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How to Improve the Candidate Experience During Your Next Hiring Campaign

For job candidates, the search for a new role can often be a frustratingly slow and tedious process. Unresponsive prospective employers, long and arduous email threads, automated email responses; all of these are factors which job candidates encounter all too often in the job search and which can quickly disenchant them from a particular role. A smooth, efficient, and rapid recruiting process, on the other hand, is sure to make a positive impression on job candidates and will maximize an employer’s chances of receiving an application.  

It can be challenging, however, for employers to identify the specific aspects of their current recruitment and hiring models that are in need of improvement. With this in mind, this post will walk you through four simple ways to improve the candidate experience in your next hiring campaign. 

Write a clear and up-to-date job description.

It’s not uncommon for job candidates to apply or even to interview for a role, only to discover down the line that the skills and responsibilities required by that position do not, in fact, match with their own experience. In many of those cases, a considerable amount of time and resources could have been saved if the employer had taken the time at the early stages of the process to write a comprehensive job description. 

Set expectations early on about your recruitment process.

In the search for a new role, time is of the essence. It’s important, therefore, for candidates to understand early on what they should expect in terms of timeline and communication. Every company will have a slightly different recruitment process; clarifying the details of yours to a prospective employee will make it much less likely that they’ll become frustrated and disappear.  

Keep the ball rolling with communication.

This one is crucial. Recent research has demonstrated that a lack of communication on the part of employers is the number one most frustrating part of a candidate’s job search. It stands to reason, then, that devising a strategy aimed at consistent and helpful communication is perhaps the most effective thing that any employer could do to improve a candidate’s recruitment experience. 

Go the extra mile when conducting interviews.

The interview is arguably the most critical point of the recruitment process. It is the first opportunity for candidates to meet with their prospective managers and colleagues in person and to get a glimpse of their potential future workplace. In order to ensure that it’s a positive experience for candidates, it’s important for employers to prepare appropriately. This goes beyond merely preparing the appropriate questions (although that’s important, too); proper interview preparation also means gathering the right people into the room, respecting a candidate’s time, and (as we mentioned earlier) being clear about what they should expect for next steps. 

At RightStone, we’re working with IT candidates and top employers to make connections that last. To learn more about how to get connected with top talent, we’re here to help.