Why is “Candidate Experience” important?

More than ever, we are hearing these two words being chanted throughout the recruitment village that most of us live in.  Buzz words and fads come and go, but this one puts a name to something that has always existed, whether it was paid any attention or not.

So why do we even care about the candidate experience?  Surely the employers and recruiters are in the driving seat, and the jobseeker simply has to accommodate their needs, if he or she really wants a job.  There are more than enough candidates for a short supply of jobs, so maybe there’s no need to be concerned with what they want.

I used to have clients I was recruiting for, who were notoriously bad interviewers.  To say they were challenging was an understatement.  One client in particular deliberately set out to antagonise, belittle, and intimidate interviewees.  This was his way of weeding out those who really wanted the job.  He literally dared them to walk out of the interview; and some of them did.  Frankly, this guy was an idiot, and he lost many brilliant candidates this way.  He didn’t realise that standing up to him did not make someone a good fit for the job.  Those who walked out were welcomed by other employers, who then enjoyed the benefits of their talents.  However, in an interview this employer had a big advantage; most people were too polite to leave.  This is not true at all true in online recruitment.

Whether candidates are searching a website, viewing job adverts, completing registration forms, or going through a clunky ATS, they are never more than one click away from leaving the process.  Frustrate them, thwart them, hold back information, or mislead them at your peril.  When we (collectively) go to such enormous lengths to bring the jobseeker to view our jobs, it would be insanely stupid to do anything that lost the ideal candidate.  That’s not to say we shouldn’t insert some barriers to applications, but allowing the process to be difficult to navigate has the same effect as deliberately making it so. 

When a candidate is reading your job advert for the first time, they can do one of two things; move on to the next job or hit the apply button.  They need to make that decision, informed by the content of the advert.  Some candidates are determined to plough through the process, no matter how challenging, whilst others need only the slightest reason to leave. You really don’t want those people to include your perfect applicant.

Paying attention to the candidate experience is not about being nice to them.  It’s not about being fair, equal opportunities or any moral responsibility.  Making your entire application and recruitment process, from advert to application to interview to induction, is all about getting the very best possible individual working for your company.  If the candidate experience you deliver is second best, the calibre of your new employees could be too.