Tips to Improve Your Candidate Experience

When Recruiting talent for your company or business, it's important to remember that this process is a two-way street.  Both you, the hiring company, and the candidates in consideration are looking for the best possible fit.  Each party has its own list of criteria and set of values that guide them in making the best possible decision.

The candidate's experience is a very important factor in the hiring process as this will be the job candidate's first impression of your company.  Setting the right company image and candidate experience will not help lead to great future employees but will build the foundation for your reputation as an organization.  A negative candidate experience can be really counterproductive to your company's culture and overall growth. 

Here are 7 tips to improve your company's candidate experience:

• Optimize the application process by getting rid of unnecessary and repetitive forms. Value the candidate’s time. You want them to make an effort to get the job, but not to make them feel like they are already working without even getting to the first interview. 
• Show candidates what their day-to-day routine would look like. If you can, do so using video, and make sure you use it to portray your company’s values and culture on it. 
• Add interactive situational behavior tests to the hiring process. This will help you to get to know how your candidates will behave in certain situations, and it is a great opportunity for them to showcase their personality, manners, and values as employees. 
• Communicate efficiently. Be accessible and communicate frequently. Nobody likes to be left expecting an answer. As soon as you can, let them know where they are standing in the selection process. Assign them a contact person, so they know who to contact when they have questions. 
• Introduce the candidates to some of the members of your team, if possible. One minute of their time can help you to establish a better connection with them. If that is not possible for logistical reasons, have a series of videos on your website or blog. Nothing like your current employees telling the story of how it works to be there. Empower them with enough information, so they feel how much you value their interest in your company. 
• Try to relieve candidates from some of the stress. It’s not your job to work on their emotions, but can help to ease everything up in the process. Waiting time, extra people in the interview, and the way you communicate with them from the moment they arrive at your establishment can make a difference. Make them fill out a survey afterward to learn more about their experience. 
• This is business, but you are still dealing with people. Stay human. Be honest about your timeline, give them all the information they need to get on time to the interview and make sure you consider remote candidates (The landscape has changed, and now you have many more possible candidates than you did before), provide a notification if the job has been filled and if it is possible for you, have a small gesture to show your gratitude for their application.