Why does the online candidate experience have an impact on your business? It’s because your candidate is not only a potential customer, but also an advocate of your company.
In most situations, if someone has a bad experience, they will spread the word among their networks.
When you look at the effects of the negative review, it escalates the issue further.
The permanent damage has been done with:
• 55% of job seekers reporting that they avoid certain companies after reading negative online reviews.
• 42% of ignored candidates will not apply at the same company again
• 22% of candidates will tell others about their experience, and not to work there.
• 9% of candidates will boycott the company’s products or services and tell others to do the same.
It’s very clear that companies cannot afford to have a poor candidate experience. You must handle each candidate with care, and ensure that their experience is positive. Not doing this, harms the long-term viability of your company.
Just imagine…
A highly motivated, talented, and experience person is interested in your position. They research your company, and decide that your role might be a good fit.
After visiting your website, they understand what you are trying to sell, and ploughing through the unfriendly drop-down search of open vacancies, they look to social media profiles to hopefully learn more about why they should work at your company. There are a few things that don’t add up, but the candidate has heard good things, so decides they take the plunge, and upload their CV.
And then … nothing.
They feel like they’re being ignored, or even lost in a junk mail folder, because no one has acknowledged them. They post their own experience online and tell their friends, also talented, motivated potential employees, that they should never apply to your company in the future.
Your company’s reputation and employer brand has been damaged; and the internet never forgets.
How can this be avoided?
Taking care of your candidates is simple. Make them feel valued, keep them updated on their progress in the process, and communicate well.
Candidates need to have a sense of authenticity about the company, and a personal connection really helps them have a positive feeling about the company. It will also cement the feeling of why they want to work there.
Creating open communication will also ensure that candidates feel up to date. In turn, well informed candidates will also speak positively about their experience – even if they didn’t get the job. They will tell others about their experience, and your company will attract a better quality of candidates, making it easier for you to match jobs.
Start checking your own candidate experience
Here at Zocket, we’re all passionate about helping companies build sustainable, candidate-centric talent acquisition strategy and processes. We created a checklist for you to start assessing your own status-quo and see where improvements are needed to attract and engage the best-fit talent.
This checklist guides you through all essential steps your candidates walk through when applying to work for you. It further helps to unlock a new chapter of possibilities for your business with:
• Better targeted candidates
• Stronger employer branding
• Bigger talent pool
• Reduced time & cost per hire
