Fixing Your Candidate Experience Strategy – 11 Amazing Tips

If you’re like most HR professionals, you know that providing a great candidate experience is key to recruiting success. 

However, creating and implementing an effective candidate experience strategy can be tricky.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide – to help you navigate the sometimes-challenging waters of the recruitment process.

So, whether you’re just starting on your candidate experience journey or looking for ways to improve what you’re currently doing, read on for some tips and advice from the experts!

Define Your Goals

The first step in any successful candidate experience strategy is to define your goals. What are you hoping to achieve with your recruitment process? Are you looking to improve employer brand awareness? Increase the number of quality candidates applying for positions? Or reduce time-to-hire? 

Once you’ve identified the objectives, you may begin to develop a strategy for attaining them. It is also essential to keep your goals realistic – setting too many lofty goals (or ones that are impossible to measure) can set you up for disappointment later on. A great candidate experience strategy should be realistic, achievable, and measurable.

Put Yourself in the Candidate’s Shoes

Recognizing that the candidate’s experience starts long before the actual interview process is crucial. It begins the moment a potential candidate first hears about your company. With that in mind, ensuring that every touchpoint along the way is positive and informative is vital. It means having a well-designed careers page on your website, providing clear and concise job descriptions, and responding to candidates on time – no one likes to be left hanging! 

It’s also essential to remember that the candidate experience is not just about the hiring process but the entire employee life cycle. From the moment a prospect applies for a job to their first day on the job and beyond. Their interaction with your company should be positive and professional. 

Creating a great candidate experience strategy means paying attention to the details and ensuring that every step of the process is smooth and enjoyable for both candidates and hiring managers.

Build a Great Team

Your hiring and recruitment process is only as good as the team behind it. To create an exceptional candidate experience, you need to have a team of talented and experienced professionals working together. It includes everything from your hiring managers and recruiters to your interviewers and onboarding specialists. 

Each team member should know your goals and commit to providing a positive experience for every candidate. The strategy you put in place will only be as successful as the team you have working to implement it. If you don’t have the right team, now is the time to make some changes.

Focus on the Details

The devil is in the details, as they say, and this is especially true when it comes to the candidate’s experience. Pay proper attention to the little things that can make a big difference, such as how your website looks and feels, how your application process is designed, and how candidates are treated during the interview process. 

First impressions matter, so make sure your recruitment process is making the right one! When a candidate has a good experience, they are likelier to tell others about it – which can only mean good things for your employer’s brand. 

However, if a candidate has a bad experience, they are much more likely to speak out about it – which can damage your reputation and make it harder to attract top talent.

Keep Communication Open

Effective communication is vital to any successful relationship – and the employer-candidate relationship is no different. It is necessary to keep candidates updated on their progress and next steps throughout the recruitment process. It includes letting them know if they have been successful (or not) at each stage and providing feedback on their performance. 

Candidates must also be given the opportunity to ask questions and provide input of their own. The recruitment process should be a two-way conversation, not a one-way street.

Use Technology Wisely

Technology can be a tremendous help in recruiting but can also be a liability if misused. Technology can help streamline your strategy and make things more efficient when used wisely. 

However, using too much technology – or misusing it – can create a negative experience for candidates. For example, if your application process is long and complicated, or if you rely too heavily on automated communications, candidates may become frustrated and give up before they even reach the interview stage.

Personalize the Experience

One of the best ways to create a positive candidate experience is to personalize the process as much as possible. Instead of treating candidates like numbers or faceless entities, take the time to get to know them as individuals. It includes everything from carefully reading their resumes and cover letters to asking them thoughtful questions during the interview process. 

The more you can connect with candidates personally, the better their experience will be – and the more likely they will remember your company favorably.

Don’t Forget About Post-interview Follow-up

The recruitment process doesn’t end when the interview is over. The post-interview follow-up is just as necessary as the interview itself. It is your chance to show candidates that you are still interested in them and value their time and feedback. 

Be sure to send a personalized email or note to each candidate, thanking them for their time and letting them know when they can expect to hear back from you. This simple gesture can make a big difference in the way candidates perceive your company – and it may just be what sets you apart from your competition.

Take Action Based on Feedback

Candidate experience surveys are valuable for gathering feedback and improving your strategy. But it’s not enough to simply collect data – you also need to take action based on what you learn. 

Use the feedback you receive to identify areas where you can make changes and improvements. Then, make those changes and monitor the results to see how they impact your candidate’s experience. 

By constantly tweaking and improving your process, you can ensure that you provide the best possible experience for your candidates and attract top talent to your company.

Make It Easy to Apply

The easier you make it for candidates to apply, the more likely they are to do so. It means having a straightforward application process that they can complete in a few minutes. It also means providing clear instructions and directions at each step. 

If your strategy is long, complicated, or difficult to understand, candidates will likely give up and move on to another company. So, make sure you are doing everything you can to make it easy for candidates to apply – and you will see an uptick in applications.

Keep Your Promises

Once you’ve committed to a candidate, you must follow through on your promises. It means keeping your word on interview times, follow-up communication, and job offers. 

Stepping back from a commitment creates a negative impression and can damage your relationship with the candidate. 

So, ensure you are always honest and upfront with candidates and follow through on your commitments. It will show them that you are a company of your word and value their time and interest.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line is that if you want to keep your best talent and attract the best new candidates, you must have a good candidate experience strategy. By following the tips we’ve outlined above, you can ensure that everyone involved in the process has a positive experience – from start to finish. What are some things you’re doing currently to improve your candidate experience?

EVA-REC is an award-winning hiring platform that automates and improves the hiring process and candidate experience through next-generation AI technology. Small businesses to industry leaders rely on EVA-REC to find and hire the people they can depend on. With EVA-REC’s world-class features, companies can seamlessly ramp up team collaboration, streamline the hiring process, and create an immersive experience for recruiters and candidates alike. 

Want to see EVA-REC in action? Get a free walk-through demo here!

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