In today’s candidate-driven market, recruiters need every advantage to differentiate themselves from the competition. It is already extremely difficult to get candidates to call you back, and if they do, you want to make sure you continue to stand out from the sea of other recruiters constantly reaching out to your candidates.
One of the best ways to distinguish yourself and establish an excellent reputation is to deliver a great candidate experience. 72% of candidates who have a poor experience share it with their network or post about it online.[1] It’s clear that there are too many recruiters who do not focus on treating the candidate well. However, recruiters who do put in the effort to provide an excellent candidate experience will be remembered accordingly.
Spending a little more time to create this positive experience will help not only your candidates—it will help your recruiting career. Here are three ways you’ll benefit from driving a great candidate experience.
It builds trust with your candidates and gains you respect.
When you put in the effort to build a relationship and a strong level of trust with your candidates, they will open up to you. They’ll tell you about career and personal goals, what they enjoy doing outside of work, and maybe even doubts they may have about their professional abilities. All of this helps you understand the real human being you are working with, and it helps you gain their respect. And in an industry that has a poor reputation, this goes a long way toward increasing your credibility and reputation.
Even if you can’t place a candidate but deliver a great candidate experience, they will still trust and respect you. There’s a good chance they’ll refer people to you and even ask for your help in a future job search.
It increases the likelihood of closing the deal.
In today’s job market, you’re not the only recruiter reaching out to your candidates. Delivering an exceptional candidate experience will set you apart from the other recruiters. When a candidate is receiving several similar offers or offers with similar pay and benefits, they will remember how you worked to understand their needs and goals and build a real relationship with them. Also, all the little details you learn about a candidate, what motivates them, differentiates them, and what their needs are, will help you close the placement.
It opens the door for candidate and client referrals.
People trust their friends and family to recruiters and firms they trust—the ones that have provided a great candidate experience. This expands your talent pool and network, increasing your ability to fill job requisitions from the group of people you already know. Even if you were unable to place a candidate but created a positive candidate experience, showed genuine care, and built a relationship with them, your referrals will increase.
Plus, you never know what kind of connections your candidates may have. Maybe you’re working with a candidate whose personality is awesome, but the experience just isn’t there. Or perhaps you’re helping someone who has a great resume, but who hasn’t been able to land the jobs you submit them for. Don’t write them off. These candidates may know hiring managers or eventually become one—and if you provide an excellent candidate experience, they may refer your firm to the decision makers they know.
Driving a GREAT candidate experience is the beginning of improving your performance and reputation. It’s how you’ll gain the trust and respect of candidates in order to find them a job that is truly the best fit. It’s how you’ll get the competitive edge over other recruiters, even if the offer they’re presenting is a little better than yours. And it’s the best way to increase your referrals and improve your talent pool. Ultimately, delivering an excellent candidate experience can only help your career as a recruiter.
[1]“Here’s Why You Need to Improve Your Company’s Candidate Journey – And How to Make It Better”, Forbes
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