Episode Highlights
- Why candidate experience is so vital for your entire brand
- Building credibility in your niche
- Creating a community
- And more!
Listen Now & Read On for the Episode Summary
Check out the full episode on your favorite podcast app:
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Candidate Experience is More Important than Ever
The candidate experience is “more important than ever now that the tables have turned, where it's an employee job market, not an employer job market,” according to Brent Schreckengost, Director of Talent Acquisition at Avalara.
As the talent acquisition industry begins to better understand the importance of a positive candidate experience and track this data, we see more and more how this experience impacts the whole talent acquisition program. A single candidate’s experience impacts not only their own decision as to whether to join the company now or in the future, but also the interest of their friends, acquaintances, loved ones, and even the larger job-seeker community. Providing a positive candidate experience is not only about filling a position, but about finding a pool of potential candidates aligned with your company's strategic growth plan.
So how do you put that wow factor into the candidate experience? Here are a few best practices inspired by our conversation with Brent Schreckengost.
Build Credibility In Your Niche
Whoever is working with potential candidates should know the industry and the specific niche for which they are recruiting. Avalara uses specialized talent acquisition teams specific to the location and industry in which they work. These regionally and functionally aligned teams build credibility with the specific community from which they draw talent and establish connections with professionals who may not be in the market now, but could be a great fit down the line.
“Yes, we need to sell the Avalara brand and talk about why it’s a great place to work,” Schreckengost says. “But we also need to talk about the niche we’re in within tax compliance and automation. It’s a very unique niche, and we need to talk about the value for candidates.”
Create a Community, Not Just a Pipeline
Communication is paramount. Keep in touch with potential future candidates through periodic check-ins, in-person and virtual events, and coordinated outreach from current company leaders and candidate peers.
Sell the Company & Its Leaders, Not the Position
Candidates are interested in a career with a growing company that engenders loyalty and excitement, but also one that is a fit for their unique skills. Think about why your company is a great place to work for this particular candidate. Is there a growth area that matches the candidate’s interest? Do you have a reputation for excellence in one of the candidate’s core strengths? Will there be leaders they admire and trust? If possible, promote specific leaders within the candidate’s focus.
Offer Direct Access to Leaders & Peers, Not Only Recruiters
“Engineers want to hear from other engineers,” Schreckengost says. On platforms such as LinkedIn, qualified candidates receive a continuous stream of messages from recruiters. What they don’t receive very often is outreach from their peers and potential managers. Direct communication from established professionals in the candidate’s specific area of expertise is worth dozens of recruiter contacts. This is even more powerful when it occurs in person, such as at a conference or professional event.
But we all know managers are busy. To make this happen, the talent team needs to establish a strong working relationship and two-way communication with hiring managers and company leaders. Leaders must be prepared to promote the company and introduce the possibility of career opportunities when they meet potential candidates.
What’s in it for leaders?
“They’re going to get a faster response rate,” Schreckengost says. “They’re going to fill positions quicker. And they’re going to be more reputable from a market perspective.”
Emphasize What Job Seekers Care About Now
People coming out of college today are no longer striving to reach the C-suite. They want to be sure that they can be their true self on the job and make a positive impact on the world. They care more about personal connections than listening to slogans and videos made with big marketing budgets. They want to see how the company interacts and benefits their community and how they prove their commitment to employee wellbeing. Whenever possible, demonstrate these benefits through real examples and interactions.
Provide A Personal Touch and Share the Experiences of Real Employees
Candidates hear great things about every company they encounter, but most of it is marketing and feels artificial. The only ones that know what working at a company is really like are the employees. That makes employees your best ambassadors. Whenever possible, use real stories from employees, have employees attend information sessions and meet and greets with candidates, and even have current employees available at interviews.
Follow Up Immediately
It is no longer acceptable to wait to follow up with desired candidates. Sometimes a week, or even a day, will be too late. Make a plan in advance to respond quickly to desired candidates, even if only to thank them for their time and provide information on the next steps.
Collect Feedback on Rejections
There is no more valuable feedback than the feedback from candidates who choose to discontinue the process or turn down an offer. Always follow up with these candidates to discuss what influenced their decision. Document this feedback and use it to make improvements to your acquisition process. Are you relying too much on generic recruiters? How can you further personalize the experience? Are you connecting operational leaders with candidates rather than only recruiters?
Remember: If A Candidate Does Not Fit Today, They Might Fit Tomorrow
Don’t only focus resources on those candidates you want to hire today. For the 9 out of 10 candidates that you choose not to bring on board, invest in personalized communication that helps the candidate understand why they are not a good fit for the specific position at the specific time while maintaining a relationship that might benefit the team in the future. If a candidate has a great experience, they are more likely to come back to interview again. They may even refer their friends and former co-workers, which strengthens your pipeline and helps foster that important reputation necessary to bring in the best talent.
Per Brent Schreckengost, “Providing that wow factor really goes a long way. [For example,] if you go and travel, you’ll remember great restaurants. You’ll remember great hotels. You remember those experiences so that when you want to travel again, you make those same bookings and you recommend them to friends.”
You also remember a great interview experience.
This article is based on an episode of Talent on the Rise, Brazen’s podcast about transformative leaders and how they got a seat at the table. Subscribe in your preferred podcast app.
Check out the full episode on your favorite podcast app:
Spotify | iTunes | Soundcloud
