Job candidates often fret over the impression they make during the interview and hiring process. Today, however, the tables are turning, as employers are now feeling pressure to make a positive impression on candidates by offering a premium hiring experience. It’s a shifting HR mindset that’s occurring across nearly all industries, and for good reason.

Candidate trends are driving improvements

Twenty years ago, most candidates had minimal expectations when it came to the hiring process. If they had a positive experience, wonderful. If they had a negative experience, they might share it with a couple of people over lunch or a phone call. End of story.

Today, social media platforms have changed everything. Dissatisfied candidates can instantly share their impression of a potential employer with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people across multiple platforms, in seconds. This can cause untold reputational damage to the employer that’s nearly impossible to contain, making it harder to attract and hire quality candidates.

However, the sword slices both ways, meaning satisfied candidates also have that same power. According to a recent Talentegy study, 69 percent of candidates say they would share a poor candidate experience, while 82 percent say they would share a positive experience.¹

As we enter 2020, unemployment is hovering at record lows, which means candidates have the upper hand in the job market—in addition to having an amplified voice and high expectations. Now more than ever, it’s important that organizations re-evaluate their current hiring process and modify it to create a more candidate-centric experience.

Tips for eliminating candidate pain points

It’s the little things that stump candidates and cause them to drop out of the hiring process. If you can eliminate tedious pain points, you’ve taken big steps toward creating a smoother, easier hiring process that seamlessly engages—and retains—the best candidates from start to finish. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Go mobile. Nearly everybody—96 percent of Americans—has a cell phone, and most—81 percent—own smartphones. ² According to a Glassdoor survey, the majority of Glassdoor users—58%—used a mobile device to search for a job and 35% would actually prefer to apply for jobs using one.³  If your hiring process isn’t already mobile optimized, do it—now.
2. Create candidate “tip sheets.” This is an easy solution for proactively addressing common snags in the hiring process. Offer candidates a simple document that sets clear expectations up-front and provides guidance on how to successfully complete the application to help reduce missing information and keep the hiring process on track.
3. Use industry benchmarking. If your hiring process takes twice as long as other companies in your industry, that’s a red flag for most candidates. This is where benchmarking comes in handy. Ask your hiring and background screening partners to provide quarterly, semi-annual or annual benchmarking reports to help pinpoint opportunities for improvement by comparing your performance to your peers.
4. Work with like-minded partners. If creating a premium candidate experience is your priority, ensure your HR partners—from technology providers to employment screening firms—understand the importance of customer care, with “customers” being your candidates. The goal should be to offer a dynamic, yet seamless process that eliminates the need for candidates to contact customer service with questions or issues.

At First Advantage, we’re here to help. To learn more about our integrated employment screening data and technologies, including our mobile-enabled communication tool Profile Advantage, contact us today.

1 https://www.talentegy.com/hubfs/2019%20CX%20Report/Talentegy-2019%20Candidate%20Experience%20Report.pdf

2 https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/#who-is-smartphone-dependent

3 https://www.glassdoor.com/research/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/Mobile-Job-Search-1.pdf