It’s long been said that the candidate experience is the most important aspect of recruitment. This includes the way each candidate perceives job advertisements, the company careers website, the interview process, and – once a job is offered – the onboarding phase. Yet, too few recruiters actually consider this when focusing on finding the best candidate for a job order. Instead, they think about their own objectives and not enough about those of candidates.
About the Candidate Experience
Ask yourself: is the hiring process honoring the needs of candidates, or is it falling short in certain areas? It’s very possible that the ways in which you treat candidates could be making your recruitment efforts futile. Here are some ways to tell:
- Do candidates seem excited initially, but disappear shortly after you screen them?
- Do your new hires quickly become overwhelmed and leave the company in months?
- Are your job adverts and hiring processes not connecting to the type of corporate brand you display?
These could all be trouble signs that your hiring process is not all about the candidates. However, these can be remedied. Read on to learn how to create a better candidate experience.
Look at the “people” aspect of recruiting.
Chasing after the top candidates, introducing them to clients, and earning above-average commissions are all very motivating factors. But, in this process, candidates who are not a perfect fit for a particular job often get shoved aside and forgotten. They are usually the ones who sense that a recruiter doesn’t actually care about their goals. This can burn many bridges with candidates who may be a good fit for future opportunities, so don’t do this. Treat all candidates with the same level of respect and encouragement you would for a preferred candidate.
Stop looking at recruitment as just sales.
Many recruiters enjoy the sales aspect of what they do, and many come from sales backgrounds – but, consider that candidates are sometimes approached by a recruiter for one type of company or assignment, and then somewhere along the way it morphs into something else. This happens a lot because the way recruiters communicate about assignments is geared towards selling the candidate on the job and then selling the candidate to the client. Stop looking at recruitment as strictly sales.
Keep the job application process simple.
Across America, there are thousands of companies advertising for new employees on their websites, with recruitment firms, and on job boards. Yet, one thing that they may not consider is the experience candidates have when attempting to apply for these jobs. Written applications are outmoded, instructions may be lacking enough detail for candidates to know how to apply, and applicant tracking systems are long and tedious to go through. Make this a more pleasant experience with clearly written job descriptions, online application systems that are intuitive to navigate, and recruitment services that focus on each candidate.
Why not improve the way candidates experience your company hiring procedures by working with an outstanding recruitment firm like Venteon in Maumee, OH? Contact us today if you’d like to learn how to improve your recruitment process.