Candidate Experience (CX) is best described as “every point of contact a candidate has or makes with a company during the recruitment process.” It can be thought of in terms of seven components – Job Search, Job Application, Communication, Feedback, Interview, Onboarding, & Analysis. All these aspects collectively define and determine CX which ultimately determines the effectiveness of the recruitment process.
What does an end-to-end candidate experience look like?
The candidate experience is made up of many touchpoints, starting with the application process, and continuing through the hiring decision and beyond.
1.The Application Process
The application process should be fast and frictionless. Candidates begin their job quests on their smartphones. Your application must be optimized for both desktop and mobile devices to fit into today’s mobile-first job market. Candidates should be informed about the estimated time required to complete the application process.
2. Application Sorting
Companies should respond to all applications, even if the response is only a brief automated message. Receiving a response honors the candidates’ time spent applying, ensuring that many of them will consider applying for future available positions with the company.
3. Interview Scheduling
The interview scheduling process can feel tedious and chaotic if it turns into weeks of back-and-forth email trails with hiring managers. Companies that use recruiting chatbots to help with scheduling are more likely to improve the overall candidate experience. Conversational AI has the power to enable personalized candidate engagement 24/7.
4. The Interview
Use an automated scheduling system allowing candidates to set up an interview at their preferred time from the available slots. Candidates prefer on-demand interviews that can be taken anytime, anywhere.
5. Interview Follow-up
The final touchpoint of the candidate experience is interview follow-up. Quick responses minimize the frustration born out of waiting to hear back.
Benefits of good candidate experience
- Provides a competitive advantage amongst the top-tier talent pool
- Improved quality of hire
- Reduced cost & time of hiring process
- Higher onboarding rate as candidates are more likely to accept the offer
- Sets realistic expectations about the work culture
- Positive experience builds loyalty & trust in an organization.
This excerpt has been borrowed from a white paper published by hrtech.sg, in collaboration with impress.ai
