9 Ways to Ensure Your Job Candidates Have a Positive Hiring Experience
Welcome to Recruiter Q&A, where we pose employment-related questions to the experts and share their answers!
Today’s Question: What’s one specific way companies can ensure those they are recruiting have a positive candidate experience throughout the hiring process? What impact does this have on both the candidate and the company?
These answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization composed of the world’s most successful young entrepreneurs. YEC members represent nearly every industry, generate billions of dollars in revenue each year, and have created tens of thousands of jobs.
1. Communicate More Clearly
Clear communication and setting expectations early in the recruitment process ensure that candidates have positive experiences. If the application requires a skills assessment or three rounds of interviews, tell them before they apply. Too many job seekers are used to not hearing from companies or going into the hiring process without understanding what it entails, which isn’t helpful for anyone. — Diana Goodwin, MarketBox
2. Provide Timely Feedback
A company can offer a positive experience to candidates throughout the hiring process by providing timely feedback at each stage of recruitment. This will create a sense of transparency, which will make them more likely to return to the company should they need to again in the future. By doing this, companies can boost candidate satisfaction and build trust with potential hires. — Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite
3. Be Honest About the Company Culture
The best thing you can do for candidates during the recruiting phase is to be completely transparent about your company culture and their prospective role in it. Nobody wants their time wasted. Not the employer. Not the recruit. Honesty throughout the process is the best way to both avoid any bad feelings and get started off on the right foot. — Jonathan Ronzio, Trainual
4. Ensure the Job Posting Is Detailed
Make sure the job posting is detailed. I always include details regarding compensation and benefits. If it’s a sales position, I also include detailed sales tracking terms. This will show candidates that we are transparent and upfront, and they’ll feel more at ease dealing with the company. Ultimately, this streamlines the entire process, helps prevent miscommunication, and increases trust. — Shu Saito, All Filters
5. Use Automated Tools for Their Convenience
Use automated tools such as online scheduling, task management systems, and virtual interview platforms to make the application process more convenient for candidates. Allowing candidates to apply for jobs, book interviews, and complete tasks from any device with an internet connection reduces the time it takes for candidates to complete their applications and makes it easy for everyone. — Blair Williams, MemberPress
6. Be Friendly and Respectful
Create a positive hiring experience by maintaining a friendly and respectful relationship with your candidates throughout the whole process. This will make them feel valued and help ensure that the right person is chosen for the job. Showing genuine interest in the candidate’s background and experience can help build a rapport that makes them more likely to accept an offer if you make one. — Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
7. Be Specific About What You’re Looking For
We changed our job description and the wording in our ad to attract the type of person we were looking for, and then we made sure that they fit our culture by giving them a behavioral assessment. That way, we don’t waste their time or ours. — Jennifer A Barnes, Optima Office, Inc.
8. Personalize the Experience
Consider offering personalized experiences for candidates, such as personalized video introductions or virtual tours of the company, to foster a positive and engaged hiring experience. This can help candidates feel more connected to the company and can set your organization apart from the competition. — Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz
9. Establish and Follow a Process
Companies can ensure that those they are recruiting have a positive experience by creating and following a recruiting process. Often, employers don’t have an established recruiting process, leaving a new hire feeling overwhelmed or neglected. Companies can retain candidates and increase new hire buy-in by establishing a process. This makes everything less stressful for new hires too. — Jared Weitz, United Capital Source Inc.