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The hiring process can be nerve-wracking for candidates. They can wait weeks to hear back about jobs, if at all. Good employers make the hiring process as easy on candidates as possible, and this means more than creating automatic forms. It means developing a more personal experience from start to finish. Make yourself a better employer, find better candidates, hire better employees by keeping these few things in mind.
With Personal Touch Comes Employer Branding
Besides reversing the stereotype that recruiting (and recruiters) are soulless processes run by computers instead of people, being more personal with your recruiting can do wonders for your employer branding. A more individual application process makes candidates feel more welcome, and they tend to talk to their friends about the experience. If your hiring process leaves candidates cold, here are a few of the things they’re likely to do:
- 3 in 5 candidates will not complete a job application if they feel it is too long.
- 69% of candidates will no longer purchase products from a company after having a bad interview experience.
- 58% of candidates will no longer purchase products from a company after not hearing back from them.
Failing to reach out to candidates post interview can lead to a dip in sales rates. See why:
Candidates run the job marketplace; 83% of recruiters say so. Because they have such a stronghold, make sure the people applying to your jobs come away happy (even if they don’t get the job), develop a better hiring process, and ultimately get personal.
Keep Regular Contact
The recruiting process is incredibly busy and at times, a thankless one, so I apologize, because my next tip is going to make your life just a bit more hectic. But it’s worth it… maintain regular contact with your candidates beyond cursory emails. It takes more than just an email to make candidates feel as though they are a valuable part of the recruitment process. If nothing else, call your candidates, since 67% of them expect a call from employers at some point after they apply.
67% of candidates expect at the least a call from employers after applying for a job. Read more:
Sixty-two percent of candidates expect more personalized communication from employers than they’re currently receiving; they don’t want form emails or automated voicemails… they want people. You might say it’s unrealistic to contact each and every candidate who applies to your job, but if that’s the case, you might need a bigger recruiting team.
Personalize the Interview
On one hand, employers can learn so much about candidates through their social media profiles. This makes it easy to spark a real conversation with a candidate during the interview, the kind candidates love because it gives them the opportunity to show employers “the real them.” On the other, there’s the chance this attempt to find common ground will read as a violation of their privacy. In one study, a company informing its candidates that it would use Facebook to evaluate professionalism found that 60% of their candidates thought it was a violation of privacy.
Is getting to know candidates through Facebook too close for comfort? 60% say, yes. Read more:
The best way to personalize an interview is to have better interviewing skills, and use whatever methods you have at your disposal to spark a conversation beyond reading off a resume. Instead of looking for a range of interests, try asking them about what they like to do. Come up with questions about their previous completed experiences and projects in order to develop an organic conversation. Instead of a phone interview, try video, since candidates prefer video interviews to interviews done over the phone. As you get to know them, you’ll gain a sense of their fit, from a work and cultural perspective. Personalize Your Applicant Screening Process for better results.
