If you are a job seeker in 2014, chances are you’ve applied to countless job postings without having had an actual live conversation with an employer about an opportunity – technology dominates the candidate experience.
Automation of the job application process has plenty of upside when it comes to your employer brand. Modern candidates are digital creatures and they want to be able to learn about organizations and apply online. Job seekers are doing their research and making use of social media and career review sites such as Glassdoor in order to gain insight and objectivity on prospective employers.
Employers are responding with branded career sites and social media accounts to attract top talent. But what happens next? The experience that follows is what really matters if you want your investment in the preliminary candidate attraction strategy to count.
Nothing is more disheartening than sending off your resume into a black hole of technology, never to be acknowledged by the prospect organization. A form email response isn’t a vast improvement. So what do job seekers want from the candidate experience? A recent CareerBuilder survey reports the following aspects of the candidate experience as being meaningful to job seekers:
- Employers respond quickly throughout the process (61%)
- I’m notified if I am not the correct fit (61%)
- I’m updated on where I am in the process (56%)
- The application submission process is quick (54%)
- Employers respond with phone calls (48%)
How many of these points does your candidate experience deliver on? Test the process for yourself to see what gaps you can uncover. Is the candidate experience representing your employer brand well? Do candidates feel valued?
The candidate experience speaks loudly about your employer brand. Candidates will draw conclusions about what it’s like to work for your organization based on the process. Ensure they are getting the real story, every step of the way.