Candidate Journey: The Ultimate Guide to Unlock Hiring Success

Sometimes, it takes us quite some time to make up our minds when we purchase something online. We read reviews, we ask our friends, we Google the product or service, and we scroll endlessly through other websites. Recruitment is no different.

When candidates apply for jobs, they are looking to build a certain level of trust with your company before they decide to click on the “Apply” button. Candidates are taken through various touchpoints and interactions with your company before, during, and after the hiring process. This is called a candidate journey.

Now you may ask… why is the candidate journey so important? What a great question!

Today, we will touch base on what is a candidate journey and how to craft the best one for your company!

What is the candidate journey?

Job hunting is no easy feat for candidates. Especially since they have to go through a series of experiences that can make or break their impression of your company. That’s why it’s crucial for businesses to create a memorable candidate experience journey.

So what’s a candidate journey, you ask? It’s a fancy way of saying all the different ways an active job seeker interacts with your company during the hiring process. From the first time they hear about the job opening to the moment they receive a job offer – every touchpoint matters.

To make sure your company is putting its best foot forward, you must create a positive candidate experience that is seamless and above all, interactive. This visual representation will help you see the hiring process from the candidate’s perspective. Is it smooth sailing? Is it memorable? Or are there some rough patches along the way?

By understanding your candidate journey stages, you’ll be able to gather valuable information that can guide, boost, and fine-tune your recruitment strategy. Plus, you’ll be better equipped to tailor your messaging to meet their needs. After all, finding the right person for the job is a two-way street.

So don’t let a bumpy candidate journey scare away your top talent! Take the time to map it out and make improvements. Your future employees will thank you.

What are the candidate journey stages?

Let’s be real here: creating an outstanding candidate experience is a marathon, not a sprint. The candidate journey itself consists of six critical stages, and each presents a unique opportunity for recruiters to make a lasting impression. With a tailored approach at each stage, recruiters can shape the candidate’s behavior, attitude, and overall experience. With that being said, we break down the stages for you below, so you can take your candidate recruitment journey from where it is now – to where you want it to be!

1. Awareness

The journey of every active job seeker begins with awareness; a crucial stage where they discover and learn more about your job opening. Now, they might stumble upon it on LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, or your branded career page. But attracting top-notch talent at this critical stage can ultimately save both you and the candidate valuable time.

To achieve this, it’s essential to create a strategic plan that involves crafting an ideal candidate persona and incorporating it into the job description. Not only that, but you also need to make sure that the content on your career page is relevant, accurate, and not misleading.

2. Consideration

After candidates take the time to learn more about your company, the next stage involves considering your company as a potential employer. This is where they begin to research more about your culture, work environment, and perks and benefits. They might even surf your website, social media platform, or online review sites. Only then will they be able to develop an initial impression of your company and begin to assess whether or not it really aligns with their personal values and career goals.

3. Interest

This stage is a pivotal one. Why you may ask? Simply because the candidate in this stage either cultivates a strong interest in your company or loses interest altogether. Keep in mind that candidates are always exploring different job opportunities and trying to gauge if they would be a good fit for the role. Therefore, to pique their interest, you must showcase your unique company culture, highlight your competitive advantages, and provide a glimpse into what it would be like to work for your company.

4. Application

Now, for the most tricky part: the application process. After top talent feels enticed enough to join your company, they’ll take the initiative to apply to one of your vacancies. This candidate journey stage ultimately marks the start of the recruitment process. So the job seekers will send in their applications and cover letters for review. Essentially recruiters must craft compelling job descriptions in order to get more qualified candidates to apply.

5. Selection

Once candidates submit their applications, it’s showtime! Now, the ball is in the recruiter’s court. The selection process might differ from one company to the other. For example, this stage might include a video assessment, background check, reference check, or talent assessment. At the end of the stage, recruiters will be able to seamlessly gauge the suitability and fit of the candidates in order to move them to the most important stage; the hired stage.

6. Hire

This is the last stage of the candidate experience journey – where the candidate either gets hired or rejected based on their performance. However, all the previous steps will dictate whether or not the candidate will accept the offer or spread negative word of mouth. For example, if they had a seamless candidate journey, they’ll accept the offer in a heartbeat. On the other hand, if they experienced a complicated hiring process, they’ll spread the word to their network.

What makes a good candidate journey?

When it comes to crafting an excellent candidate journey, there’s no one-size-fits-all. All it takes is to take candidates through a seamless process from start to finish. The end goal is simple: make sure the hiring process is memorable and the offer is irresistible. Now, to make sure top candidates are having a blast throughout the hiring process, there are a few things you need to set in stone. The first is clear and transparent communication.

Who doesn’t love being kept in the loop, right? The second is a smooth-sailing hiring process. At the end of the day, candidates will be more enticed to accept an offer when the hiring process takes days, not months. The third is your employer branding. Your candidates need to know more about the company culture and work environment before deciding to be a part of it.

How to map out the perfect candidate journey?

Each stage in the candidate journey holds the power to determine whether your best candidates will blossom into exceptional hires or drop out of the process altogether. To make sure the candidate journey is your strongest differentiator – there are a couple of steps that you must take first. Wondering what they are? We’ve broken them down into easily digestible steps for you.

Step 1: Identify your candidate persona

Crafting a stellar candidate journey starts with one key ingredient: the candidate. So, before you hit the recruitment trail, it’s crucial to come up with a very captivating candidate persona – a compelling one that embodies the perfect fit for your role. Think: skills, drive, passion, character, and the demographics that best align with your company. By creating the ideal candidate persona, you’ll not only attract top talent, but you’ll also ignite a powerful sense of purpose and connection.

Step 2: Pinpoint your candidate’s needs at every stage

During the candidate journey, it’s important to understand their wants and needs at each stage. To do this, identify what motivates the candidate’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions. Here are the candidate’s needs at each stage:

• Awareness: The candidate wants to learn more about the company and what it does.
• Consideration: The candidate in this stage considers the benefits of joining the company.
• Interest: The candidate wants to know what sets this company apart from others.
• Application: The candidate is eager to learn more about the duration of each hiring stage.
• Selection: The candidate wants to know if they are qualified to make the cut.
• Hire: The candidate wonders what will happen after they accept the job offer.

Step 3: Determine the candidate journey touchpoints

Attracting top talent is not just about posting job ads and hoping for the best. It’s about creating a personalized experience for your ideal candidate at every step of their journey. But, where do you start? Well, it’s simple – put on your candidate persona hat and start thinking like them!

Picture yourself as the candidate, and ask yourself these questions: Where can I learn more about the company? How can I compare this company to its competitors? How do I apply for the position? What happens during the selection process? What do I do if I get hired? The answers to these questions will help you identify all the potential touchpoints that your candidate might have with your company.

Now, we know there are a ton of candidate journey touchpoints to consider, but don’t worry! We’re here to help you prioritize. To start, we suggest learning more about your candidates’ online behavior. Do they use social media? Do they frequent job comparison sites? Or do they prefer to visit your website directly? Knowing these answers will help you tailor your approach and focus on the touchpoints that matter most to your ideal candidate.

Step 4: Create a visual representation

Now, you’ve made it to the final step – the fun part! It’s time to take all the insights you’ve gained from the previous steps and bring them to life in a visually stunning way. So, it’s time to let your creative juices flow!

There is no right or wrong way to do this. You can choose the method that works best for you. You can sketch it out on a whiteboard, add some colourful sticky notes, or go all out and print it on a massive billboard. The sky’s the limit, and the ball is in your court!

Our only suggestion is to ensure that the information is presented in a way that’s easy to understand, visually appealing, and less complex. You want to create a visual map that’s a feast for the eyes and helps you tell the story of your candidate’s journey.

So, go ahead, unleash your creative side, and have some fun creating a candidate journey map that’s as unique as your company’s culture.

Build an exceptional candidate experience with recruitment software

We’re sure you’re well aware of the incredible benefits of recruitment software. But did you know that it can monumentally create a wonderful candidate journey? So, what do we mean by that?

A candidate’s journey is no different than a buyer’s journey. Buyers look for services and products to purchase, whereas candidates look for compelling job opportunities. This is ultimately why candidates need to be treated just like customers. In the same way, you choose your candidates, your candidates are choosing you too.

To create a wonderful candidate experience, you need to have a solid understanding of what the candidate’s journey should look like. Nowadays, companies and talent acquisition leaders need to focus more on the candidate experience, as the failure to do so could have negative implications on the brand image. This is because a large percentage of candidates share their negative experiences online and it’s very easy for such stories to spread like wildfire on social media channels.

That’s a wrap!

Now that you have your candidate experience map, you’re ready to power up your recruitment efforts and create a seamless and delightful candidate experience. So go ahead and put your map to work!

With your journey map in hand, you can analyze every step of the process and identify bottlenecks that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. By crafting your unique map, you will gain valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of your recruitment process and put your research findings into action.

And you’re all set! Good luck and have fun creating your own unique candidate journey map. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line!

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