during recruitment is a luxury that companies today cannot afford. In a candidate-dominated market, improving the experience your candidate can have during the hiring is vital for all organizations.

It is as simple as the candidate will be more engaged as an employee if you have an easy and friendly recruitment process. Otherwise, if your candidates have an unpleasant experience, they not reapply, but they will also write bad reviews on social media and spread adverse comments to their family and friends. It will affect the company’s reputation and ability to recruit the best talent within the market.

The way you treat your candidates reflects the way you treat your employees. Having a pleasant experience during the hiring process is good for business.

However, what is a positive experience? Put yourself in the shoes of your candidates and all the emotions they are experiencing (see our blog How to design your candidate’s travel map) 

Topics such as clear communications, waste of time, friendly interviews and feedback are some of the issues that, as a company, you should review to improve your recruitment process.

For example, an enjoyable experience for candidates would be if the company helps them relieve the stress of the hiring process.

In previous blogs, we wrote about the recruitment strategy, objectives, goals, employee value proposition, employee branding and recruitment marketing. We also talked about the candidate persona or the applicant’s travel map, all incredibly valuable topics for improving the candidates’ experience during the recruitment process. However, you can still improve other aspects of your hiring process to make the app experience friendlier in your organization.

1.- Facilitate the application stage

The application stage is extremely important. Your company does not want your candidates not to complete your application because it is too complicated. So, ensure the career page is easy to find on your website. Give clear and short instructions at each step, which can help them. Make sure the app is mobile-friendly, simple, and easy to fill. Send a confirmation email once the organization receives the request.

2.- During the hiring, no news is good news. Please keep your candidates informed.

Communication is a vital part of the recruitment process. We know that sometimes it is hard to stay in touch with your candidates but remember to put yourself in their shoes and be aware of all the emotions they are feeling. If you do not keep in contact with them, they might feel invisible which can lead to an unpleasant experience. Keep your candidates informed.

Define what your candidates can expect after each step and keep the hiring process smooth and hassle-free. Manage expectations, do not let your candidates wonder when they should follow up or get additional information.

Maintaining permanent communication throughout the process, from application to onboarding, reduces the intensity of stress and anxiety in them.

3.- Give and be open to receiving feedback  

Fear of legal complications and limited time is the most common reason for not getting feedback when did candidates not get the job.

Also, it is hard to tell a candidate why they did not get the job. However, feedback could put the organization in a position of advantage and help to improve its brand image. Your candidates deserve a human response to help them get through any news, so they will be more likely to explore other job opportunities with your organization in the future.

On the other hand, to improve your candidate’s experience, it is good to ask for feedback and dig deeper into their opinion about the process. Ask them, send out a survey, and check for comments on social media.

Make the recruitment process more about your candidates and why they should apply for your organization. Stay connected throughout the process and make them feel your consideration and respect for their time and effort may soon become part of your culture. As we said at the beginning, the way you treat your candidates reflects how you treat your employees. Candidate experience is crucial to attracting the best talent.