Is your candidate experience putting off applicants?

After advertising, shortlisting and interviewing, you finally select your ideal candidate. They tick all the boxes and they couldn’t be more suited to your organisation if they tried.  But then, before you can offer them the job, they’re snatched up by another employer, or worse, a direct competitor. As recruiters, we’ve all been there and this is a sad reality that many of us live out on an annoyingly regular basis.
Or perhaps you’re attracting the wrong talent altogether? Appealing to candidates isn’t your problem. Instead, the people you’re attracting just aren’t right for your business.
If you feel that your candidate retention strategy isn’t up to scratch, maybe you need to take a step back and re-visit the basics.
At Webrecruit Ireland, we understanding that attracting the right people can be tricky. Therefore, we have put together a list of things to think about when trying to entice your dream employee.

Your application process is demotivating

Hiring used to be all about the employer. But now, candidates run the show. In fact, a November 2015 survey of 600 worldwide offices by MRINetwork found that the market is 90 percent candidate-driven. Candidate experience is more important than ever.
The first contact a candidate has with your company is the application form. You don’t want a poor application process to drive potential candidates away. Long applications can be frustrating and often, surprisingly, candidates just won’t take the time to fill them out. Research by Indeed suggests that 9.6 minutes is the median time it takes to apply for a role at a top company. And for every extra minute your application process takes, you can expect to see a candidate drop-off rate of 4%.
In addition, more and more job seekers are applying for roles on mobile devices. It is therefore essential that your careers site is mobile optimised, easy to use and takes a maximum of 9 minutes to complete.

Your sourcing etiquette is not up to scratch

Using social platforms such as LinkedIn is ideal for targeting passive candidates. Care must be taken, however, to take into account people’s needs and explain how your company can benefit them. Rather than sending generic emails to the masses, why not tailor your InMails to entice people in. It’s also important to note that not everyone you contact will be interested in your proposal. Take this into account, and steer clear of forcing your ideas upon uninterested clients. That being said, if you come across a candidate who is not keen to jump ship just yet, it might be worth keeping in touch with them. Maybe they’re not right at the moment, but keep the door open for the future.

Your communication is poor

The Webrecruit Group found that 74% of candidates feel it is very important to receive regular communication during the hiring process, keeping them up-to-date on their application. If you receive an impressive application, do NOT ignore it! More often than not, candidates will be applying for more than one job at once. This means that good candidates are more than likely going to be snatched up quickly. If they have impressed you, let them know. Don’t leave them in the dark, wondering whether they did a good job or not.

Your job advert isn’t right

A great job advert doesn’t attract the highest number of applicants. Instead, it should attract the highest calibre of candidates. It’s much better to have just 10 well-suited candidates than over 100 mismatched ones.
In order to make this happen, your job adverts should avoid the following biggest offenders;
  • Using jargon
  • Making them far too long
  • Asking for too many essential skills that aren’t really necessary
That being said, it’s hard to count how many things could put off a candidate, but as a general rule of thumb, always review your adverts and think to yourself, “would I apply for this?”. If the answer is no, it’s highly unlikely a candidate would either.

Your brand identity is lacking

The Webrecruit Group found that familiarity with a company’s name and brand was important to 94% of candidates. This enabled them to research a company’s culture, and divulge whether or not they’d be a good fit.
When speaking to potential hires, talk with enthusiasm and passion for your brand. Emphasising the company’s values is an excellent means of understanding whether candidates will be a good match or not.
Why not include a “Work for Us” section on your website. This helps to showcase your organisation, in an attempt to encourage candidates to want to work for you.
Looking to develop your candidate experience? Call our Belfast office on 028 90 80 20 30 or our Dublin Office on 1890 67 80 80 to schedule a demo of Fusion Plus today.

 

 



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