As we explained in last week’s blog, candidate experience plays a major role in how successful your recruitment is. Moreover, 95% of recruiters say that it has an real impact on overall employer branding. 

Why?

Because unlike a few decades ago, if a candidate is unhappy with some part of the application process, they can choose to share their thoughts with the world. Facebook groups, Twitter, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Reddit – all present perfect opportunities to let everyone, including future candidates, know about a terrible interview experience, or the hiring manager that promised to get in touch but never did.

Luckily, of all the elements involved in creating an attractive employer brand, this is one of the easiest to remedy. Here’s how:

Set clear expectations

As an applicant, one of the most frustrating aspects of applying to a job and not knowing what happens next. Even for candidates that are applying via a recruitment consultant, the consultant is only able to relay what they know—and if the company isn’t forthcoming with responses, then they have nothing to pass on to the client, leading to a poor candidate experience.

As such, let candidates know what they can expect in terms of communication and timelines immediately.  Whether it is a job advert or a recruitment consultant this should be part of the initial brief. Even if you think you are already doing this, you may not be. Research shows that only 47% of candidates think employers set clear expectations for communication at the beginning of the hiring process. Yet 78% of employers feel that they are doing a good job at setting expectations up front.

At each step of the hiring process, let candidates know what happens next and when they will hear from the recruiter, HR manager or someone else from the company.

Don’t waste candidates’ time

It probably doesn’t come as a big surprise that 55% of candidates will give up on a position if they don’t hear back from the company after two weeks of applying. Experienced tech candidates in particular, are in high demand, and if the company is taking too long, candidates will move on to an employer that appreciates their time more.

Moreover, if you want the best candidates out there, you really have no time to waste. According to research, the best talent on the job market is gone after just 10 days.

Have a clear process for hiring

In order to not waste candidates’ time, you need to have a clear process for hiring that involves timely updates to candidates. BE RESPONSIVE. No matter what else happens, you have a good chance of making the candidate experience a good one simply by being responsive.

While transparency should be a core value for your company in general, transparency in hiring is essential in providing a better experience for your applicants. Let your candidates know the exact process of application, selection and hiring when they apply. That way, they will immediately know what they can expect, when they will hear back from you and how strict your selection process is.

We suggest you give this information to your recruitment consultant up front, or put it on your job advert. One of the benefits of using a recruitment consultant is that they can explain things personally in a way that you may not have time to do—for example why things are taking longer than expected, or details about the next stage.

Get feedback from the candidates

Whether you ask for feedback after each stage, mid-way through or at the end of the process doesn’t matter as much as simply asking for feedback.

For things like a technical interview, you can find out how difficult candidates thought it was, how happy the applicants were with the interview process overall, or ask about candidate’s experience at competitors for some context on how you are doing.

Your employer brand matters, and as such your candidate experience matters. The difference between an amazing hire and a mediocre one can have a dramatic effect on your business. Implement the ideas above to ensure you don’t miss out on your ideal candidate.

About Oliver Parks

Oliver Parks offers search-based recruitment solutions to the technology sector, specialising in the ERP, CRM, CMS, ECM, BI and Open Source Technology spaces. The firm’s multilingual consultants operate in narrowly-defined niche market segments, enabling them to gain extensive knowledge of the people and companies operating in each technology.  Oliver Parks has a proven track-record with more than 100,000 candidates worldwide and more than 300 clients globally.