How to Improve the Candidate Experience and Attract Top Talent

The candidate experience refers to how an applicant perceives a company’s recruitment process from start to finish. In today’s fiercely competitive recruitment landscape, an engaging candidate experience is more important than ever, as up to 90% of candidates say a positive or negative experience can impact their opinion on a role or company, according to Recruiting Brief. 

It’s not just about filling a vacancy; it’s about building relationships and trust, as well as increasing the chances of candidates recommending your business. It’s important that even unsuccessful candidates come away from the process feeling respected and valued because word of mouth is powerful. A negative review can cause you to miss out on top talent and harm your reputation and brand. This can be the deciding factor between successfully hiring senior-level candidates and losing them to your competitors. 

The Importance of a Positive Candidate Experience 

Strengthening Your Employer Brand

A positive candidate experience can significantly improve your employer brand. When candidates feel valued and well-informed throughout the recruitment process, they’re more likely to speak positively about your company, regardless of whether or not they get the job. According to a study by CareerArc, nearly 60% of candidates have had a poor candidate experience, and 72% of those candidates have shared their bad experience online or with someone directly. These reviews influence how attractive your business is to candidates. 

Attracting and Retaining Talent

There is a lot of competition for talent, and it’s common for experienced professionals with in-demand skills to have multiple job offers to consider at the same time. According to data from CareerBuilder, 78% of candidates say the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people. 

If your hiring process is streamlined and respectful, it shows that your organisation has a people-first culture, and that could help persuade the candidate to accept your job offer. A positive experience is also likely to result in stronger retention because candidates who feel valued during the process are more likely to feel connected with your organisation once they join. 

Building a Talent Pipeline

Not every candidate will be the perfect fit for a role, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be ideal for a future vacancy. A positive experience ensures that even unsuccessful candidates have a good opinion of your company, which increases the chances of them reapplying in the future. By maintaining good relationships, you can build a talent pool that can be leveraged in the future. 

Boosting Team Morale

The candidate experience is the starting point of an employee’s role within your business. Candidates who feel valued during the application process are more likely to transition smoothly into their new role, and this can have a positive effect on the wider team’s morale.  

Minimising Candidate Withdrawals

A poor candidate experience can result in losing top talent, as long delays and poor communication can often lead to candidates withdrawing from the process or accepting offers from elsewhere. As well as missing out on talent, this also results in wasted time and money, as having to prolong repeat the hiring process. Therefore, a positive candidate experience is not only good for candidates, but also for your business overall. 

Fostering Diversity and Inclusion in Your Hiring Process

A positive candidate experience can improve diversity and inclusion in hiring. When candidates feel welcomed and respected, they are more likely to see your company as a supportive workplace. An inclusive process also ensures that every applicant feels they have an equal opportunity to showcase their skills within your organisation. This doesn’t just strengthen your talent pool, but it also sends a powerful message about your company’s values, helping you attract diverse talent and improve the overall culture of your company. By ensuring that diversity is reflected at all levels of the organisation, including leadership positions, you can demonstrate a genuine commitment to D&I and attract senior candidates who share these values. 

Abby Child, UK Recruitment Academy Manager at CSG Talent, identifies the importance of providing a positive candidate experience in today’s recruitment market: 

“The candidate experience is extremely important because attracting the best talent is so difficult at the moment. Finding the person with the right skills who will fit into the team culture and making sure they have the best experience possible is pivotal to how they perceive you in the market. Recruitment is built from relationship building and networking, so candidates who have had a great experience are more likely to recommend the business to a friend or somebody in their network.” 

How to Create a Positive Candidate Experience

Ensure Clear and Consistent Communication

Clear and timely communication is one of the most important aspects of a positive candidate experience. Candidates should feel well-informed throughout the entire process, from when they first discover the vacancy to after they discover the outcome of their application. Being completely transparent about things like timelines and next steps helps candidates feel valued and respected, even the most experienced of professionals who have been a part of many  

Simplify Your Application Process

A difficult, prolonged application process can be very frustrating for candidates. If your system is overly complicated, you are at risk of losing talented individuals before you have a chance to make the hire. In order to showcase the professionalism of your business, you should make sure your application portal is intuitive, mobile-friendly, and only asks for essential information. 

Personalise the Candidate Experience

The human element of recruitment is what makes the biggest impression on candidates, so showing you have taken the time to understand their personal situation is crucial to make them feel important. Even if a candidate doesn’t get the role, this will enhance your reputation as an employer that genuinely cares about people. 

Provide Your Team with Candidate Experience Training

Every person involved in the application process impacts the candidate experience, so it’s crucial to provide your team with training focused on efficiency and providing constructive feedback. This is especially important when you consider that, according to Lever, candidates are four times more likely to consider your company in the future if you offer constructive feedback. A well-prepared team ensures that every interaction is professional and aligned with your company’s values. 

Improve Your Candidate Experience Through Feedback 

The best recruitment teams understand the that  candidate experience is something that can always be improved. Because of this, you should gather feedback from both successful and unsuccessful candidates to find areas for improvement. Conducting surveys and follow-ups after the application process can help you refine your approach and continue meeting candidate expectations. 

Abby believes the most important aspect of providing a positive candidate experience is making sure you don’t overpromise on something you can’t deliver: 

“Whatever you promise you’re going to do, you need to action it. If you say something is going to take a week, you need to make sure you deliver on that promise. Things do change, and some delays are unavoidable, but as long as you maintain open communication and keep candidates updated with the latest developments, your reputation will remain positive.” 

Key Metrics for Measuring Candidate Experience Success

A great candidate experience should deliver measurable results. Tracking key performance indicators and gathering insights from candidates themselves can help ensure your hiring process stands out in a competitive talent market. 

Candidate Satisfaction Surveys

One of the best ways of measuring success is by simply asking your candidates about their experience. Candidate satisfaction surveys can provide key insights into applicants’ opinions of your hiring process. The survey should ask candidates to rate factors like: 

• Ease of finding and applying for the job 
• Communication 
• Speed of process 
• Professionalism of interviewers 
• Transparency of expectations 
• Feedback provided during the process 

You should also ask open-ended questions where candidates can give their personal views to really understand where improvements can be made. 

Net Promoter Score

Your net promoter score is useful for assessing candidate experience. By asking candidates how likely they are to recommend your company to others, you can determine how well your recruitment process reflects on your brand. 

Offer Acceptance Rate 

The percentage of candidates who accept your job offers is another indicator of candidate experience. If your offer acceptance rate is low, it could be a sign that your process needs changing and the packages you offer need improving. 

Interview-to-Offer Ratio

The interview-to-offer ratio measures how many interviews it takes before a candidate is offered a role. A low ratio suggests an efficient hiring process, while a high ratio could suggest that your recruitment team is struggling to identify an ideal fit for a role. 

Time-to-Fill

Time-to-fill measures the number of days it takes to fill a vacancy. Although some hires naturally take a while, a particularly long time-to-fill can frustrate candidates and lead to withdrawals, with 60% of candidates reporting they have quit an application due to its length or complexity, according to Recruiting Brief. In a study by CareerArc, 51% of candidates who received an update on their application status say it took longer than one month, so responding in a timely manner could help set your business apart from the competition. 

Candidate Drop-Off Rate 

If candidates are withdrawing their applications or not showing up to interviews, this suggests that your recruitment process needs to be more engaging, and you may be missing out on talent. 

Retention Rates

According to a study by Starred, candidates with an exceptional onboarding experience are 2.6x more likely to be ‘extremely satisfied’ in their role and have a longer tenure. Although retention rates are not directly related to candidate experience, good rates could suggest that you are attracting candidates who are well-qualified and excited to join your team. 

The key to measuring success isn’t just gathering data but also acting on it. If your metrics highlight areas for improvement, you should re-evaluate your processes to discover where you can make improvements. 

The Future of the Candidate Experience

The future of the candidate experience is likely to be shaped by a mix of technological advancements and a continued focus on the human element of recruitment. Companies will need to strike a balance between embracing new tech and ensuring the hiring process remains personal and authentic. 

“We’re seeing an increase in candidates using AI to create strong cover letters but not being the right fit once the client meets with them, so the human element of recruiting is as important as ever. However, we perhaps need to move with the times in terms of considering what other types of technology can be used to help with the recruitment and onboarding process to make it more seamless.” – Abby Child. 

How CSG Talent Can Help You Enhance Your Candidate Experience

At CSG Talent, our executive search specialists understand the importance of providing a seamless and engaging candidate experience. We work closely with our clients to identify skilled talent across a range of industries and ensure candidates feel valued and respected throughout the process. 

Looking for skilled talent to join your organisation? Contact our executive search specialists today. 

Click here to discover how CSG Talent can help you develop your talent strategy. 

For more expert insights, check out our blog: How to Build a Strong Employer Brand to Support Talent Attraction and Hiring Strategy.