5 Things you can do to keep your Recruitment Process Applicant Friendly
From the moment a job seeker views your ad, there are things you can do to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward as an employer. Why is that important? Because a good reputation will play a big part in whether candidates apply, and can even save you money. According to the 2013 Career Builder’s Survey, 68 percent of applicants would accept a lower salary if the employer created a great impression through the hiring process; the challenge here is 29 percent of job seekers don’t think employers do a good job of reinforcing why their companies are a good place to work.
From having easily accessible information about your company, through to the final steps of providing feedback for unsuccessful candidates, here are some steps you can take to make sure your recruitment process is as applicant friendly as possible.
- Show them your company
These days, your online presence is crucial in terms of attracting the right applicants. If an applicant comes across your ad in a job search, the chances of them clicking ‘Apply Now’ will be far greater if your company is searchable, and even more so if your online presence is comprehensive and inviting.
This means having a social media presence and a well laid out website that targets employees as well as customers. One way to do this is to have a ‘Work for Us’ page, where you can have an introduction into what the company does, perhaps stories from select employees, and links to any job ads you are running at the time. The Candidate Experience have put out a whitepaper, for which they surveyed over 46,000 candidates, and found that 69% of job seekers will use company career sites before applying for a role.
- Let them know what you want from them
From a candidate’s point of view, there is nothing more off putting than not being certain of what a potential employer needs or wants. This means that from the job seekers first encounter with your job ad, through to the interview process, you need to make sure candidates are on the same page as you with regards to your expectations. In your ad, this means avoiding complicated jargon or ‘quirky’ titles, as these will only leave candidates feeling like this is the wrong job for them. In follow up email correspondence and interviews, make sure you clearly spell out what information you need from your applicants. This means being transparent about the steps you want to take with selection (email questionnaires, phone interviews and number of interviews) and the time you are planning to take selecting an applicant.
- Keep your application Process Straightforward
Studies show over a third of applicants applying for a position online will drop out when the application process becomes too long or complicated. To avoid this, make your initial job application as simple as possible. For the majority of roles, requesting a CV, a Cover Letter and Reference Contact Details should suffice. You can then use an Applicant Tracking System to filter relevant information from their CV. Remember to test your application process from the applicants’ point of view to make sure it runs smoothly.
- Keep them in the loop
Whilst it is all too easy to let unsuccessful applicants go un-notified, given the number of applications received and the time it takes to process them all, it ultimately reflects badly on your company. If an applicant has taken the time to apply for your role, the least they deserve is an automated email to inform them their application has been received and when they should expect to hear from you. From then on, updates on how they are progressing, even if they are automated, will help to keep them engaged. Once you have met face-to-face with applicants, any contact from then on needs to be more personal. Whatever you choose to do, remember that many applicants will think more of a company that lets them know what’s going on with their application.
- Provide Feedback and be open to it Yourself
Whilst this can be viewed as a legal minefield from an employer’s point of view, if done well, it can boost your company’s image by showing you give all your candidate’s serious consideration. Obviously you want to avoid anything that comes across as discriminatory, but providing a general guideline, outlining something they did that came across well, and something that they could work on, is valuable information to candidates. Keep your feedback light and positive, and always emphasise that you had a lot of candidates who had potential to fill the role and that it was a hard decision.
As well as giving feedback, it is important to be open to feedback yourself. When you send a rejection email to candidates who you interviewed in person, invite them to give feedback on what they found positive or difficult in the selection process. Not only could you gather useful information about what works or doesn’t work in your recruitment process but since only 11% of businesses ask for feedback from applicants, it could make you stand out for all the right reasons.
This article was kindly provided by Haystack Jobs.