Strategies of Improving Candidate Experience in the Recruitment Process
If you have noticed a decline in the number of shortlisted candidates joining your company even after organising a successful recruitment drive in different campuses, it is a clear indication that they did not have a great experience attending the campus drives conducted by you. It could be the substandard levels of your assessment tests, wrong interview questions, lack of proper communication, lack of timely updation about the results of the various rounds, etc.
Significance of good candidate experience
Good candidate experience is a must in the current job market as it is transforming into a candidate-oriented one, promising talented aspirants only to those organisations that make candidate experience their top priority. It is the organisation’s responsibility to ensure all the students taking part in their campus recruitment drive have a good experience to see maximum number of recruits convert to hire. Many organisations fail to understand the significance of good candidate experience in a recruitment drive, diverting their focus entirely on hiring the right people. This attitude often leads to talented aspirants declining the job offer with the firm. Listed below are the top reasons why candidate experience matters to a firm:
Students form their opinion (both positive and negative) about a company based on their experience of attending campus drives
Good candidate experience helps to increase the talent pool since more and more students show interest in joining the company
Past experiences (good or bad) shared by other students can influence those participating in the current campus drive of the organisation
Investing on a good candidate experience is a financially intelligent decision since the company can cut the costs of conducting too many recruitment drives, and hire a large number of candidates visiting select campuses
Positive vs. Negative Candidate Experience
Positive candidate experience leads to more and more of them willing to join a particular organisation since they have a positive outlook about the company and its brand and are ready to work the company.
Negative experience, on the other hand, often tarnishes the company’s brand value and also leads to a low percentage of candidates showing interest in joining the organisation.
Strategies to improve candidate experience
Compiled below are some strategies companies should follow to improve candidate experience and thereby increase the number joinees in their organisation.
Keep the candidate engaged: Nowhere in the recruitment drive should the candidates feel uncomfortable or out of place. All the rounds designed by the recruiters should aim for maximum candidate involvement and keep them engaged throughout.
Feedback communication: Feedbacks after each round must be promptly communicated to the students to keep them updated about their performance. This way, the selected candidates can move on to further rounds without any confusions or time delays in the recruitment drive.
Create a conducive interview environment: The interviewing panel should ask relevant questions to the students and evaluate their skill set and knowledge about the subject. They should also allow the candidates to speak and listen carefully to what they say. Overall, the interviewers should make the them feel comfortable during the interview.
Error-free online tests: The online tests designed by the companies should be error-free, easy to understand and attempt, evaluate the technical knowledge and aptitude of candidates efficiently and reflect the scores once the test time ends.
Take candidate feedback: The hiring team should take the feedback from candidates about their overall experience in the recruitment drive to improve their strategy in future. Such a feedback tells the company on how likely or interested the students are in joining their organisation.
Give breaks during the drive: It is a good practice to give breaks to the candidates as and when required to prevent them from getting exhausted and losing their interest in the drive. The hiring team should design their recruitment drive in such a way that it does not stress the students too much.
Timely communication of the final results: Communicating the final results to all the candidates is a must. Whether they are selected or not, the HR team should not withhold the results for too long and must communicate them to the students at the end of the recruitment drive. This builds trust between the organisation and the candidates, giving them a good campus recruitment experience.
Offer letter sent on time: Offer letters must be rolled out on time to the shortlisted candidates, and the same should be communicated to them by the HR team to ensure timely closure of the offer. This way the HR is able to maintain transparency with the company and the students, and keep track of how many recruits convert to a successful hire.
Respect candidate’s time: The HR team must respect a candidate’s time and should not keep them waiting all day long for results or feedback of the previous rounds; instead, they should be communicated immediately. Also, in the interviews, the panel should not spend too much time asking personal questions and instead focus on asking questions that will test the knowledge and skills of the candidates.
Eliminate prejudice in campus drive with automation tools: Use automation tool effectively to reduce bias and prejudice in the recruitment drive. This ensures the selection of the best candidates and filters out the average ones. Also, the HR is able to manage time effectively.
Effective use of social media: Social media is a great platform for interacting with the students effectively to connect to them and clarify their queries regarding the job profile or the company culture. This helps to build a trust on the HR and also leads to smooth turn of events in the recruitment drive.
Extensive advertising: Advertising on different websites and platforms makes colleges and candidates aware of the recruitment drive and helps them prepare for the same in an efficient manner.
Key Takeaway
Good candidate experience is directly proportional to the number of candidates joining your firm. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that students participating in your recruitment drive have a good experience if you wish to see a rise in the number of joinees who contribute to the company and strive to increase its productivity. To know more, visit https://pod.ai
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