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Updated: September 27, 2022 How To

How to improve your hiring — and bolster the overall candidate experience

By Tracy Westcott

In today’s tight labor market, it’s critical to improve the candidate experience in your hiring process.

Tracy Westcott

It’s more challenging than ever to win candidates. With the prevalence of career sites and job search tools online, job seekers can share a negative candidate experience online, damaging an employer’s brand.

Another reason employers should improve the candidate experience is that job seekers may become, or already are, customers. A bad recruitment or interview experience could translate to a loss of business later.

Here are four tips to dramatically improve the candidate experience.

1. Avoid snap judgments

Using technology and “knockout questions” helps employers cut down unqualified candidates. However, it’s vital to time rejections so they’re not instantaneous. Candidates want to feel as though they were fairly evaluated. Ensuring rejections are a little delayed helps create that impression. Candidates who assume they never got a fair chance may leave negative reviews online or decide not to be customers of the company.

2. Offer feedback, guidance

Employers will produce a better candidate experience if they offer useful feedback and advice throughout the hiring process. This will build trust and loyalty. The candidate may come back to apply for other positions in the future or share positive reviews online and via word of mouth. Employers should note that candidates they don’t hire are still able to give them a positive review as a potential employer.

Feedback may include:

  • Interview tips: Researching the company (perhaps even where to research the company), questions to prepare for, or sharing what information will be important to the interview panel.
  • Offering hints for upcoming steps: Concrete actions for a candidate to improve their next interview, assessment, etc.
  • Sharing feedback for future job searches: This feedback could be applicable even for job searches with other employers.

3. Eliminate or move behavioral assessments

Often, behavioral assessments are burdensome additions to a hiring process. Candidates dislike taking time to complete them because they usually aren’t paid, and they aren’t guaranteed to land the job. Employers should thoroughly consider whether an assessment is necessary for the hiring process. If not, they should cut it. If an assessment is required, employers should require tests or sample activities only once a candidate is close to being hired.

When organizations require an assessment too early, candidates will often abandon their application completely. Sought-after talent will find an assessment more acceptable when they feel closer to being hired and have a deeper understanding of whether the role is a good fit.

This strategy will also benefit employers directly. It helps them attract more talent to their hiring process. Job seekers, especially those who are talented and have many options in the job market, are more likely to engage in a hiring process that isn’t initially difficult. The more job seekers an employer may choose from, the more likely they’ll find the top talent they need.

4. Keep candidates informed

Employers will significantly improve the candidate experience if they keep in touch throughout the entire process. This task may seem time consuming, but organizations could use recruiting software (such as MP’s Attract & Hire). This type of software offers templates and sends automated updates to candidates. Even if employers only share an update that there isn’t any update, this still enhances the candidate experience.

With these four tips, employers will become more competitive in the 2022 talent war. Winning top talent is critical because an organization’s staff is its most valuable asset.

Tracy Westcott is a talent solutions manager at MP, a recruiting firm. She can be reached at twestcott@mp-hr.com.

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