Many companies spend tremendous resources making sure their customer’s journey is fluid and 5-star from beginning to end; but can they say the same about the attention they pay to their candidate’s journey? In a highly competitive job market, businesses should consider how to improve the candidate journey for those applying for open positions.
Is your job ad compelling and informative? Does it give a candidate a full picture of the job? Does it include all the benefits and does it give an indication of the culture? A job ad should be more than a description, it should be a marketing document that details what the job is and WHY someone would want to work for you.
Location matters. Where is your job ad placed? Most companies advertise heavily on Indeed and Zip Recruiter, but are your jobs posted on minority job boards, or places specific to the LGBTQ community? Being on the largest job boards is a must, of course, but being on the underrepresented employment sites can make your company stand out and it says a lot about how inclusive your brand is. At Work With Your Handz our jobs are always posted to multiple diverse and inclusive job boards.
Social proof is another vital element in improving the candidate journey. What does your Indeed or Glassdoor company page say about you? Employers may find it a challenge to keep up with reviews on these sites. Even if you conduct an independent employee survey, these two sites only take their own organic reviews. Employees who feel they were wronged are almost always more compelled to leave a terrible review than those that are happily employed. By taking the extra time and attention to get those happy employees to leave a review, you can speak volumes to potential employees. It isn’t easy to implement, but we would recommend asking satisfied employees from time to time to leave a review. Be sure to monitor and respond to negative comments and upload company facts. Additionally, photos from employee functions, fun company events, or philanthropic efforts can go a long way to giving a potential employee insight into your company culture.
Once you have the easy part of the job ad, placement of the ad, and your reviews out of the way, now comes the part that is infinitely more important.
Your first touch. At Work With Your Handz, when we reach out to a candidate we know how important their first impression is. It is not only our chance to discern the skills of the applicant, but also a crucial time to sell our clients’ workplaces as great places to work. After listening to what our candidates are looking for, we begin to reveal what our clients have to offer. Opportunities for advancement, benefits packages, and company culture are highlighted as well as any particular items the candidate is specifically looking for in their next job.
The company interview. Whether over the phone, in person, or over Zoom, the first impression you give to your candidates is just as important as the impression they give to you. In a way, you are both being interviewed. Are you friendly, present, organized, and interested in what they have to offer? Are you giving them an accurate picture of your company culture and what the job entails? Would you want to work for your company given this first impression? Now is the time to be honest about the job duties and true opportunities as well as highlight all the great things your company does. It is also the time to convey any information about the process. If you know it is going to be weeks before an offer is made, be honest and let your candidates know. Honesty goes a long way in this process.
You ask your future employees for references, why not consider having some of your happy employees provide references for you. If an employee is genuine and truly loves working for you it speaks volumes to potential new hires.
The offer letter and follow-up. If you loved the candidate and want to make an offer don’t hesitate on sharing that information. In today’s job market they likely will have multiple offers on the table and you want them to know that you are interested.
To sum up, think about the experience of your candidates just as much as you do for your customers. As the saying goes: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Let the team at Work With Your Handz be a part of that candidate journey. As a third party we can highlight what your candidates want prior to the in-person interview, and help tee up the most sought-after talent to cross the finish line for your company.
