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What is Candidate Experience?

The candidate experience is the impression a person is left with after applying to your charity for a job. This overall impression of a charity’s hiring process starts from the initial job search and goes beyond the final hiring decision. It doesn’t stop with an acceptance or a rejection either.

For successful candidates, the candidate experience continues into the onboarding once you hire them. For unsuccessful candidates, it concludes with rejection communications and any contact you have with them after their interview.

A good candidate experience is all about making everyone who applies, regardless of the outcome of their application, feel respected and up to date with what’s happening in the hiring process.

Why does Candidate Experience matter?

Everyone wants to be treated with respect, especially when applying for jobs. It’s competitive and challenging for people to “put themselves out there”.

Job seekers believe that an organisation’s hiring process reflects how it values its people.

Research shows that you are seven times more likely to speak to your network about a negative experience than a positive experience, so the quality of the recruitment process and the timeliness of feedback are critical.

Even if a candidate is not right for a role, if they have had a good experience in the process, chances are that they will apply again in the future and recommend your organisation to others.    

When does the Candidate Experience start?

The Candidate Experience starts from the initial job search to the final hiring decision. It’s how a candidate perceives the organisation’s brand and whether they want to work there.

It may include any of the following areas:

• Seeing a job posting online
• Getting a message from a recruiter
• Receiving a referral from a friend

How can our organisation ensure a positive Candidate Experience?

The recruitment experience can help build a positive reputation for your charity and increase support from the community. Candidates with a positive experience are more likely to recommend your organisation to others, helping to attract more talent in the future.

The quality of the recruitment experience is also one way that candidates can assess a potential employer’s values. Providing timely and relevant feedback to candidates promotes a good and customised experience. Setting clear timelines of the process, including all stages of the process in an upfront matter is crucial. If it is going to be a longer process, i.e., 2 or more interviews and/or testing, presentations etc, let them know that upfront and include touchpoints throughout the process to promote engagement. 

How you reject unsuccessful candidates is also very important. If you have interviewed the person, ideally contact them by phone.

When rejecting a candidate after an interview, be respectful and empathetic, and offer constructive feedback: 

• Thank them: Express your appreciation for their time and interest in your organisation
• Be empathetic: Remain supportive and empathetic in your interactions
• Offer feedback: Provide constructive feedback to help them improve in future interviews
• Acknowledge positive attributes: Recognise the candidate’s positive qualities
• Be responsive: Try to answer any questions they have
• Keep the door open: If you think they might be a good fit for another position, let them know

When you communicate well at all stages of the interview process and are respectful of candidate’s time, they will walk away with a positive experience, regardless of the outcome of the interview.