The candidate experience is the whole journey a candidate takes from seeing your job post to being rejected, or hired. All steps between and ultimately receiving an offer, or a rejection are crucial steps for the candidate, and for you, as an employer. You can help the candidate feel at ease and taken seriously, so the whole process can be as positive as possible for them. This helps strengthen your employer brand because it shows that you, as an employer, care about them. Even if the outcome is not what the candidate had hoped for.
For this article, we’ve divided this journey into 5 parts. We’ll take a look at how you can use Homerun to improve the candidate experience.
Before publishing the job
Even before the word is out, you can help candidates, and your hiring team, by carefully preparing the job post.
To attract a diverse selection of candidate, it’s important to write about the job in a clear, and open way. This means that candidates should be able to recognise themselves in the text (both in a personal, and a professional way). To do this, make sure the text in the job is easy to read, and without too many professional or buzzwords. This will help candidates see what the challenge is, and where their expertise comes into play. The job brief should challenge them, and encourage them to apply.
⭐Homerun tip: show the preview link of a job post to some of your colleagues in, and outside of the hiring team to get feedbackTake your time to carefully look at the job post and think about what you’re looking for in a candidate, and how you’re communicating this. This will help get your whole team on the same page when it comes to reviewing candidates. After the first selection, you’ll also be able to provide the candidates with better feedback on why you have selected, or rejected them.
Help candidates get an idea of what will happen after applying, by sharing what the process will look like in the job post. This can be as simple of stating the first step is a phone call, then a series of interviews, before a final decision. You can make these steps visual by adding custom icons that playfully show the steps in the hiring process.
⭐Homerun tip: visualise the process by adding your icons in a Team- or Tools job block. This job block is perfect for showing 4 or 5 small images in a neat row.
After posting the job: the selection process
From the moment the first candidates apply, to candidates that apply on the day of the deadline, communication is key. This is communication with the candidates, but also within your hiring team.
Be open and personal in your communication with candidates. This means sending a personal confirmation email to thank them for their application, and providing them with information about when you’ll be in touch. This can either be after the deadline (make sure to add that date to the email), or within a week. It also means following up on questions, and providing candidates with updates on the process, especially when there’s a delay.
⭐Homerun tip: Create a custom confirmation email for every job opening to create a personalised email with information that is relevant to that specific job (deadline, next steps, etc)
Align with your team who takes the lead in communication with the candidates, and what you expect team members to do when there’s a new candidate. Think about when a candidate would receive 5 stars, or 2 stars, and if every team member should write down why they rated that candidate those stars.
⭐Homerun tip: Use the overview page to see the average of the reviews from all team members and hover on those stars to see every team members’ individual scoring
Before the interview
Interviews might be the most scary or daunting part of the candidate experience so this is where you can make a real difference. Also, remember that candidates are also checking if they’d like to work at your company; it’s a two way street.
Think about how you want to help the candidate prepare for the interview. Be clear about what the candidate can expect during the interview. Let them know if some of your colleagues are joining, and if there will be an assignment during the interview. It’s also good to keep things as a surprise to test a candidates’ reaction, but be realistic about this and keep a balance here. Candidates can act or respond differently in an interview, compared to how they would respond on the work-floor.
As much as you’d want the candidate to have prepared for the interview, it’s important to also prepare yourself for the interview. Make sure there’s water, coffee, or tea, and a room available to have the interview in. Also, think about questions you’d like to ask and discuss with any colleagues how you want to structure the interview. Go through the different subjects to talk about and who takes the lead in the interview.
During the interview
One of the most important things to keep in mind during the interview is that the candidate is also looking if this is the right job for them. It’s easy to take for granted that the candidate wants to work with, and for you, but what looks good on paper, can be different in the real world.
It’s likely the candidate will have questions about your company, so answer questions from candidates truthfully. The interview is a great way to further introduce the candidate into what working at your company is like. No one likes negative surprises and answering questions honestly shows you’re sincere, and not just being pretentious.
Try to have an open mind going into the interviews. You may have already formed an image of the perfect candidate, but let candidates surprise you. Remember that every candidate is different and can bring something unique to the table. An open mind automatically results in paying more attention to what the candidate has to say, and expressing genuine interest in the candidate.
Right at the end of the interview, provide the candidate with details about what’s next. Thank them for being here, and share when you’ll be in touch again.
⭐Homerun tip: Add an email template that thanks the candidate for the interview. You can send this email at the end of the day of the interview.
After the interview
Now that the hard work is done, it’s important not to lose momentum. As much as this is the time for you and your team to think about next steps, the same goes for the candidate.
After the interview(s), you know if the candidate will be a fit based on their skillset, but it’s a good idea to have a candidate join an informal event of your company. Think of a Friday drinks, a lunch, or any other event you do outside of work. It’s an opportunity for you, and your team, to get to know the candidates in a different atmosphere. The candidate can get a better feel of what life at your office is too. However, it’s smart to not invite the candidates for the same event, at the same time to avoid awkwardness.
Conclusion
The key to setting up a positive candidate experience is to have open, and honest communication with your candidates. Start with a clear overview of the hiring process, communicate clear and on time, and give the candidate well structured feedback to make them feel taken seriously. This is as much about them, as it is about you. If you reject a candidate, they are more likely to understand, and see the process as a more positive experience. They might be a fit at a later stage, or for another role. Being aware of the candidate experience, and acting on it, will help you build, and maintain a strong, and positive employer brand.