Mastering the Art of the Candidate Experience

Your recruitment process is often the very first interaction a person has with your company. If you treat applicants like numbers in a database, they will review you harshly on Glassdoor, tell their peers to avoid you, and refuse to buy your consumer products. Inversely, a phenomenal candidate experience creates powerful brand ambassadors, even out of the people you reject.

Overcommunicate

The number one complaint from job seekers is the "Black Hole"—spending two hours crafting an application only to never hear back.

Set Transparent Expectations

On your careers page and in the first phone screen, spell out exactly what the interview timeline looks like. "You will have a 30-minute phone screen, followed by a take-home assessment, and then a final 2-hour loop with the team." Do not surprise a candidate with a magical "Round 6" interview because the CEO suddenly decided they want to meet everyone.

Be Human

Remember that interviewing is incredibly stressful. Offer candidates a glass of water, ensure your interviewers introduce themselves and their roles clearly, and leave 10 minutes at the end of every conversation for the candidate to ask questions. You are evaluating them, but they are absolutely evaluating you.