News
July 26, 2022
Keeping Up with The Candidates: The Reality of Candidate Experience
In the last handful of years, we’ve seen more changes in HR than ever before. Five years ago, it was a focus on moving towards utilizing applicant tracking systems. Two years ago, it was being forced into recruiting, hiring, and onboarding digitally rather than face-to-face like before. And nowadays, HR professionals are dealing with the Great Resignation: the latest obstacle in finding the best candidates for open positions and beating out their competition. So, how can your team help catch the eye of prospective employees during the application process?
Keep it short and sweet.
This one may seem obvious, but even still, companies are getting flack from candidates for asking too many questions during the application process. According to Appcast, when the application process took less than 5 minutes, companies saw a 365% increase in the number of completed applications. Of course, there may be questions that you have to ask during your hiring process – a perfect example is a need for employment verifications. With many ATS technologies that integrate with our screening services, the information needed for such searches will be pulled directly from the resume that the candidate uploaded when they applied, which saves an enormous amount of time. With a process that takes too long, busy applicants may find the experience isn’t worth it and click out of the application before they finish.
Hype up what you have to offer.
Salary is just the first benefit that a prospective employee is likely to be wondering about. But what about insurance? Vacation? Even the tiniest non-cash benefits, such as discounts through work or healthy eating initiatives, can provide candidates with value to apply to your company (and, subsequently, join your team!). As the workforce grows younger and younger with changing generations, the need for offering more than just a wage is necessary. For example, as ComputerWorld reports, Gen Zs and millennials take into account how important a work-life balance is, which can be a huge leveraging point amongst the competition.
Communication is key.
One of the biggest complaints by candidates within the last 5 years is a lack of communication by recruiters. Once the interview is done, and decisions are made by the human resources team, plenty of individuals have relayed that they are ghosted by recruiters and left to assume that they weren’t a right fit for the company. Leaving applicants in limbo not only hurt your employer brand, but it can also hinder the number of individuals in your applicant pool. After all, just because a candidate isn’t right for this position doesn’t mean that the next open seat won’t fit their qualifications – and you don’t want them to have a sour taste all because your team didn’t give them a simple heads up that they weren’t moving forward with the company.
Know the process.
One of the best pieces of advice that Atlantic can give any HR team is to recognize and realize their own operations. And what better way is to go ahead and run yourself through the applying, hiring, and onboarding stages? It may seem a little silly, but there’s no better way to know how a candidate feels than to put yourself in their shoes. While filling out the application, make note of how long it may take someone to fill out – and keep in mind someone is likely to be completing them on their smartphone, too! After all, how can you promise a great candidate experience if you can hardly remember what participation in the said experience entails?
Nailing down the procedure that prospective employees are put through after applying is no longer suggested; it’s a necessity, for more reasons than one. Not only can it help widen the pool of people applying for an open position, but candidates that give a thumbs up to the application process are more likely to show longevity in their position. Setting yourself up for success is ensuring an engaged candidate experience, which can only lead to more benefits – for both the company and the applicant – down the line.
Want to read more?
Appcast: How to Create a Remarkable Candidate Experience
ComputerWorld: What Gen Z and millennials want from employers