In today’s job market, a great candidate experience is essential to attracting top talent. As a hiring manager, you play a crucial role in shaping this experience. With our easy-to-implement tips, we can help you craft an experience that leaves a lasting, positive impression on every candidate.
What are people saying about your company?
72% of candidates who have a bad experience with an employer will tell friends, colleagues and family about it.
The chances are, that every prospective candidate is checking you out on platforms like Glassdoor -whether you like it or not! If your company’s reputation isn’t looking too great because only a couple of disgruntled employees have left reviews, it’s time to get a more balanced view by encouraging your team to share their honest experiences.
Take L’Oréal, for example. They actively ask their people when they hit their 6 month anniversary to leave a Glassdoor review and use the feedback to keep a pulse on how employees are feeling and where they need to improve.
Sometimes it’s not just what’s said, but who says it. Zillow is a great example where their CEO, Spencer Rascoff, personally responded to Glassdoor reviews. In fact, some employees mentioned that they joined Zillow because of his responses, showing how valuable leadership engagement can be.
What’s special about your organisation?
A great way to stand out from the competition is by focusing on what makes you unique as an employer. Why should a potential candidate choose you over someone else? Whether it’s your relaxed culture, cutting-edge tech, or hybrid working approach, find that special something that will resonate with the right candidates.
For example, &pizza showcases their “No Ceiling” policy, offering employees endless opportunities for growth. This unique approach helps them attract and retain top talent across their locations by emphasising personal and career development.
Build trust
Building trust with candidates allows them to feel they’re getting an authentic view of the company, helping them decide if they align with your culture and values. This transparency builds confidence that the company is genuine, creating a stronger emotional connection and improving the chances of finding a long-term fit.
To create a more personal connection with candidates, Autodesk takes a human approach by having hiring managers record short interviews about the role and the team, allowing candidates to get to know them better before applying.
When candidates are kept in the loop about their status and the steps in the hiring process, their overall experience improves. Even if they aren’t selected, a transparent process leaves a positive impression and builds trust. Partner with your recruiting team to explain the process to candidates upfront – how many interviews, any assessments, and when they can expect a decision.
HubSpot known for their culture of transparency, designed their candidate experience to remove uncertainty by offering a section called “what happens on the other side” of the application process. This openness helps candidates feel informed and reduces anxiety during recruitment.
Another key aspect that you can be transparent about is the salary for the role. If being specific doesn’t work, aim at least to provide a salary range.
61% of candidates want to see compensation shared in a job description
At Glitch including salary ranges in their job postings has not only increased application rates, but has also given them a competitive edge in attracting and retaining exceptional talent, especially since this level of transparency is still rare in the market.
Build a talent community
Numerous studies, including Edelmans’s Trust Barometer, show that people trust employees more than CEOs, spokespeople, or marketing teams. So, the more you can get your employees involved in helping you hire the better!
For example, Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has an entirely remote workforce. To build connections with potential candidates, they host virtual events called “Automattic Live,” where candidates can chat with current employees and get a real sense of the company’s culture and values.
Similarly, Cisco Meraki found that money wasn’t motivating employees to participate in their referral program. So, they launched a program called “Meraki Matchmaking,” where a recruiter sits down with an employee for 15 minutes to browse their LinkedIn connections together. They chat about who could be a good fit for current or future roles, making it a more personal and engaging process.
Make it easy to apply
Overly complicated job application processes can not only cause job seekers to abandon their applications but also negatively affect how they feel about your employer brand. Does your process feel a bit outdated? Why not try applying for a role at your own organisation and see how it feels?
Here are a couple of examples of companies that focus on making the candidate experience smoother:
Amazon has simplified its application process, allowing candidates to apply for multiple roles at once. They also provide a “Job Application Status” page, so candidates can easily check where they are in the hiring process and what comes next.
Deloitte makes applying easy by letting candidates use their LinkedIn profiles, saving them from having to manually enter all their information—this helps make the process quicker and less frustrating.
Shake up the traditional interview
In the past, interviews often felt like grilling exercises, designed to trip candidates up. But ideally, we should aim to make candidates so comfortable that we see their true selves, ensuring we’re selecting a diverse mix of personalities and attributes for more balanced teams.
Take Microsoft, for example – they recognised that some of the most talented candidates don’t perform well under pressure. In response, they redesigned their interview process to help candidates present their best selves. Some hiring managers even send out interview questions or practice questions beforehand, reasoning that since work isn’t a daily surprise, neither should an interview be.
Another growing trend is the use of “auditions,” where the focus shifts from how well a candidate interviews to whether they actually know how to do the job. McKinsey & Company, for instance, presents candidates with real client scenarios they’d be facing in the role. These auditions can be adapted depending on the specific role and skills being sought. This approach helps to evaluate candidates based on real job performance, not just their interview abilities.
Reject like you hire
We’ve all been there – you’ve finished an interview which you thought went fairly well and you eagerly await a response from the recruiter or the hiring manager, but….after a long wait, you receive an automated, generic rejection email!
Only 7% of candidates receive a phone call from a recruiter or hiring manager about a rejection
We know you’re busy and it’s not an easy conversation but if you look at it from the candidate’s perspective, it doesn’t feel great to receive a generic rejection email. Think about how you can not only make this part of the process more human but also retain the relationship you’ve built with the candidate for any future roles.
For instance, Dropbox hosts “Meetup Rejections” where recruiters explain the hiring process and answer questions openly and transparently. This fosters an open dialogue and builds trust with potential talent.
Adobe sends personalised rejection emails with specific reasons for the decision and links to relevant career resources. This shows respect for the candidate’s time and provides value even in rejection.
Use AI to do the hard work for you
And finally don’t forget to use the AI tools that are available to enhance your candidate experience. Feeling stuck trying to write engaging job descriptions, not sure where to start on designing an audition/skills assessment? Use tools like Microsoft Copilot, Chat GPT or Google’s Gemini to help you.
By implementing these strategies, you can significantly improve your candidate experience, strengthen your employer brand, and attract the best talent to your organisation. Remember, a positive candidate experience not only helps in securing top talent but also ensures they become ambassadors of your brand, regardless of the outcome of their application.