Top 7 Best Practices for Candidate Experience

May 1, 2024

Candidate experience is the collective interaction a job applicant has with a prospective employer during the recruitment process. 

So giving your applicants a better experience through the hiring process can help them come away with a positive view of your company, regardless of the outcome. 

Here are some of the most important things you can do to create a smoother, better experience for your candidates:

1. Proofread your own application.

This exercise can be very insightful, as it can help you catch redundancies and get a feel for how cumbersome your application actually is.

2. Make sure job titles are descriptive, accurate, and searchable.

Stick to clear, recognizable job titles that reflect what a candidate might enter in a search field. 

3. Keep job descriptions brief, straightforward, and easy to read.

Use bullet points and sections with descriptive headers to make job descriptions easier for candidates to easily scan and see if they are a match, and try to keep it under 500 words.

4. Include a hiring timeline and steps.

In the spirit of transparency, giving candidates clear information as to what the steps are in the hiring process for the position, and what the expected timeline might be.

5. Communicate well and keep candidates informed.

This tells candidates a lot about how your company works and what they can expect once they are hired as well, so don’t leave them in the dark about where they are in the process. Give job applicants at least a general idea of what to expect in terms of interviews, assessments, reference checks, etc., so that they are prepared and can show you their best skills.

6. Highlight company culture in job description.

Your job description should reflect your organization’s brand, personality, and values. It’s a good opportunity to highlight any selling points, perks, initiatives, and anything else your candidates should know about.

7. Include info candidates want to know in the job description, including the salary.

With more salary transparency laws popping up, it’s becoming more common for employers to be transparent about pay on job descriptions. Tell candidates key information about things like salary, benefits, hours, and team dynamics up front so they can better judge if the job will be a good fit for them.

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