By HR Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Candidate experience is a job applicant’s perception of an employer based on their experience during the hiring process. It may be informed by a recruiter’s quality of communication and level of responsiveness, among other factors.
When did companies start paying attention to candidate experience?
For much of the 20th century, it was the norm for candidates to mail in their résumés for a job posting, and never hear back from that company if they weren’t a fit. Companies focused on improving applicants’ perceptions of them, such as through employer branding or sending rejection letters, were somewhat novel.
However, that changed with the rise of the internet around the turn of the century, when much of the hiring process became digitized. Candidates now could apply for a job online and hear back in a matter of hours. As such, they began to expect that employers would actually respond to them about their applications. If dissatisfied, websites like Glassdoor gave candidates a platform to air out any grievances they had with a hiring company, potentially tarnishing that business’s reputation with other job-seekers or even customers.
How has candidate experience evolved?
Over time, candidates adopted more expectations for employers’ conduct during the hiring process in other ways. For example, applicants expect transparency around salary expectations, what the interview process might look like or how assessments will be used to evaluate them, and testimonials about what it’s like to work at the company. That’s prompted talent acquisition teams to proactively address these subjects.
That said, the introduction of AI and recruiters using these tools to streamline the hiring process has further frustrated candidates who believe the job hunt has become impersonal than ever.
How are employers currently addressing candidate experience?
Talent acquisition teams are attempting to improve the candidate experience by leveraging tactics, including:
- Automating communications to candidates, instead of relying on recruiters to manually respond to applicants;
- Sending all candidates surveys requesting feedback about their experiences;
- Offering rejected applicants feedback about how they can improve their chances of being a competitive candidate in the future, or recommending more suitable roles that they can apply for immediately.
