Why candidate experience matters (and how to improve it)

Candidate experience is a crucial component of your recruitment process. Human resources (HR) teams should track and improve candidate experience to attract top talent, retain stronger teams, and reduce time-to-hire.

Let's explore the basics of candidate experience, why it matters to your candidates and employees, and actionable strategies for improvement.

Candidate experience refers to a candidate’s overall perception of a company throughout the hiring process, from the job listing to onboarding.

A positive candidate experience enhances an employer’s reputation and makes it easier to hire experienced professionals. When candidates enjoy the recruitment process, they feel respected and valued, even if they don’t receive a job offer.

Candidate experience goes beyond keeping candidates happy during interviews; it can significantly improve public reception and business outcomes. A negative candidate experience can lead to wasted recruitment resources and lost talent.

Positive candidate reviews can also boost an employer’s reputation. About 71% of job seekers research companies before applying, often checking their websites, social media, or feedback sites like Glassdoor and Indeed. Companies with great reviews are seen as more attractive and trustworthy. P

Your candidate experience should showcase the strengths of a company. Your company should appear organized, respectful, engaging, and more likely to provide competitive offers.

Your candidate experience can also help promote positive word-of-mouth feedback among candidates, even if they aren’t selected. Candidates are more likely to speak positively about a company if they feel respected during the recruiting process.

Candidates who experience consistent communication, timely feedback, and an organized recruitment process are more likely to view a company positively and accept a job offer. A disorganized hiring process may deter qualified candidates and poorly affect an organization.

A quality candidate experience can also improve the onboarding process. When new hires view your company positively, they start their roles with confidence and excitement.

Positive experiences during the hiring and onboarding processes set the stage for a great employee experience (EX). Engaged employees help promote higher productivity, increased profits, retention, and improved customer service.

Additionally, your employee experience is crucial to your bottom line. Employee turnover is high, and the average cost to replace an employee can land anywhere between 50% to 200% of the employee’s annual salary.

According to research, employee referrals make up approximately 7% of applicants but account for 45% of hires. Referred employees are also 40% more likely to stay for at least one year than non-referral hires.

Focusing on candidate experience builds trust with future employees and encourages them to refer others. When an employer provides a memorable and enjoyable candidate experience, their employees are more likely to refer their friends when positions open, leading to stronger hires.

Positive recruitment experiences keep communication lines with candidates open, even if you do not extend an offer. When new positions open, you can use your ongoing connections to fill roles or reach out to new talent, making it easier and faster to close performance or skill gaps.

Hiring qualified professionals boosts productivity and innovation. Positive candidate experiences attract diverse talent that can help build or refine workflows, improve communication channels, or better align departments with overall business goals.

A clear job listing is the first step to attracting and hiring qualified applicants. Create attractive job descriptions that set expectations, highlight necessary qualifications, and reflect the company's culture.

Use inclusive language and clearly outline role responsibilities. Job listings should be concise yet detailed enough to pique the interests of qualified talent.

Your job listing should include essential information about the role, including:

To write engaging job ads, consider:

A seamless application process encourages interested applicants to complete and submit applications without confusion or frustration. The more complicated your application is, the more likely applicants may abandon it before submission.

Your application should only ask for the information you need to properly evaluate each application, including their location, skills and qualifications, compensation expectations, and relevant documents (certifications, etc.)

Ensure your application is mobile-friendly; over 80% of job searches occur from a mobile device, according to Indeed. Use an Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to automate collecting and organizing applicant data.

Consistent, timely, and personalized communication ensures that candidates understand the recruitment process from start to finish. Without regular updates, candidates may become frustrated or confused about their application's progress.

Consider using these communication touchpoints to keep candidates engaged:

Conduct structured interviews to evaluate candidates fairly. Provide details about their interview's agenda, the person conducting it, and any travel instructions, if necessary. All candidates should receive the same information to avoid confusion or preferential treatment.

Interviews should evaluate soft skills, culture fit, technical qualifications, and experience. Ask questions that let candidates showcase their talent, and take notes to stay organized. Highlight company values, expectations, and key components of your company culture to help candidates evaluate their needs.

Prepare for candidates to ask questions during interviews. Candidates commonly use interviews to evaluate if the company fits their professional goals. When interviewing, create a welcoming environment by sharing your experiences with the company.

Timely follow-up after each interview round provides opportunities to deliver direct feedback and provide updates on the candidate's progress through the hiring process.

When delivering feedback, keep it positive and constructive to keep applicants engaged and open to future opportunities. If given constructive feedback, professionals are four times more likely to be open to future opportunities at a company.

By providing constructive feedback, companies can build a strong talent pipeline for future roles. Rejected candidates will maintain a positive opinion of your company and be more open to learning about new opportunities to work with your team.

Measure your candidate experience continuously to improve your recruitment process over time. HR teams can use various feedback channels to collect reviews and feedback data from new hires and rejected applicants.

Sending brief candidate experience surveys helps HR teams evaluate their current processes and identify areas for improvement. These surveys ask questions like:

Candidate satisfaction surveys are an effective way to gather feedback directly from candidates on improving the experience. 

NPS is frequently used to measure customer experience but can be modified to measure candidate experience. NPS provides quantifiable data you can use to evaluate what candidates think about your company.

Net Promoter Score surveys ask, "How likely are you to recommend applying to [Company] to others?” Candidates can then respond using a scale of 0 to 10, ranging from very unlikely to very likely. 

Using the NPS framework, HR teams can classify candidates into three categories: Detractors, Passive, and Promoters. Detractors are candidates who responded with 0 to 6. Passives responded with 7 or 8. Promoters responded with 9 or 10. 

Detractors are more likely to damage your employer's reputation by sharing their poor experience. Promoters will boost your organization’s reputation with positive reviews. 

Many companies utilize chatbots to gather real-time feedback during recruitment. Chatbots ask questions at key touchpoints, providing support and collecting feedback at each stage of the application progress.

A smoother job process reduces frustration and results in more application submissions. Lengthy applications with excessive questions or confusing user interfaces can deter candidates from completing applications.

To create a seamless application process, only ask necessary questions, use a user-friendly platform, and ensure your applications are optimized for mobile.

Candidates can better prepare and perform at their best when they know what to expect from your recruitment process. Write descriptive job listings and communicate updates early and often so candidates can track their progress and ask relevant questions.

Each stage of the recruitment process should showcase your company's organizational success, from the application process to onboarding. Review each stage of your hiring process and look for way to close experience gaps.

Regular updates allow HR teams to give feedback, address changes or delays, and foster rapport with candidates. Recent research shows that 65% of job seekers report inconsistent communication during hiring, indicating a need for companies to enhance their communication processes.

Teams must create positive interview experiences that represent company culture and clearly outline interview logistics, especially for in-person meetings.

Interviewers should be polite and conversational to help candidates feel comfortable sharing their professional experiences. When candidates feel welcomed during interviews, they are empowered to be themselves.

Interviews should be at appropriate lengths to reduce friction. Typically, phone screen interviews last 15 to 45 minutes. Subsequent in-person or virtual interviews range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.

Consider panel interviews if many people in your organization are involved in the hiring process. Show candidates you respect their time by communicating how long you expect each interview to run.

According to a recent study, 40% of candidates have been “ghosted” by employers after an interview, stopping communication altogether. Candidates may develop a negative view of the company, which could negatively impact employer brand and reputation.

Instead, use post-interview follow-ups to share and collect feedback from candidates about the recruitment process. If you're advancing a candidate to the next round, provide feedback and include the next steps for scheduling another email. Otherwise, let the candidate know you will no longer be moving forward, provide personalized feedback if necessary, and thank them for their time.

You can also use candidate experience and recruitment satisfaction surveys to check-in with candidates after they complete the hiring process.

Candidate experience plays a significant role in attracting and retaining quality professionals throughout the entire hiring process. Organizations should prioritize improving candidate experience to boost retention, build a talent pipeline, and enhance employer branding.

SurveyMonkey simplifies measuring candidate satisfaction. Teams can create user-friendly online surveys to collect candidate feedback, which can then be used to improve the hiring process.

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