The unemployment rates are extremely low, which means that employers need to make a real effort to create an impression. If you are looking for ways to attract the best talent in the job market, you need to offer a positive candidate experience.
More and more companies are seeing that they need to provide extraordinary application experience, a smooth interview process, and great communication. If anything goes bad for one talented candidate, it probably means that it will be the same with others! Add the option that candidates will share the bad experience with their friends, and you might lose even more applicants from the pool of great talent.
Fortunately, you can make a candidate experience as good as possible by following the tips in this article. Here is how to attract top talent through positive apply experience:
Go Through It Yourself
The best way to realize what is wrong with the candidate experience is to go through it yourself. Put on your applicant’s shoes and sign up for a job at your own company! Not only that it will be an interesting experience, but we guarantee that you will discover a couple of flaws along the way.
Make the Application as Simple as Possible
If you think it’s hard for candidates to find their way around the application, make sure to completely redesign it. If your industry requires a complex application, make it easier for the candidates by adding a short video explaining what they should do.
Communication Must Be Your Top Priority
Communication is something that most candidates complain about after going through the process. You need to build a relationship with every applicant because they are your potential employees. A high level of communication is something that you must keep throughout the entire process. Even a short e-mail goes a long distance.
Explain Your Hiring Process
The process of hiring can vary from one company to another. Make sure to carefully explain all the steps from beginning to finish so that applicants know what challenges they will face. Also, clarify what they can expect during each step. You can do this in the email reply to an application, or on your website.
Improve Mobile Options
A great way to add an extra something to your application is to make the process easier on mobile devices. Most of the applicants don’t store their resumes on their phones, so think about providing a way to import from cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Another great alternative is to enable them to apply by using only their LinkedIn profile, without the need to provide a resume.
Help Candidates to Prepare for the Interview
You want every job interview to go as smoothly as possible? Think about sending a communication package to applicants a couple of days before the interview. Knowing about the history of the company, hiring staff and product profiles can help candidates prepare in a better way.
Help the Candidates Learn About the Company Culture
You want to find an applicant that will fit well with your team, but the candidate also wants a team that will fit well with him. Think about including employee experiences and resumes on your career website. Also, include the statement about the business’ mission and any awards that the company might have won.
Improve the Interview Process
Make sure that the interview is streamlined. Give one person the task to greet the candidates and guide them to each meeting. If the interviews are longer, always include enough breaks for coffee, snacks, and refreshment. Another good move is to give all the applicants an office tour as it will help them understand the job atmosphere in a proper way.
Make the Rejection Easier
It’s never easy to reject a candidate, for both him and you. The one thing you can do is let him down gently. Do this by telling him that there were a lot of applicants and the competition was fierce. You can support the claim by mentioning how many applications you received. Also, encourage the applicant to apply for any other openings you might have in the future.
Ask About Their Experience
Aside from going through the experience yourself, the best way to find out what you can do better is to ask the candidates. You can ask them by phone, or send a survey via e-mail. Make sure to carefully analyze the results and use them to improve the process.
A positive candidate experience is the best advertisement you can get in the talent market. Most of the applicants will be glad to recommend applying to others, and they will also most likely apply for future jobs themselves. You also can’t neglect the fact that they might start buying your products or using your services. As you can see, creating a positive candidate apply experience is essential for your business. Fortunately, it can easily be achieved if you use the tips listed in this article.