As recruiters, we face pressure to rapidly grow our teams. But in the process we often neglect the very candidates we’re hoping to bring on, forgetting just how hard searching for jobs can be.
That said, a candidate’s journey can teach us much, even reveal an organization’s true character. And lead to positive change.
How to Understand the Candidate Journey
Go through your candidate journey
When was the last time you went through your own application process? Many of us ignore how difficult application processes can be. For a reality check, find a job opening at your company, click “Apply” and go through the flow. Take notes! What would you change? How could you improve the experience?
Understand what motivates job seekers
Make a weekly habit of checking interview reviews that come in on Glassdoor. In a competitive market, understanding the candidate experience can make or break efforts to close top talent. Our team at Glassdoor isn’t perfect but we’re open to constructive feedback—we regularly make adjustments to our processes based on reviews.
To further evaluate and appreciate the candidate journey, you also need to understand what motivates candidates to change jobs (beyond compensation) and leverage that information to woo your top candidates. Reasons may include career opportunities, culture, responsibilities or their relationship with their direct manager. Again, monitoring interview reviews is a great source.
Then comes employer branding
Use this intelligence to shape your employer brand. A strong one will bring in more applicants and give you a clear-cut edge over competitors who put little effort into their reputation.
Bolster your employer brand by embellishing your Glassdoor profile with “Why work for us” messaging, producing and sharing recruiting videos that show what it’s like to work at your company, and leveraging social media to give candidates a peak into your culture.
Speaking of intelligence, when was the last time you reviewed your company careers page? Does yours help job seekers—on both desktop and mobile—find essential company information like your mission and company benefits? Is it easy to apply for jobs? Keep the design simple, easy to navigate, and most of all functional.
Candidate management and interview process
When your talent pipeline is flowing, how are you managing candidates? There is nothing more frustrating to a job seeker than throwing a resume into a black hole. It’s no small feat to juggle candidates, but that’s what we’re paid to do. Provide consistent feedback throughout the application process (which includes sending timely rejection emails) or else take a hit to your reputation and credibility.
The biggest drain on a candidate tends to be the interview process itself. Is yours engaging candidates or simply a heavy-handed screening? When you can effectively balance screening with selling the job opportunity, you give yourself a close advantage.
At this point, you shouldn’t have to focus on telling candidates why your company is a great place to work—they’ll have already picked up on that! In fact, let your interview team do the heavy lifting on the sell. After all, they’re the ones who will be (hopefully) working with the new hire!
Finally, while there are scores of tweaks you an make to the candidate’s journey, always remember the Golden Rule of Recruiting: Recruit others as you’d like to be recruited.
