3 tips for improving your candidate journey

Professionals are in a favourable position in the current labour market. The job offer is large which makes professionals make a choice based on various aspects, not just salary or job content. As an HR employee or recruiter, you invest a lot of time and energy in selecting the best candidate. So, it is important that you stand out from the competition. A well-designed candidate journey is indispensable for this. In this article, we will give you three tips to improve your candidate journey.

What's the candidate journey?

The candidate journey describes all the contact moments professionals have during the application process. The journey starts with the job search and ends after onboarding within your organisation. Professionals often make the choice to work for your organisation at the beginning of their candidate journey. So, as an HR employee, it is important to map out this journey well and adjust it accordingly. Speed, transparency and clear communication are three factors that make the difference here.

How do you improve the candidate journey?

Looking for a new challenge and applying for a job brings excitement. If candidates have to wait a long time for feedback or follow-up, they may drop out. As an HR department, you naturally want to prevent potential future colleagues from finding the process tedious and therefore opting for another position. What is the best way to prevent this?

Manage short rounds

Before starting applications, think about what the process looks like. What do you want to know about the candidate? What kind of person fits best on the team? Who from the organisation should the candidate speak to?

Once you have all of this clear, decide which topics you will discuss in the first and second interview. Limit your interview rounds to a maximum of two and hook up several colleagues in an interview if necessary. This way, you keep the process short and sweet.

Be flexible in scheduling calls

Scheduling interviews can be logistically challenging. Both the candidate and you and the colleagues involved have their own schedules. You can make scheduling more flexible in several ways. Make colleagues aware that speed in the process is important. This way, they can take the process into account in advance and reserve space in their schedules.

If a face-to-face meeting is difficult to schedule, opt for a digital appointment. Video calling via Microsoft Teams, Google Meets or Zoom then offers the perfect solution.

Don't wait too long to give feedback

After an interview, you often know immediately whether to continue the application process with the candidate. So, don't let candidates wait unnecessarily long for feedback. Especially not when the weekend is around the corner. Depending on the time of the interview, it is best to give the candidate feedback on the same day.

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Want more advice on this topic or have another question? Then don't hesitate to contact us. Our experienced consultants are ready to help you with staffing issues. View the disciplines in which we connect professionals to your organisation or contact us using the form below.

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