Candidate experience - How to create a memorable journey - Emptor

Exceptional talent, well-suited for the role that makes an impact within your organization, can be very difficult to attract, find, and ultimately retain. In 2022, the post-pandemic working environment has changed and needs to address special requests and specific needs in order to retain and grow top talent.

The candidate experience encompasses all the hiring processes and touchpoints that your potential candidates travel through, from the very beginning all the way until getting hired. Keeping good communication at every stage is vital to build and maintain your employer branding.

Employer Branding

Employer branding is the reputation of your company on social media and what others say about you. To maintain great branding, you can follow these best practices.

Bad candidate experience can cost money to your company

According to a LinkedIn survey, statistics found that 27% of candidates who had a negative experience would “actively discourage” others from applying for a position with that company. In short, this means you can lose nearly a quarter of applicants, which can bring a bad reputation to your brand.

1. Interview Process: Follow a Structure

Establishing a process is the right approach; a structured process is the most efficient and effective way to conduct interviews. Each interview has a specific purpose; each position requires different skills and qualifications. It is also very important to follow up on a process. Each member involved in the interview process needs to be updated, and hiring managers need to be in the feedback loop with notes from previous interviews.

Conduct a Great Job Interview

Draw a Picture of Your Requirements

Your company needs to have a general idea of the kind of collaborator you need for the job position, in terms of soft and hard skills and personality. Ideally, you should elaborate a checklist of all the requirements for the role and tailor a set of questions and means to assess the potential candidate.

Another approach could be to interview top performers within your organization in the same role. Ask them about:

• Their daily tasks and responsibilities
• Their knowledge, abilities, skills, and other characteristics they think are required to succeed in the position
• Their leadership style and expectations in terms of company culture

Knowing all these answers will help you come up with a clear picture of what the perfect fit looks like.

Put in Place a Game Plan for the Interview

Talent acquisition departments typically know what skills and job descriptions an ideal candidate looks like, but what about their personality traits?

• Do you need a socially skilled collaborator for the position, or do you need someone with quiet and analytical thinking?
• Does your ideal candidate need a very specific level of communication skills in order to perform?

Elaborate a game plan and questions that can bring the specific information you are looking for. You also need to be prepared for questions from the candidate side and address their specific inquiries and concerns regarding compensation, perks, and company culture. Personalize specific questions based on their resumes and work history, and make notes about specific positions and work gaps. This will help you navigate the interview process and make the candidate feel valued, giving them a positive impression of your company.

Interview Prep

One of the most important points to address is to build rapport. You need to memorize questions in order to maintain eye contact with the candidate. This will create a more casual and relaxed atmosphere, allowing the potential collaborator to feel comfortable and answer questions to the best of their abilities.

Remember that candidates are also interviewing your company. To do a great job, you need to leave a great impression about the culture and benefits of working with you. Provide them with a general draft of their daily tasks and paint a picture of what they will be doing to positively impact the organization.

A clear path for the recruiting journey from the very beginning will set the right expectations. Be clear about the sequential steps; for example:

Cultural Fit Interview:

• Who are they?
• What are their perceived strengths?
• How do they handle stress?

Technical Interview:

• Hard skills
• Certification(s)
• Their expertise

Team Mates and Collaborators:

• Let them interact with their hiring manager(s)
• Reportees
• Co-workers and anyone in the same team

Usually, when hiring a new collaborator, companies ask for a business case to develop, requesting a draft of execution outlining how they will approach their first 30, 60, and 90 days in daily activities. Also, put in place some relevant metrics to be covered and what is expected from the very beginning.

Ask Important Questions Like:

• What makes you a great fit for this position?
• Why do you believe you are the right person for the position?
• Describe your strengths and weaknesses.
• Describe your work ethic.

One of the most important assets is how they handle feedback and communicate with teammates to achieve their objectives. Inquire about hypothetical situations and how they can provide real solutions. Go into detail technically if necessary and ask them about their approach. Be very straightforward and ask open-ended questions. Listen more and speak less to build a clear picture of who they are and how they can make a significant impact in their role.

2. Communication is Key in the Candidate Experience Journey

Potential collaborators should feel they are dealing with a confident and informative organization. Starting from the job description, online applications, and interviews must be aligned throughout the hiring journey. Candidate experience must have a very clear communication path of what to expect next.

3. Align Experience with Company Values in Your Candidate Experience

It is very important to introduce not just to hiring managers; teams and innovation can only flourish when employees feel safe and foster a sense of belonging, creating a strong candidate experience and recruiting journey.

4. Be Honest Along the Hiring Journey

There’s nothing more annoying for candidates in the hiring journey than going through an entire organization’s recruiting process and waiting for a hiring decision that never comes. Your talent acquisition department needs to be honest at the right stage to send a rejection/thank you letter as soon as they realize a potential collaborator is not moving forward.

Own every step of the process. Consider a positive experience, even if they are not selected. Why? Candidates share their experiences with colleagues, friends, family, and co-workers, or on public platforms. A poor candidate experience can adversely affect your organization’s reputation.

The damage can extend through word of mouth or bad branding. When you have the right person in a process, they might decline the offer.

72% of job seekers have reported sharing a bad experience on Glassdoor.