I hate to break it to you… but as a business owner and employer - it’s no longer your market. It’s a candidate market.
Sure, there’s some exceptions to the rule, where you might be in a niche market or require a niche qualification that not many candidates have. But the general rule right now is that there are more jobs than there are candidates, or at least interested and suitable candidates anyway.
This means, for you to attract the best candidates, you need to think about THE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE.
But what is the candidate experience?
Think about the last time you applied for a role, or even thought about applying...
When you saw the advertisement for the first time, where did you see it?
Was it easy to understand the role that they were advertising?
Did you get a sense of who that company was?
When you applied for the role, was it easy to do, or did you find yourself frustrated having to switch from your mobile device to a laptop to submit?
Did the company notify you they had received your application or did you sit and wonder?
If you called the company, did they respond to your message, were they friendly, did they give you the information you were after?
Could you even find the phone number, or even a name or email address of where you could contact for questions?
After the application, if you didn’t get an interview, did you ever hear from them again?
If you didn’t….is that a company that you would apply for again or refer a friend to?
What about the interview process?
If you did get that call to come for an interview, how did they communicate?
Did you get a friendly invitation to follow up on email?
Were they prepared for you when you arrived?
Did they ask questions that showed you the interview was designed to understand you and your strengths and weaknesses or just fill a vacancy?
Did they give you a chance to ask your questions and understand how you would fit in?
And when you left that interview, did they follow up? Provide you with feedback if not successful?
Make an offer in a timely manner leaving you excited to accept?
All of these things, and so much more, show the complexity and also the importance of the candidate experience. An easy rule of thumb to go by is the golden rule, treat your candidates how you would want to be treated.
Candidates are your greatest asset and can later be your greatest referral source. Imagine the candidate that is welcomed to ask questions, finds the application process simple and straightforward, is engaged with in a professional and a friendly manner, is given plenty of preparation for their interview and is followed up with in a respectful and a timely manner. That candidate, even if they haven’t been successful, is much more likely to try and apply for your organisation again…or possibly tell a friend how great the experience was even though they are disappointed not to be successful.
Ultimately you may now have a more limited talent pool to draw from because of our changing and challenging employment market. This makes that experience so much more important and powerful. Although just between you and me, it’s always that important in any market…you set your organisation up for success in challenging times by being consistent all the time.
So what can you do to ensure you are providing a positive and consistent candidate experience? Here are my 5 top recommendations:
Make your application process as simple and straightforward as possible. Clearly outline how they can get information before applying and what you are looking for in an application, as well as provide them with all the information they need to know in order to decide if this role interests them, don't make them hunt for information.
Communicate with all applicants after the closing period and provide them with a little bit of information, even if it’s to let them know they’ll get an outcome in a few weeks.
Provide a detailed interview invitation including time, date, who they are meeting with, and if it's in person, where they go and what to do when they arrive, as well as how to prepare.
Host a collaborative interview, encourage the candidate to ask questions and explore their suitability in a professional and positive way.
Always follow up within an agreed upon time frame with an update, and offer or notification of unsuccessful outcome so the candidate can make their decisions or move on to the next role.
Just as you are making a choice on who is most suitable for your role, the candidate is also making a choice as to whether or not you are their next employer. In a market where candidates do have plenty of options, don’t let your candidate experience be the reason why you aren’t one of them.
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