The Importance of Candidate Experience in Recruiting
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Successful recruiting involves more than finding the right candidate to fill a position. The best recruiters create positive experiences that enhance your organization’s reputation and encourage candidates to accept roles.
Over the past few years, job candidates have expressed increasing dissatisfaction with recruiting practices. How can The Trevi Group help you avoid the problems that hurt today’s recruitment practices? Keep reading to learn more about how The Trevi Group’s team can boost your recruitment process.
Streamlining application processes to reduce friction
A lot of companies waste far too much time on applications and interviews. A recruiter reaches out to the candidate to get their resume. Then, nothing seems to happen for weeks or months — at least from the applicant’s perspective.
When the applicant finally gets a response, they often have to go through multiple rounds of interviews.
Understandably, a lot of candidates start wondering whether they want to work for such an inefficient company.
Streamlining application processes reduces friction by helping decision-makers focus on high-value candidates and deciding who has the right experience to fill the role. When the recruiter gives candidates answers within days instead of weeks or months, the company looks more decisive and professional. It’s the kind of place top talent wants to work.
Giving candidates timely feedback
Whether a recruiter decides to move forward or tell someone they didn’t make the cut, job candidates appreciate timely feedback. Again, this makes your company look more professional and decisive. It also shows that you respect job candidates.
Maybe you decide you don’t want to hire a candidate for an open position right now. A more suitable position could open in the near future. If the candidate felt respected during the first round, they’re more likely to engage with your company again. If they had a negative experience, they might just ignore the recruiter. They have a poor opinion of your company, so they’re not interested in future opportunities.
Personalizing communication throughout the hiring journey
Professionals spend years developing skills that prepare them for their jobs. Each person your company considers for a job has a unique skill set. As such, candidates deserve personalized communications throughout the hiring journey.
It’s important to recognize that personalization means doing more than addressing candidates by name. Anyone can use an email platform to address each candidate by their name.
To truly personalize communications, you need to mention factors specific to each person. For example, an email might say, “I was happy to hear about your experience using SQL to manage databases. I’ll definitely pass that on to the hiring manager.”
To some extent, recruiting professionals can think of personalization as a written form of active listening. You’re summarizing points back to the candidate to let them know you paid close attention, understood what they said, and value their experiences.
Creating a welcoming interview environment
Job interviews can take place in person or virtually. Regardless of the approach, recruiters should create welcoming environments that put candidates at ease.
Creating a pleasant environment offers several benefits. Perhaps most importantly, you make it easier for job candidates to give you accurate answers and show you what they’re worth. A relaxed person will have a much easier time expressing themselves than someone who feels nervous.
Recruiters often help job candidates feel comfortable by:
Setting expectations before the interview starts (even a brief outline of what will get covered during the interview makes it possible for candidates to prepare)
Explaining each step of the interview process
Using an icebreaker to break tensions and start an open conversation
Encouraging candidates to focus on relevant topics and experiences
Asking follow-up questions
Giving candidates an opportunity to ask questions before ending the interview
Gathering feedback from candidates post-process
There’s always room for improvement. That’s just as true when it comes to recruiting as anything else.
After completing the recruiting process, ask candidates to complete surveys that will give you insights into how you might approach future interactions differently. Even if you don’t incorporate any of their opinions into your process, asking for feedback shows that you care about the candidate’s perspective.
Let The Trevi Group create positive recruiting experiences for your company
The Trevi Group takes a consultative approach to recruiting. We customize every process to meet each company’s unique needs. Our professionals can also create recruiting processes that impress job candidates.
Contact The Trevi Group to learn more about how we can help improve your brand’s image, shorten the hiring process, and retain top talent.
The Trevi Group | “Executive Search for Technology Professionals” | www.TheTreviGroup.com
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