How To Create A Great Candidate Experience This National Careers Week (NCW2022)

It’s National Careers Week 2022 and we’re taking a look at how employers can create a great candidate experience during the hiring process and beyond.

A good candidate experience will make candidates feel good about your company after they see how you treat them. An excellent candidate experience might make them eager to share their good feelings with others, helping build up your reputation!

Building a great candidate experience is important because you want your reputation as an employer to stand out – especially for those candidates who didn’t make it to the job offer. Their experience in the overall selection process will determine whether or not they apply for another job at your company.

In fact, 42% of candidates will not apply for a position at your company if they’ve had a bad experience with you, and one in five (22%) actively advise their peers to not apply as well.

So, let’s see how employers can create a good candidate experience that will benefit them during National Careers Week 2022.

Job Descriptions

Use simple language, even if candidates know your industry’s buzzwords, it’s best to keep job descriptions as clear and jargon-free as possible.

List must-haves as requirements, endless lists of requirements can turn off candidates who don’t think they meet every single requirement. It’s best to separate your ‘wish list’ traits from ‘must-haves’ to discourage strong candidates from dropping out.

Structure your job description to be easy to read. Job ads follow the same writing rules as blog posts and articles. They’re easier to read if they list the most important information first and are full of bullet points, active verbs and short sentences.

Communication

Send a rejection email or an interview invite as soon as you can. Usually, leaders recommend a “two-day rule” for a positive candidate experience because getting back to candidates promptly, with either good news or bad, will set you apart and demonstrate that you value your candidates’ time.

Respond to candidate thank you and follow-up notes. Once your interview process is rolling, you’ll likely get thank you and follow-up emails from candidates. Acknowledging these thank you notes with a reply makes candidates feel more appreciated and demonstrates that you’re organised and courteous.

Make the remaining steps of your hiring timeline transparent and keep candidates updated along the way. Silence is a common candidate experience killer, which can result in high anxiety levels for candidates especially if they don’t hear back from employers after an assignment or test round.

Interviews

Candidates like to be prepared and so providing them with information about your interviewing process and expectations will make them feel more relaxed when meeting or talking to you for the first time.

Tell candidates:

How many interviewers they will be meeting with, who they are and how they will join the interview?
How long do you expect the interview to take?
What format the interview will take?
What your office dress code is?
How to enter your office building as a visitor?
Where to park, if your office is located in a busy area?

As well as preparing candidates for the interview, employers themselves should also prepare and give their full attention.

Prepare for interviews by:

Reviewing your candidate’s profile - an ATS can help you with candidate profiling -
Booking a meeting room ahead of time
Creating a list of job-relevant questions
Explain your interview process to candidates.
Avoid multitasking while speaking with candidates.
Maintain eye contact as much as possible.
Take notes during the interview, or directly afterward.

Learn more information about National Careers Week 2022!