Candidate experience is the culmination of everything a candidate sees, hears, feels and experiences during the interview process. This includes every single interaction from sourcing to onboarding, and can make or break the relationship with the candidate. According to Workable, 42% of disgruntled candidates will not apply for any open positions at a company after a poor experience, and 22% will tell their network not to apply there either. With that in mind, let’s dive in to some common mistakes companies are making when it comes to candidate experience, and how to fix them.  

1. An application 10 miles long 

A long application process doesn’t necessarily make a good application process, and is one of the most common complaints candidates voice.  

The truth is that an application isn’t an interview, and it doesn’t need to get any more information than is absolutely necessary. Why should a candidate have to type in their work experience when they are also attaching their resume? A candidate shouldn’t have to list their references at this stage either. If the candidate is frustrated with the length and redundancy of your application process, they will simply apply elsewhere.  

The fix here is simple: shorten your application process to gathering only the necessary information for this stage of the process. Remove any questions that can be answered by looking at the candidate’s resume, don’t ask for references yet, and focus on gathering information that supplements their resume.  

  2. Ghosting the candidate 

Lack of communication is another major complaint of candidates. 75% of candidates never hear back from a company after submitting their application. Employers like to complain about candidates ghosting them, AKA never responding again after communicating with the company, but companies are often doing the same thing. While it might be impossible to send out a custom email to every single candidate, automated emails and workflows make it easy nowadays to communicate without much effort.  

There are two email templates that can radically improve the candidate experience: a submission confirmation and a rejection letter. Neither need to be long or detailed, but both should be utilized (and sent promptly) so that a candidate knows your company isn’t wasting their time, and that they can move on to other prospects. 

3. Lack of transparency 

Interviews go both ways. It’s not just about the company interviewing the candidate; it’s just as important for the candidate to interview the company. A career change is an enormous decision that could potentially impact every aspect of a person’s life. It’s imperative that the candidate seek out all the information they might need to be comfortable and secure in their decision that this role is the right one for them.  

Avoid beating around the bush or being vague when addressing these inquiries. It can lead to hesitation in the candidate, or a “false fit” scenario, in which the candidate is not informed enough to realize that this may not be the right position for them. 

Interviewers should encourage probing questions about the company and culture, and answer them honestly and in as much detail as possible. Provide honest and accurate representations of the position’s duties and compensation. If the interviewee is fully informed, they are less likely to jump ship during the interview process, or even worse, once they’ve been hired.  

4. No excitement from existing employees 

Imagine walking into an office to interview; the atmosphere is low energy and the employees seem bored. Your wait seems like an hour just to get into your interview. The hiring manager is giving off a vibe that interviewing you is a burden and they are really too busy to bother. Unfortunately, a lot of interviewees have been through this scenario. 

The candidate’s impression of their first visit to your physical location is extremely important. This is your chance to “wow” them with the culture and energy of your office and employees. Make sure the candidate is comfortable, and that their wait isn’t overly long. Let them meet some of their potential coworkers and see what desk or office they might be working out of. Be enthusiastic about interviewing them, and about the role and company. This is a chance to make the candidate a huge fan of your brand, regardless of whether they end up getting the position.  

5. Get feedback from candidates 

The best way to find out where your candidate experience is lacking or excelling is to ask the candidates themselves. These folks may have some constructive criticism that could change your candidate experience for the better, and help you land better talent in the long run.  

This could be in the form of a post-interview survey, phone call, or email, and pose questions such as: 

• How easy or difficult was the application process? 

• Did you receive feedback promptly? 

• How can we improve our application and interview process? 

You can then use that feedback to improve areas of your process that you might have overlooked.  

Bonus item: virtual screening and interviews 

These days, many companies are eschewing in-person interviews for the safety and convenience of virtual interviews. Providing a good candidate experience is still a priority when interviewing virtually, and consists of a few different elements. 

• Make sure the software you are using is easy to use, reliable, and free for the candidate to use 

• Come to the virtual interview early, prepared with all your questions and materials 

• Run through the setup beforehand to ensure the sound and video quality are good 

• Have a backup plan, just in case there is a data outage or technical problem on either side  

The other important pieces (enthusiasm, a concise application process, and communication), all still apply in a virtual scenario, just like they would in-person. 

All companies are trying to attract the best talent, and to stand out you need to provide a pleasant and streamlined experience before even offering the candidate the position. The top mistakes we see being made by employers are a long and drawn out application, lack of communication, and a lackluster presentation of the company to the applicant. The best way to combat these issues is to get direct feedback from the applicants themselves! 

If you have questions about how to evaluate your current candidate experience, or how to improve it, we can help. Contact us today to learn more! 

By Jessica Palmer