The Importance of the Candidate Experience
The Importance of Candidate Experience in Recruitment
Candidate experience when working with a recruitment agency has become increasingly important in recent years. Modern candidates have high standards, and they expect a seamless and professional experience from their recruitment team. Murray Recruitment focuses on providing this experience, both for candidates and employers.
According to a survey by Talent Board, 65% of candidates in the UK said they would share a positive candidate experience with others, and 64% said that they would be more likely to accept a job offer as a result of a positive experience.
Whether you’re hiring or looking for a new job role, here’s everything you need to know about the importance of candidate experience in recruitment, and how this can be achieved:
Providing Positive Experiences for Everyone
No business can hire every candidate that they interview. But they can provide a positive candidate experience, even to unsuccessful candidates. This is important because 65% of rejected candidates who had a positive candidate experience will be likely to do business with you again. These rejected candidates may be suitable for another opening, be successful in their application when they have gained more experience or may go on to work with your business partners or competitors.
When they share their personal experience of your company with others, you want them to share a positive experience. Reputation is everything. This is particularly true if you are working in a small or specialist sector. And the way you treat your candidates will play a significant part in carving the reputation of your business within your industry, and your wider community.
How Can You Provide a Positive Candidate Experience?
So if you’re hiring, how can you provide a positive candidate experience for all applicants? Here are five ways in which you can improve your candidate experience at every stage of the hiring process:
- Make it easy for candidates to apply for your jobs. Outline a clear recruitment process that is consistent across all job roles within your organisation and ensure that you stick to this. Working with just one recruiter who knows and understands your business, and your recruitment procedures, rather than with several recruiters, will be the best way to meet this goal.
- Follow up early and often. If your candidate has to call you for feedback, then you have failed that candidate. A good recruiter will build a relationship with each candidate that they put forward for a job role, and communicate with them often and clearly. If you don’t feel comfortable informing candidates that they didn’t get the job role then working with a recruiter is the best option, as they will be able to do this on your behalf.
- Ensure that candidates are fully informed. No one likes to be blindsided, so it’s important that candidates are aware of what to expect at each interview stage and what will happen next. If they will need to complete three interviews before the successful candidate is determined, explain this before they attend the first interview. Candidates should also be told how long each interview will take and who will be interviewing them. If the job will require evening or weekend work, be upfront: it might not be a good fit for the candidate. We ensure that we are open and honest with both our candidates and our employers so that no one ever receives an unexpected surprise.
- Ensure that Interviewers are fully prepared. When you are conducting an interview, you should give the candidate your full attention and be prepared for the interview by reading their CV in advance. We can provide notes highlighting the most important aspects of each candidate’s application to make this as easy as possible for you. As the candidate is giving you their time, free of charge, it’s important that you give them your time too. Have an appropriate meeting room or quiet space prepared ahead of time. Have a list of interview questions that you would like to ask each candidate, and start the interview on time. Sometimes things come up, so if you can’t start the interview on time then arrange for someone else to greet the candidate, keep them informed of the delay, and show them to the meeting room.
- Appreciate your candidates. Finally, it’s important that your candidates feel appreciated. And the easiest way to achieve this is to thank them at every stage of the interview process. You should be thanking your candidates not only for their time but for the effort they are making to attend interviews and share their experiences. This is particularly important if you are conducting multi-stage interviews that will require a candidate to attend on several different dates. A good recruiter will always thank your candidates on your behalf, calling them not only to share your feedback but also to receive their feedback at the end of each interview stage. Candidates, whether successful or not, should feel appreciated and that taking part in the interview process was a valuable experience.
Avoiding Poor Candidate Experience
It’s important to note that whilst positive candidate experience should be the goal of every business and recruiter, avoiding poor candidate experience is particularly important to Murray Recruitment. The fact is, candidates talk to each other, and those working within specific industries talk to each other. A candidate that has had a poor experience will share this which will, in turn, negatively affect your ability to attract and retain top talent. No-one will want to interview with a company that has a poor track record with other candidates. In the long term, this will negatively impact your business reputation and hurt your revenue stream.
It is for this reason that we strongly recommend that businesses hoping to avoid poor candidate experience and improve the quality of the candidate experience they offer work with a recruitment agency. Murray Recruitment can provide assistance every step of the way, both to candidates and employers. We know what experiences candidates are looking for, and we ensure that these are provided.
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