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In any recruitment process, you’re trying to fill a position as quickly as possible while keeping expenses under control. It’s a lot to think about. However, there’s another concern to keep in mind: providing a good candidate experience.

You might think this represents a relatively minor consideration. However, it can have a significant long-term impact. A study conducted by Harris Interactive showed that a negative experience hurt long-term recruiting efforts. The survey indicated that 42% of candidates said they would never apply for another position at the company and, even worse, 22% revealed that would advise other potential applicants to stay away from the firm.

Clearly, building a strong employer brand requires investing in a good candidate experience. But how? How do you maximize the connection between your applicants (even the ones you ultimately reject) and your company?

Here are a few tips to improve your candidate experience:

Respect Your Candidates

We know how the math goes. You’re in the business of maximizing profits. That means using your resources as efficiently as possible. Since your job candidates don’t yet work for you, their time is essentially free, at least as far as a corporate profit/loss statement goes.

As a result of this dynamic, there’s a tendency for employers to undervalue the effort they force candidates to exert in order to apply for an open position. They ask for waves of information and compel applicants to fill out lengthy online forms. Often, the data gathered in these time-consuming procedures just repeat info included on a resume.

Don’t fall into this trap. If you want to provide an excellent candidate experience, you have to respect the time of the people applying for your jobs. Use this concept as a guiding principle as you approach your recruitment process.

Simplify the Process

Streamline your recruitment procedures as much as possible. Eliminate low-value requests, and keep your candidates in mind as you collect information. That way, candidates can put in the minimum amount of effort while still providing you sufficient information to proceed.

It helps to break the process into steps. Instead of asking for every piece of information at once, have a multi-stage elimination procedure. For instance, ask for resumes first, then make a cut. From that smaller group, request a practical test. After all, if you would have rejected a candidate based on their resume, there’s no purpose in forcing them to take a time-consuming online appraisal.

Don’t Skimp on Communication

Searching for a position can be a lonely and frustrating process. Job seekers don’t get much encouragement or support from employers. Set yourself apart by helping them through the process as much as possible.

Allowing for a back-and-forth with candidates will ensure that you get the information you need to make an intelligent decision. At the same time, it starts building a bond with your candidates. At least one of them will likely eventually become an employee, after all. Cementing that relationship early will help in the onboarding and team-building process later.

Assign a Real Person as a Point of Contact

Most online job applications are highly automated. This can make the system simpler for you. However, it can be alienating for the job candidates.

Don’t just provide a “jobs@”-style email or an anonymous online form. Instead, give your candidates an actual person to talk to. Assign each applicant a member of your HR staff as a point of contact. It will make the process more personal.

If you’re worried about inundating your HR staff with emails, there are ways to limit the impact. For instance, you can only assign a point of contact after a certain point in recruitment process, after you’ve already made some cuts.

Forming a connection with your job candidates helps promote a strong employer brand. A strong recruiting partner, like PrideStaff, can provide significant assistance as well.

Contact PrideStaff today to find out how they can improve your candidate experience.

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