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The Candidate: How to help them through the Journey

The candidate journey is the experience a candidate goes through during the job seeking process. This starts before candidates apply for a job and continues even after they have been hired. Understanding the overall candidate journey is critical, by improving the overall candidate experience and sourcing the best talent.

Mapping the candidate’s journey is important, as it creates a visual representation covering all the touch points candidates have with your company’s brand, during the different stages of the candidate’s journey. By doing this, it is a great way to improve a candidate’s experience and enhance your company’s employer brand strategy.

Candidate’s go through multiple stages within the candidate journey, before they decide to apply for your company. As competition intensifies and becoming very candidate-centric, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get candidate’s further down the application funnel. Therefore, creating a candidate map can help better grasp their needs, wants and fears in the different phases of their journey. 

Stages of the employer brand

Awareness:

In this stage, candidates become aware of your employer brand, but is not always a linear process. Many candidates maybe in the awareness for an extended period of time, before being ready to apply. For others, especially those actively seeking employment, the possibility of going from the awareness to the application stage within a single job application is high. In the current recruitment landscape, the former is more apparent, as candidates feel it necessary to engage with a brand a number of times before trust is built to engage.

Consideration/Interest:

In this stage, candidates become aware of your employer brand, but is not always a linear process. Many candidates maybe in the awareness for an extended period of time, before being ready to apply. For others, especially those actively seeking employment, the possibility of going from the awareness to the application stage within a single job application is high. In the current recruitment landscape, the former is more apparent, as candidates feel it necessary to engage with a brand a number of times before trust is built to engage.

Application/Hiring:

From the candidate’s perspective, time may pass by which nothing has occurred, nor have they received a response from their initial application. However, Recruiters understand that the previous two stages has given the candidate enough information and time to think of your company as a trusted employee. From this point forward, interviewing, introducing candidates to future co-workers and making the final decision occurs.

Paying close attention to the previous stages of the employer brand within the candidate’s journey will help smooth out these later stages, rather than convincing a sceptical candidate your company is a great place to work.

What you as a recruiter can do

As a recruiter, what can you do to ensure the candidate’s journey is easier, as they move through the employer brand stages seamlessly?

1. Qualify job opportunities

Before reaching out to candidates, be sure to have thorough understanding of the positions you’re recruit for, without an in- depth understand, the candidate journey will be weak and fall apart very quickly. In doing this, you can create job specifications, that includes enough detail to effectively recruit for the role and not attract candidates who aren’t well suited or qualified for the position.

2. Formulate accurate job advertisements

Candidates expect to have a pleasant experience. Therefore, ensure you source and attract the most suitable candidates for the advertised positions. SELL the role by keeping the description as true and factual as possible and DON’T over-exaggerate. A candidate whose expectations of the position doesn’t meet reality, will not become a supporter of your employer brand.

3. Have open communication

Once the job ads have been posted, maintain clear, honest and open communication with all candidates that have applied. Inform them whether they have been successful or not. For unsuccessful candidates, ensure they are informed of their application status. Do not ignore these candidates, as they have taken the time to apply for the position. If these candidates feel like they have been ignored, this can be damaging to your brand. Keep your short-listed candidates engaged (and in the loop) and confirm they are being considered for the role.  

4. Manage your shortlist expectations

Once you shortlisted candidates have been narrowed down, ensure they are fully qualified and have full expectations of the role and the subsequent process stages. If recruiters are unable to properly manage candidates within this stage, you will not be portraying an image of a professional employer. Conduct interviews either by telephone or face-to-face to screen candidates and clarify whether they understand the role and its expectations.

5. Build a well-rounded interview process

The interview process can be both a daunting and challenging process for candidates. Make the interview process as seamless and transparent as possible. When organising an interview, develop a process by which both yourself and the candidate have confirmed a date, time and location.

6. Manage job offers and rejections with discretion

Candidates have invested time, energy and effort into your company. Therefore, treat them with the upmost respect and professionalism, regardless of the outcome. For successful candidates – get the job offer to them ASAP! Don’t leave them waiting – it will hurt your employer brand. For unsuccessful candidates, inform them and give feedback as to why they were not successful.  Candidates who feel brushed aside at this stage of the process are more than likely to express their negative experience. Give them a reason not to!

7. Monitor and improve the candidate journey

In order to strengthen you employer’s brand, put yourself in the candidate’s shoes. Understand what their thoughts and feeling are about the journey they experienced and seek to improve on areas they were lacking. Ask previous candidates who have been on this journey. From here, develop and implement plans to strengthen these under-performing areas.

With ever-increasing competition to securing the top talent, mastering the candidate journey can assist in making your business the top destination for smart, qualified candidates.

 

TAGS:
recruitment, candidates
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