How to improve your candidate experience

September 13, 2024

 

Alex Oliver

7 min read

A lot of digital ink has been spilled on the topic on candidate experience. So we’ll cut to the chase: Creating a positive candidate experience is a key pillar of talent acquisition because it can lead to higher job acceptance rates and influence how job seekers view your company.

According to reporting from Glassdoor, a positive candidate experience can result in a 38% increase to the likelihood of a candidate accepting a job offer. Additionally, a Talent Board study found that companies prioritizing their candidate experience see a 25% increase in job offer acceptance rates.

The bottom line: Providing a positive candidate experience is key to attracting top talent. Hiring companies have many viable avenues for improving their recruitment processes – from following industry best practices to adopting candidate engagement management (CXM) software.

Read on to discover how you can improve your candidate experience.

Common frustrations candidates face during the hiring process

Job seekers often encounter the same pain points that detract from their application experience. Addressing these common pitfalls can improve candidates’ satisfaction levels and impression of your company.

Lack of communication

Candidates can feel left out in the cold during recruitment. Without prompt updates from recruiters, they may feel overlooked and undervalued, resulting in negative feelings about the role and the hiring team.

According to a Criteria survey, 54% of candidates have withdrawn their application due to a lack of communication, with an alarming 39% sharing that they were ghosted.

After submitting their application, a candidate will expect acknowledgement that you’ve received it. These expectations only grow after that first screening call. To keep them engaged, it’s important to deliver regular, personalized updates about their application status and next steps.

Failing to communicate with the candidate pool can result in irritation, often triggering disinterest in working for your company.

Unclear job descriptions

Job listings shouldn’t be a word salad of industry jargon. Avoid confusion among potential applicants by ensuring your role descriptions are both detailed and clear.

Vague or overly complex job descriptions can be off-putting to job seekers–or lead to mismatched expectations if they do apply.

Indeed found that 52% of candidates said the quality of a job description was very or extremely influential on their decision to apply. On the flipside, it was also reported that 42% of hiring managers needed to edit a listing after it was posted, due to receiving an influx of unqualified applicants.

Candidates should understand what is expected in the role, allowing them to determine if they would be a strong fit or not. Plus, your recruiting team will also benefit from well-written job descriptions, resulting in a stronger batch of applications and typically a more efficient hiring process.

Lengthy application processes

Job seekers want their time respected as much as employers do. Facing a complicated or drawn-out application form can deter qualified candidates from applying.

After all, who feels motivated by the tedious task of copy-pasting their entire CV? Or recording a 15-minute intro video before even speaking with a recruiter?

According to a Greenhouse report, 66% of candidates indicated the application length was a key factor in whether they chose to apply. More than 70% also admitted to abandoning the process if it would take longer than 15 minutes to complete.

Negative experiences during the hiring process can lead to high drop-off rates, draining the talent pool or even harming your reputation if irritated applicants voice their feelings online. The latter could impact your ability to attract new talent.

iCIMS found that 36% of job seekers consider firsthand reviews, on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, to be the most accurate source for what it’s like to work for a company. So, the stakes involved are high.

The impact of automation on candidate experience and hiring efficiency

Automation is a powerful tool for enhancing the recruitment process. Able to improve both hiring efficiency and candidate experience, automating your workflows can decrease time-to-hire and increase the quality of prospective hires.

For instance, automated systems can filter and rank applicants in seconds, making it easier to identify star candidates in a sea of resumes.

According to Entelo research, companies using automation for recruitment reduce time-to-hire between 7% to 15%, or an average of 4.5 days per role. Indeed, companies with iCIMS AI save twice the time compared to others without it. (We’ll expand on how AI-powered recruiting works in the next section).

Marketing automation can also help with nurturing your candidate database. With automated recruitment marketing, you can engage “hot leads” in your talent pool across multiple platforms and send personalized communication during the hiring process.

Intelligent sourcing technologies and their role in improving candidate experience

Using intelligent sourcing technologies – such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) – can streamline the hiring journey. Leveraging AI-driven talent matching can help pair applicants to roles that fit their skills and interests, improving the process for both recruiters and candidates.

Some notable benefits of using AI and ML for recruitment include:

• Reduction in time-to-hire: Lighten your recruiting team’s workloads, allowing them to focus on high-value tasks such as interviewing strong candidates. AI can generate shortlists of the top applicants, reducing manual screening time and accelerating the hiring process.
• Greater efficiency in the application process: Quickly scan and evaluate resumes, cover letters, and large amounts of applicant data using AI-powered tools to identify the best qualified candidates, based on your predetermined criteria.
• Better communication with job seekers: Automate personalized email campaigns, texts, and chat responses to keep candidates feeling in-the-loop and engaged throughout the process. Using AI chatbots and automated touchpoints can give back valuable time to recruiters.

• Remediate bias during recruiting and hiring: Prioritize your company’s DEI mandate and create a more inclusive workplace by using AI to mitigate unconscious bias, create fairer practices, and ensure that diverse candidates are reached and considered in your talent pool.

Gartner recently reported that 38% of HR leaders are piloting, planning, or have already implemented generative AI, indicating a dramatic jump from 19% in 2023. In fact, 76% of this group also believe that failing to implement AI solutions in the next 12 to 24 months would lead to a lag in organizational success.

The significance of candidate feedback in shaping recruitment strategies

Collecting and analyzing candidate feedback is integral for improving your recruitment strategies. Their reporting can deliver a firsthand look into the candidate experience – and highlight where your company is exceling or falling short.

According to a report by Talent Board, 75% of companies actively seek candidate feedback, with 60% using this feedback to improve their hiring processes.

Candidate feedback can be gathered throughout the hiring process via surveys, interviews, or follow-up emails. Collecting their responses can help identify pain points that may be causing dissatisfaction.

With these insights in hand, your company essentially has a map for revamping its recruitment workflows and delivering a better candidate journey.

Best practices for improving candidate experience

So, how do you improve your candidate experience? HR departments can consider taking the following steps to create a candidate-centric hiring process:

• Streamline the application process: Make it easy for candidates to apply by simplifying forms and reducing the number of steps needed. For instance, consider making your job applications mobile-friendly to accommodate candidates who prefer to job hunt from their smartphones.
• Provide clear and concise job descriptions: Write your job listings to be detailed but straightforward, including precise outlines of the role’s requirements and responsibilities. You’ll attract more qualified applicants, elevating the quality of your talent pool.
• Maintain regular communication with candidates: Reduce uncertainty and boost engagement by keeping candidates informed about their application status and next steps in the recruitment process. iCIMS found that 80% of job seekers believe regular updates would improve their experience and perception of the employer.
• Offer personalized feedback and follow-up: Provide constructive feedback to candidates who weren’t selected to move forward. Take extra care when following up with promising applicants to maintain their interest for future roles. LinkedIn shared that 52% of candidates who received job-related feedback reported being more likely to continue their relationship with the company.
• Automate and optimize the recruitment process: Enhance the candidate experience and internal efficiency by implementing recruitment software with automation and intelligent sourcing functionality. AI-powered tools like iCIMS Candidate Experience Management (CXM) can provide a comprehensive solution, facilitating talent engagement and rediscovery.

Take your candidate experience to the next level

In sum, successful talent acquisition depends on providing your candidates with a seamless and positive experience. Being aware of the common frustrations that job seekers face is a great starting point. From there, you can begin building new recruiting strategies and practices, tailored to their needs.

Implementing an AI-powered recruiting solution can help. iCIMS CXM provides you with a unified CRM that combines behavior-based automation, intelligent sourcing, and AI insights to effectively find and engage your best candidates.

Interested in learning more?

Connect with the iCIMS team to book a demo of iCIMS CXM. Let’s chat about how our solutions for applicant tracking, marketing automation, and candidate experience management can transform your recruitment processes.