While there’s no doubt that technology has made the recruiting process better in many ways for employers and job seekers, it has also caused a serious disconnect in the candidate experience. The oft-quoted Spider-man movie line, “with great power comes great responsibility”, certainly rings true here.
Just because you have the technology to create a 50-page online application, complete with personality test, does not necessarily mean you should do so. Furthermore, just because you can now accept thousands of applications for a single position within an hour does not mean that technology is better serving you or applicants.
RELATED: Do Your Job Candidates Know the Cloud?
What Do Candidates Have to Say?
In deciding where to use technology and where to limit it in the recruiting process, get your information from the candidates themselves. In surveys, candidates complain about a number of common practices used in recruiting these days, including application length and not receiving any feedback after applying, including an automated message stating that the application has been received. This can lead candidates into believing that their time and effort, often times 20-30 minutes worth, has been wasted. Candidates have also remarked that the time it takes to make a final decision is a frustrating undertaking, further damaging the overall experience.
Blending Technology for a Better Candidate Experience
To remedy the above-listed complaints, surprisingly, you can use technology to turn things around. For example, really examine your online application process. Is every single question relevant to finding the right candidate? Why are you having the candidate upload a resume and then having them fill out the exact same information in a form? Could things be more efficient if candidates either uploaded a resume or filled out an application?
Also, make sure you have the ability to review lots of candidate information. With the economy still sluggish, you’re bound to receive plenty of resumes for open posts and it will be hard to find the rights candidates if you can’t take the time to review all of the resumes you receive. Failing to review all resumes also wastes an applicant’s time, and if this information was made known publicly, it could cause serious damage to your company’s reputation.
Get to the Point
You’ll also want to make decisions more quickly in order to keep strong candidates interested. If someone applied for a position with your company, you can bet that he or she has put in applications with other companies. This means while your company drags out the process, the candidate may get snatched up elsewhere. The way that technology can solve this is to keep the candidate abreast of each step in the process through email. Let the candidate know on a regular basis if they are still being considered and what next steps will be. If a candidate goes a few weeks without hearing anything, he or she is likely to assume the worst and search elsewhere.
What are some tactics your company has used in order to enhance the candidate hiring experience?