4 Rules for Improving Your Candidate Experience

Job Candidates Express Low Satisfaction Rates for Modern Applications

A recent Talent Board study found that job applicants want more simplicity and transparency during the application process. Below are several key statistics uncovered by the survey:The study, which surveyed 75,000 job applicants, revealed that candidate experience ratings are surprisingly low for modern applications. The two biggest pain points that candidates reported were a lack of communication during the application process and the amount of time spent completing applications. Below are the most telling statistics:

51% of job applicants rated their overall candidate experience from 1-3 on a scale of 5

Nearly half of all subjects reported never receiving an update on the status of their application

55% of candidates said the application process took 30+ minutes to complete (12% saying it took longer than 60 minutes)

Improve Your Candidate Experience Today!

As hiring processes have transitioned online, and now to mobile, they have been tailored primarily for recruiters and hiring managers, not job seekers. We are beginning to see the fallout of this one-sidedness manifest in these poor candidate experience results. With the job market becoming increasingly competitive, establishing a simple and transparent candidate experience is essential for attracting top talent. Below are four basic guidelines you can follow to ensure an enjoyable candidate experience.

1. Reduce Complexity and Length

As the time to complete an application increases, so too does the applicant drop-off rate. Implement a simple and transparent application process to avoid driving away qualified candidates. Focus on gathering only the essential information needed to determine whether you want to interview a candidate.

2. Proactively Manage Your Pipeline

Stagnant stages in the candidate pipeline can be a bane to any recruiter or hiring manager. More importantly, bottlenecks in your recruiting process directly impact the candidate experience. Keep candidates waiting for feedback and you’ll lose the best applicants while negatively affecting your employment brand. Proactively manage your pipeline to drive the decisions that increase hiring efficiency and ensure an enjoyable candidate experience.

3. Provide Instant Gratification

According to job applicants, lack of communication is the number one pain point lending to poor candidate experience. People don’t appreciate applying to a black hole. In today’s online world, job applicants expect near-immediate feedback. Providing job seekers with acknowledgement and steady communication is more than a nice to have, it’s mandatory. Employers that actively communicate with candidates naturally create stronger employment brands and generally have a better chance to land top talent.

4. Optimize Your Application for Mobile

This past year, use of mobile search surpassed use of traditional desktop and laptop search. With this behavioral shift, we are seeing a drastic change in the way that candidates search for and apply to jobs. As applicants transition their job search activities to mobile devices, it is vital that your application process is optimized for such behavior.

Simplifying Your Hiring Process Becomes...Simple

Although the four guidelines listed above are fairly straightforward, implementing them in your own application processes can be quite difficult without the right tools. That's why it's critical to identify an applicant tracking system that efficiently organizes and manages the entire recruiting and hiring process. With Newton, our fully featured Applicant Tracking system, Paycor offers a solution for recruiters and hiring managers looking to take control of their entire application life cycle. Click here to see a full list of features the solution offers, or schedule an appointment with one of our consultants to see a personalized demonstration on how our Applicant Tracking system can help you take a step forward in your hiring process.