Générez 5x plus de candidats qualifiés
Offering a good candidate experience is essential for a company. But it remains a sensitive point for most companies: it has even been the problem ranked No. 1 by candidates for several years. The crux of the problem? The lack of feedback. Most job seekers have, at one point or another, experienced the dreaded “black hole” of applying, or worse, have been completely “ghosted” by a company at an advanced stage in the recruitment process. A recent study shows that half of candidates are ignored after an interview. How not to repeat these same mistakes and offer a good candidate experience ?
Focus on the candidate experience
Candidate experience refers to all the interactions and events that candidates experience when they apply for a job. It extends from the discovery of the job offer, to the refusal or acceptance of a job, to the refusal or acceptance of a job, including the preparation, the submission of the application, the participation in job interviews and the communication with the recruiters.
The candidate experience can have a significant impact on how candidates perceive the company and their desire to work for it. A good experience can encourage them to apply for other positions as well as to recommend the company to their network, while a negative experience can discourage them from applying for other positions and affect their perception of the company, and therefore the HR marketing strategy globally.
We sometimes forget the time and energy that candidates invest in refining their CV, writing their cover letter, adapting their application and preparing for interviews. Sure, we can be overwhelmed by the volume of applications or frustrated by a lack of quality, but maybe we don't have the right tools or processes to respond effectively. Whatever our challenges, we should never forget that there is a real person behind every application.
We all know the consequences of a bad candidate experience: Fewer job offers accepted, a negative impact on the employer brand, and even a loss of business and therefore income.
In the best case, ignoring an application is still a good slap in the face for the person. In the current climate, with so much hope, anxiety, and stress associated with each application, it can be a real psychological shock. Given this situation and the increase in applications, how can you be sure that you are not this company? You know, the one who leaves her candidates in the lurch.
6 tips to apply to improve the candidate experience
Ensure that your hiring process is supported by a solid feedback loop that protects not only the candidate experience but also your employer brand. You can also download our step-by-step guide to optimizing your experience.
1. Abandon the slogan “only successful candidates will be contacted.”
2. Respond to all candidates, really all of them.
3. Inform unsuccessful candidates that their application has been rejected.
4. Candidates rejected in the pre-selection.
5. Candidates rejected after interview.
6. Reduce the number of unqualified applications to focus on the right ones!
Tip 1: Ditch the slogan “only successful candidates will be contacted”
A lot of variations of this slogan exist, and they are all bad. You make the candidate feel that the process will be completely impersonal. We must not forget that the job description should be convincing, as it is an essential element in attracting and engaging talent, so differentiating yourself at this stage is essential.
Statements such as “only shortlisted candidates will be contacted” or “if you don't hear from us within two weeks, please consider that your application has not been accepted” are not only bland, but condescending.
Why not include a statement that you guarantee to respond to each candidate? Show a positive employer brand and stand out as a company that is committed to responding to candidates! And to make your life easier, we have even provided a list of email templates optimized for recruitment !
Tip 2: Respond to all candidates, really all
Attracting candidates with a unique experience is an essential task for The employer brand. The majority of candidates you will encounter will not be selected for a position.
A simple answer is equivalent to a form of politeness that can stay in the candidate's head and highlight the image of your company and improve your reputation. Before applying, more and more candidates are learning about the company and looking for opinions on the internet.
A person applying for your ad deserves to receive a response, even the most basic message will reassure the candidate. It can simply be a “well-received application” that, with the right tool, can be fully automated.
Thanks to an innovative HR solution that integrates intelligence and algorithms into your recruitment process, the meeting between supply and demand is facilitated and optimized, resulting in a greater quantity of qualified applications with HR programmatics.
Tip 3: Inform unsuccessful candidates that their application has been rejected
This step is essential for the mental health of candidates. Not doing so is a gross strategic error on the part of the recruiter, you are not interested in this candidate for this position, but what tells you that he will not interest you tomorrow for another position on which you will judge him, this time, to be a perfect match?
Except that, if you simply put a chilling silence on his last application, there is little chance that he will still want to apply for a future offer, even if it would be even better suited to him. You must absolutely inform each candidate of the follow-up given to their application. For successful candidates, this is unavoidable, but for unsuccessful candidates (i.e. the majority), it is often overlooked.
Today, with all of our technologies, it's easier than ever to do that. It could be a simple bulk mailing of a standard rejection email, which at least lets people know where they stand. Ideally, thank the candidate and integrate them into your talent pools for future jobs.
Tip 4: Candidates rejected in the pre-selection
If your candidate participated in a test (or a first pre-selection exchange), he deserves at least an email informing him of the result. Here again, automatic solutions will take care of it for you.
For a truly successful experience, you should consider personalizing each message as much as possible. Indeed, learning that you have not been selected is one thing but it can be difficult if the candidate does not get any explanation.
Including links to educational resources in your negative feedback will help take the candidate experience to the next level and help them continue their job search.
Tip 5: Candidates rejected after interview
Depending on the recruitment process, candidates may be invited to complete one or more job interviews. For each interview, you must provide personalized and verbal feedback on the result.
Each interview represents a significant investment on the part of candidates. Not only will they have to take time out of their current obligations, but every interview also requires preparation (not to mention stress).
The best case scenario is a phone call from the recruiter, which provides constructive and personalized feedback on the performance and the reason for the rejection.
But a phone call isn't always possible. For companies that recruit en masse, the volume of applications means that candidates lower on the list can wait several days before being contacted.
A rejection email is the bare minimum in the case of mass recruitment and should be supplemented by other types of feedback in the case of specific recruitment.
All candidates expect to receive a call following an interview. You should therefore clearly meet their expectations by letting them know in advance that you will contact them again by email if that is the method you have chosen.
Today, there are other alternatives to personalized video messages that can be even more effective than the telephone, since they avoid an “uncomfortable” conversation for candidates.
While the best method may be subject to debate, the same cannot be said about the need to give correct feedback to all candidates after an interview. In other words, it's not okay to ignore a candidate after an interview - whoever you are.
Tip 6: Reduce the number of unqualified applications to focus on the right ones!
All of this can be avoided by optimizing your recruitment process from the start! Boost your candidate acquisition allows you to drastically reduce the number of unqualified applications and therefore to focus more easily on the candidate experience of the remaining applications.
The problem is generally found in the distribution of your offers which, by limiting you only to job sites, only gives you access to active candidates, i.e. looking for a job. As a result, you get a large number of unqualified applications - on average 30%. Think of the Multicast of job offers, which in order to overcome this problem will affect passive and active candidates.
A solution exists to improve both your employer brand and your rate of qualified applications, at the same time: This is the programmatic recruitment. This technology allows you to determine your ideal candidate target to only broadcast your job offer to these active AND passive candidates, at the right time and in the right place on the entire web.
You therefore only get applications that match your needs, which allows you to better interact with your candidates, in addition to optimizing the rest of your recruitment process!
If your company succeeds in building a positive image with candidates, including those who were not selected, then you will have greatly contributed to improving your employer brand.
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