Recruiting & Hiring Blog for HR Professionals

The job market has seen its ups and downs over the past few years and so have job seekers. As we explored in a recent blog, job seekers face plenty of obstacles as they search for work. Oftentimes, HR reps and recruiters can make it more difficult for job seekers to overcome those obstacles. For example, posting a job description that does not accurately describe an open position can leave job seekers unsure as to whether they’re a good fit for the position.

HR teams are understandably concerned with filling positions quickly while finding the best candidates possible. Delivering a positive applicant experience is a proven way to achieve these goals, as well as to reinforce the organization’s overall brand and create goodwill. But what does it take to create a positive applicant experience? 

In quite a few recent blog posts (here, here and here), the Hyrell team and I have taken a look inside the interview process. While researching and putting this information together, we discussed many good questions that can/should be asked during a typical job interview.  And, we also noted that the candidate should have their own interview questions in order to get a better sense of the company, the culture, and what kind of fit they will be in the organization. 

Coincidentally, I had recent conversation with a well-qualified job-seeking friend & colleague. We talked about the job search, the interview process, and what was the right move for him.  We began to discuss why he would work for any of the companies that were interested in him, and it became clear to me that we shared the same view that many qualified applicants are beginning to embrace: “Why Should I Work For YOU?”

It’s about that time again, when you begin hiring for an open position and the applications start pouring in. While it’s exciting to get so much interest in a role and you can’t wait to fill it with the perfect candidate, you may be dreading the process of having to dig through a giant stack of resumes.

If you have an applicant tracking system, thankfully it’s been able to do a lot of the heavy lifting for you by eliminating candidates who don’t meet specific qualifications, such as licensing, education and certification requirements. But there’s still work to be done: you still need to identify quality candidates within your applicant pool.

Do you think individuals who apply for jobs at your organization are highly satisfied with their experiences as candidates? The odds suggest the answer is probably “no.” A recent survey found just 5 percent of applicants rate their experiences as excellent.

You just finished interviewing some great candidates for your latest job opening. You wish you could hire every one of them or send them all through to the next step in the hiring process, but you know you have to eliminate the less qualified candidates from the bunch.

While nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news, somebody’s got to do it. As the HR manager or recruiter for this position, the task is likely to fall directly on you. But how do you let them down gently and in a way that continues to build a positive impression of your company?

The candidate experience is something many organizations overlook during the recruiting process. Yet, a positive experience can have far-reaching business consequences. A survey by the Talent Board found that more than half of candidates (61 percent) who had a positive applicant experience would actively recommend an organization to their peers for employment opportunities. While half of the candidates who have a positive experience share that information with others, close to a third (32 percent) of those who have a bad experience communicate negative word of mouth about the hiring organization.

As a hiring manager or small business owner, you know that staying organized can be a key component of success. We all strive to write out to-do lists, save paperwork in color coded files, and mark each important date on our calendars. But sometimes, staying organized is a lofty and unattainable goal rather than a day-to-day reality. Important notes get lost in the shuffle, paperwork gets misfiled, and hastily scheduled meetings end up falling through the cracks of your calendar. 

There’s a well-known Head & Shoulders ad campaign from the 1980’s built around the premise and tagline that “…you never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  However, you probably are not reading this post for advice on how to eliminate dandruff, so let’s tie it back to recruiting and hiring.

Quality applicants care about making a good first impression with their next prospective employer.  However, we believe it is a two-way street.  Your company should also do its best to make a good first impression with job applicants to attract the best-quality applicants possible.