6 ways to improve your candidate experience

As companies strive to attract top talent, the importance of creating a positive candidate experience has never been more significant. This focus is excellent news for the millions of applicants each year, as businesses aim to support and engage candidates through sometimes extensive and challenging application and onboarding processes. 

But how can you create a positive candidate experience at scale? And how can you maintain the necessary level of screening while ensuring a strong candidate experience? From consistent messaging to welcoming new hires on their first day, let’s explore six effective ways to enhance your candidate experience. 

The current landscape for job applicants

Our research indicates that 46% of candidates rate their application experience as ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’. Even more concerning, 64% of candidates share their experiences on social media, potentially influencing others’ perceptions of the company. 

Poor candidate experiences can arise for various reasons. Many candidates are simply ‘ghosted’ by prospective employers, a lack of communication most prevalent in organizations overwhelmed by large volumes of job applications. Too often, candidates endure an impersonal and 'vanilla' hiring process, feeling that organizations are too focused on their own goals. Despite the increased prominence of employer branding, many organizations forget to prioritize their candidates, losing sight of the fact that they are dealing with individuals, each with unique needs and preferences. 

A strong foundation: creating a consistent, engaging candidate experience

Identifying and retaining top candidates relies on a consistent candidate experience. Organizations increasingly strive to be highly engaging throughout every interaction, regardless of the application outcome. Former candidates might apply for future positions or even become brand advocates on your behalf. 

The ideal candidate experience should be professional yet personal, with processes underpinned by your core values. Prioritizing a personalized approach can significantly impact the success of talent acquisition. 

How to improve the candidate experience

We’ve conducted research with our RPO clients to identify opportunities to enhance the applicant experience. We have identified five key areas that define the core of a best-practice candidate experience. 

1. Provide detailed, persuasive information about job opportunities

Recruitment marketing efforts often initiate contact with candidates in the pre-application stages. During this phase, keep candidates informed and educate them about: 

• Your organization
• The culture
• The working environment
• Any corporate social responsibility initiatives
• Available roles and their responsibilities
• The teams they will be working with
• The projects they could be involved in

Creating a positive candidate experience means delivering a uniform message across careers pages, job applications, and supporting materials. Demonstrate a strong employer brand and avoid favoritism between roles. Remember, many prospective candidates aren't actively searching for a new role, so it’s crucial to provide enough information to make them consider changing employers. This information should clarify both the role itself and what the organization offers as a whole. 

 2. Tailor your messaging for your target audiences  

Consistency is key, but it comes with challenges. Often, the message required for one audience may not resonate with another. We have found that tailored messaging creates a significant point of difference for employers. 

Employers should develop a detailed understanding of their target audience. Define a persona for each role type and align your recruitment communications to your candidate’s needs. Creating tailored content for different segments may seem time-consuming or hard to maintain, but the effort will pay off. A tailored approach creates stronger engagement with applicants. Your job opportunities will stand out from competitors if you offer personalized benefits instead of a generic list. When the hiring process genuinely addresses candidates’ needs, applicants feel more engaged from the outset. 

 3. Maintain consistent, personalised communication

Once you engage a candidate, it’s your responsibility to understand their individual needs and wants. Use each subsequent interaction to provide more detailed information. Share realistic job previews or details specific to the role and business area. Get to know your candidate and explain benefits and rewards that reflect their circumstances. 

Building a positive candidate experience also means catering to diverse communication preferences. Modern candidates have a wide range of communication styles and preferences. Spread your communications across various platforms: 

• Careers pages
• Community-based forums
• One-to-one phone calls
• Video calling
• Email - both personalized and automated newsletters

These follow-up engagements support a candidate's decision to remain in the application process. Empower candidates to make informed decisions, leaving a positive impression of the organization. 

4. Offer Genuine Support and Guidance

Pre- and post-application support is critically important to a positive candidate experience. This support helps candidates gain insight into the organization and start to build a picture of what it might be like to accept your job offer. 

You must practice what you preach throughout the application process. For example, if the organization promotes investment in learning and development, you must support candidates through the hiring process as well, helping them to develop. Failing to prove your claims will create a negative candidate experience that undermines trust. 

Support can take different forms. At a minimum, provide proactive support and guidance via frequent communications (email, phone) to educate candidates on the interview process. Address specific questions or queries in a timely manner to maintain a positive impression of your organisation 

5. Ensure assessment is a two-way process

The assessment stage in any recruitment process has the potential to be emotionally challenging for applicants. Providing clarity and guidance is key to improving the candidate experience.  

Inform candidates about each part of the assessment process, to enable them to prepare and perform confidently. Additionally, ensure hiring managers are fully briefed to sell the organisation and address any questions during interviews.  

Following the interview, make sure the candidates receive feedback swiftly. If this feedback is negative, reframe your guidance with a constructive angle. Remember: rejecting a candidate without a detailed reason could damage your employer brand. Allocate time to provide personal feedback to every interviewee; and resist the temptation to “ghost” any applicants. 

You should also invite candidates to give their feedback and to ask questions. By treating assessment as a two-way process, you’ll help candidates to understand if the role is right for them. This all contributes to driving a positive candidate experience.  

6. Sustain your efforts throughout a candidate’s notice period

Having invested significant time and effort in finding top candidates, the final crucial stage is the onboarding process. Onboarding should begin as soon as your applicant accepts a job offer. You must then support candidates through the pre-employment stage and their first few weeks and months in the role.  

Provide clear information in advance, such as: 

• Confirmation of start date
• Where to report on day one and to whom
• Assignment of assets/hardware
• Induction and training programmes to expect.

Onboarding can involve multiple departments, which may be overwhelming for new hires. Simple changes to communication channels, such as assigning a single contact, can make this process much smoother. Avoid pitfalls associated with questions and queries getting lost between teams. 
 
As we have seen, there are several ways to improve candidates' experiences. One common and ever-present theme is remembering that new employees have the same concerns and aspirations that we do. Let’s not expect them to be happy with anything that we wouldn’t accept ourselves.