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By: Helios on March 7th, 2015

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Hiring Problems? You May Have a Poor Candidate Experience

Talent Acquisition

Helios often works with clients when their recruiting process is broken or non-existent. When we conduct recruiting assessments, one of the most common areas we see overlooked is the candidate experience.

With many organizations today trying to do more with less, the candidate experience is often neglected. However, the impact of both positive and negative candidate experiences can have far-reaching consequences on your organization.

Studies show that when candidates have a positive experience with your firm, they are more likely to share that experience and encourage others to apply as well (even if they were not selected for the position to which they applied). Likewise, when candidates have a negative experience, they are more likely to discourage others from applying to your firm or even from being a consumer of your brand.

Having a poor candidate experience can negatively impact your firm’s ability to be competitive in recruiting top talent.

4 Reasons Why Candidates Get Frustrated in the Recruiting Process
  1. Lack of response and follow-up. Many candidates believe their resumes go into a black hole when they apply for a job. Sometimes they receive an automated response acknowledging their resume. For many, it is the last communication they receive from an organization. Worse yet, if a candidate has a conversation with a recruiter and the door is left open for their candidacy, they frequently don’t hear back from the recruiter.

  2. A time-consuming application. Candidates applying for jobs expect to complete an application in 5 to 15 minutes. When an application goes beyond this time frame, it is frustrating. When candidates are expected to spend 25, 45, or even 60 minutes to complete an application, many will drop off in frustration rather than go through the required steps.

  3. Lack of information. When a recruiter is speaking with an applicant, it is frustrating to the applicant when the recruiter is unable to answer questions about the role, team, and company. Candidates are seeking information to make their own determinations about the role and the fit with the company. Recruiters who are ill-informed can damage the candidate experience.

  4. Wasted time. When candidates invest time in completing applications, phone interviews, and face-to-face interviews, nothing is more frustrating than never hearing back from that organization. Yet, many companies interview candidates and never follow up with them afterward. Candidates are left feeling as though they wasted their time in pursuing the opportunity. They are also left with a negative impression of the organization.

How much do you know about your organization’s candidate experience? Is it a process in which most candidates leave with a great impression of your firm or is the process one in which the candidate experience is frequently less than stellar? 

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