5 Common Pitfalls That Hurt the Candidate Experience and How to Solve Them

How a candidate navigates your hiring process ultimately impacts their final decision: will they join your staff or reject your offer for a competitor? Put yourself in your job applicants’ shoes. Is your hiring process truly a smooth, easy experience? What kind of feedback would they offer? 

Continue reading this blog to understand common mistakes business owners make and how to fix them. You can also accelerate your hiring process with Sprockets’ solution! The platform uses sophisticated technology to predict which applicants will succeed and stay long-term. Sprockets’ users even spend 37% less time hiring, empowering them to focus on running their business — with a simpler process. 

What Is the Candidate Experience & Why Is It Important?

The candidate experience refers to how a job applicant perceives the recruitment process, including the job search, application, interview, and onboarding stages. It’s crucial candidates have a positive experience as this could make or break their decision to join a company. Plus, a top-tier candidate experience will attract top-tier talent – before the competition.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them 

1. Poor Online Presence 

Failure to establish and maintain a strong online presence can negatively impact the candidate experience. Would you apply to a company that failed to showcase its milestone moments and company culture? It’s important to think like your ideal hire. 

For example, 79% of candidates use social platforms in their job search. If you aren’t regularly posting on social media, it’s likely your applicants might not even know your company is hiring. Your business might have a LinkedIn page, but are you active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well? When you post about employment opportunities, don’t forget to link to your website’s careers or application portal. Additionally, not every applicant is going to apply to your company on a laptop or desktop computer. 83% of job seekers say their phone is an important part of the hiring process. If you aren’t already doing so, consider implementing a mobile-friendly experience to increase your applicant flow and minimize dropoff.

2. Weak Job Postings

With over 10 million current opportunities, a vague job posting with unclear expectations and an absence of an hourly wage won’t stand out amongst the crowd. Applicants might assume you aren’t sure what type of employee you are looking for, even if that isn’t the case. On the other hand, if you include too much information, your candidates will feel overwhelmed. 

We recommend sticking to a word count of about 300 words as these types of postings get more applicants, according to LinkedIn. Take the time to explain your company’s mission, core values, and culture. Ideally, your posting should clearly and concisely convey the responsibilities and qualifications needed. We also suggest adding salary details if you are comfortable as 67% of job seekers are more likely to apply for a position when a salary is included in the posting.

3. Inefficient Interview Process

Wasted interview time can be draining for both the interviewer and interviewee, especially if the applicant doesn’t meet basic requirements. Avoid asking questions that could simply be answered by looking at a resume or with a quick social media search. Instead, focus on understanding your applicant’s personality so you can gauge whether or not they will be a good fit with your team. It’s always easier to train for skill and hire for coachability. 

We also suggest pre-screening candidates to eliminate spending time on someone who doesn’t meet the basic requirements. Plus, pre-screening empowers you to spend more of the interview talking about your company and the position versus asking applicants questions about themselves. (Hint: Sprockets’ simple red-yellow-green scoring system makes it easy to see which applicants share similar personality traits to your current best employees.) 

4. Lack of Communication

Think back to your job searching days. Were you ever excited about an opportunity only to never hear back from management? Failure to set clear expectations with a specific timeline can result in applicant ghosting. Remember, they’re likely to apply to multiple companies, especially if they are a top performer. One missed text, call, or e-mail could mean the difference between a good and bad hire. 

Be sure to contact your candidates quickly — even if you don’t think they will be a good fit. You can find customizable templates for easy communication in our blog: Best Practices for Job Offers and Rejections for Hourly Employees (Templates Included!).

5. Boring Offer Letter

Now that you’ve chosen who you want to hire, it’s time to send that all-star applicant an offer letter. Some people forget that this is another wonderful opportunity to emphasize the positive aspects of your business. At this point, it’s still possible your candidate could change their mind and maybe even leave for a competitor. 

In addition to all the standard information required in an offer letter, we also encourage you to incorporate your brand’s personality and voice. It can be as simple as adding a sentence about why you think this particular candidate would thrive at your workplace. This is your last chance to retain that specific top performer, so it’s important to make every word count! 

FREE GUIDE: Why Your Hiring Process is Broken and How to Fix It

The traditional hiring process is outdated and time-consuming. What we now know as “resumes” even date back to over 500 years old! Luckily, you already have the solution — your current top performers! Check out this free guide to learn how to leverage their talents to help your business thrive, even during the most challenging times.