Originally published on the TalentWise blog November 4, 2015.
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When most employers think about the benefits of a positive candidate experience, they’re focused on retention, efficiency, productivity, and even company culture—most of which is only going to impact their organization if the candidate is actually hired. But what about the applicants they turn away?
Sure, a rejected candidate isn’t going to help you grow revenue or contribute to the office culture, but there are still plenty of reasons to consider the experience for the folks who don’t get the gig.
Every candidate interaction reflects your employer brand
Think about a terrible customer service experience you’ve had. You’re less likely to support an organization whose customer support department treated you poorly when you needed assistance, right? Employer relationships are no exception. During the Candidate Experience Symposium this year, CareerBuilder tweeted “69% of job seekers are LESS likely to buy from a company if they had a bad experience while interviewing.” In today’s world, an impressionable experience (good or bad) can go viral in no time at all, so creating a positive experience for rejected candidates is more than just thoughtful, but also an investment in protecting your employer brand reputation.
Candidates want to grow but need to know how
Just as feedback can help shape better performance within the walls of your organization, appropriate and constructive criticism can help job seekers improve themselves too. Whether it’s a botched interview, a huge hole in their resume, or flaky follow-up, the candidates who don’t make the cut may not realize where they can and should improve without some careful insights. The keyword here is careful. Monster advises to respectfully address specific aspects that the candidate can actually change, so your feedback isn’t perceived as a personal attack or alleged as bias or discrimination.
Follow the leaders to provide a superior experience
Talent Board announced today the Candidate Experience Awards Story Tellers, a handful of organizations that lead the industry in providing an exemplary candidate experience. For example, Sodexo personalizes an engaging, digital experience for each candidate, while BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan gives great visibility into each candidate’s status and even provides feedback and resume improvement opportunities to each candidate. These and other great companies are turning the heads of Gerry Crispin, Elaine Orler, Kevin Grossman, and others, serving as excellent examples to the HR community of how to put the candidate experience front of mind whether your applicant nabs the holy grail or not.
Spencer Czapiewski 