How to Make Hiring Easy For Your Candidates

When it comes to the hiring experience, there is no one more important than the candidate. A negative experience, in their eyes, can not only lose a potential great employee, but also create a trail of less-than-positive word-of-mouth that can derail your hiring efforts. The importance of all aspects of this experience is to be ignored at your peril, but the good news is that by following some basic principles you can create such a powerful interaction that your recruiting efforts become a powerful marketing machine that separates you from the rest.

So what does it take to make it a fantastic candidate experience? How do you turn candidates into excited fans?

Create a hiring experience with the candidate in mind

First of all, you must create a hiring experience with the candidate in mind, which requires you to view every detail as your candidate will experience it. How easy do you make it for the candidate to contact, interview, and interact with your company? Do you provide information and regular feedback on where they stand in the hiring process? Are their basic needs covered with just a little something extra? From corporate branded welcome packages, to bottles of water in their interviewing rooms, every single touch should make sure they remain focused on one thing: getting the job.

Consider the candidate's schedule

Another way to make the hiring process easier on your candidates is to consider their schedule. Send sources of information about the position, the company, their interviewers, travel details, and all relevant details well in advance of their interview so they can arrive prepared and relaxed. Apps through your company website should be simple and straightforward, information should be clearly defined; recruiters should be polished and professional. Outline the steps involved in the hiring process, and set expectations throughout the process. If people have to guess, they may lose interest.

Prepare your interview slate

Preparing your interview slate is vital to the success of the candidate’s experience with your company. Interviewers should have resumes and relevant details well in advance of the candidate’s arrival, and should be trained to delve into questions pertaining to their role and expertise. Well-trained and prepared interviewers can create a winning candidate experience. It can connect the candidates to the company, and will inevitably ensure the right person is attracted to the right role.

Use social interaction to your advantage

We are in a social, mobile connected world, so use it to its best advantage. Interaction happens not only in face-to-face interactions, but also virtually. A great social media strategy that effectively delivers the company brand helps the candidate build the right picture of the company right. The pressure for attracting talent is continuing to rise, and companies have to be innovative with opportunities to create a superior candidate experience.

Leave room for improvement

Finally, don’t be afraid to figure out where you have room for process improvement. You can’t fix it if you don’t know what’s wrong, so solicit feedback from interviewers and candidates regularly. The process is no different than asking customers how you can improve your goods and services, and the answers may surprise you. Powerful lessons can be gleaned from seeking candidate feedback, so take the time to contact applicants, new hires, and internal interviewers to find out what they think. Your information will arm you to create a flawless experience in the future, earning you a considerable amount of respect.