8 Things Hiring Managers Should Know About Candidate Experience
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If you Google “what hiring managers wish they knew about applicant experience,” you won’t find any results on this topic. Instead, your site will be flooded with thousands of articles about what hiring managers and hiring managers wish they knew about candidates.
This information is undoubtedly important (no shading intended). Candidates want to know how to ace an interview, how to ask the right questions, and other important details that hiring managers want to know. I remember researching more than a year ago because I needed to know these details in order to prepare and gain the security of a permanent job.
However, the lack of information regarding my request just shows how uncurious applicants are about their experiences. In my opinion, recruiters and hiring managers should try to learn more about candidates and their experiences. This is the stuff that mutually beneficial relationships are made of.
Below are some insights that may be of interest to hiring managers to learn more about candidates' experiences:
1. Being authentic is more difficult than usual
Authenticity is a two-sided issue. A candidate can present themselves authentically in an interview while still feeling the pressure of what hiring managers want to hear from them. But do hiring managers have the candidate’s best interest in mind? Are you hiding something from the applicant?
Naturally, applicants want to learn as much as possible about the position and the company, and the authenticity with which this information is conveyed is crucial. To clear doubts in the minds of applicants, trust and communication must be encouraged.
Clear, frequent and immediate communication can contribute to open communication. The further the communication progresses, the more willing both parties are to have an open conversation and build a relationship.
2. I thought ghosting only happened on Tinder
We understand that hiring managers are likely inundated with hundreds of emails from hopeful candidates. But applicants just want to know what the status is. Is it fair to leave them hanging in the air or should they move on?
Lack of feedback after an interview is a common complaint from job seekers about hiring managers and employers. The good thing about recruiting in 2021 is that this problem can be solved efficiently with an ATS. An applicant tracking system can streamline the entire hiring process - sending automated messages to applicants to keep them informed.
3. For applicants, days feel like weeks
Waiting for a response while on the other end of the line can be an exercise in patience. The time difference between the application and scheduling the interview is a lengthy experience from the applicant's perspective. The waiting time increases, especially in times when safety standards apply.
Hiring managers can improve the candidate experience by increasing the speed of hiring. Using video and voice interview tools, hiring managers can achieve faster hiring while improving the quality of hires.
4. They want to know what went wrong
Rejection feels hard, but rejections are part of the applicant experience. Candidates naturally want to know what prevented them from landing the job and often ask for feedback on what they can do to improve their chances the next time they apply.
Using recruiting solutions can also help with this problem. With solutions like Icehrm, recruiters gain an organized and unified view of the candidate pipeline at every stage of the recruiting process. Additionally, the ATS allows recruiters to provide post-interview feedback to candidates. While this may be an ideal solution for improving applicants, it is always practical given time and resource constraints.
Hiring managers could still offer general guidelines to applicants and provide more personalized support to promising applicants. This can help them cultivate a talent pool for their next hires.
5. Candidates get lost in the flood of information
Just as recruiters are frustrated by the volume of hiring, too many job openings make it difficult for candidates to find the best ones. When I think back to my job search days, I remember spending a lot of time researching the companies I was applying to. It was great that I had all this information to prepare. But the amount of information out there leaves applicants little time to thoroughly vet each potential employer.
You don't want to scare away potential applicants. And this is a wake-up call for better employer branding. To help candidates identify the best companies, employers need to have a consistent brand message. With a consistent brand message, companies can stand out from the sea of information and attract applicants.
6. Disagreements can prove costly
Things can get quite difficult for recruiters and hiring managers when they need to fill an open position within a certain deadline. There may be mismatches and applicants may be invited to interviews that do not match their qualifications.
Applicant tracking systems can make a significant contribution to avoiding such bad appointments. Smart recruiting tools, such as Some apps, such as resume parsers, automatically and accurately route applicants to interviews and roles that match their qualifications.
7. Candidates just want to stay connected
We know how important it is to build networks and stay in touch. Candidates want to build long-term relationships with hiring managers and employers in the hope that they will be the first people they think of when looking for new employees.
Instead of failing to respond despite their efforts, hiring managers could encourage these potential employees. Assemble a talent pool and create an email campaign to nurture candidates. Hiring managers can automate these emails and let candidates know they are thinking about them.
8.A sneak peek into the hiring process
I readily admit that interviews make me nervous. If I prepare with knowledge about the company, I can take away some of the nervousness. But a heads-up from HR managers themselves could be the deciding factor.
Even if they are unable to reveal all the information about the hiring process, a little help can do wonders for the candidate. Information about who the interviewers are, what positions they hold, and a little motivation to overcome pre-interview nerves can really help job seekers.
So get the tools that will give you a streamlined hiring process that works for you and your candidates. Try Icehrm recruiting solution today.
