The impact a recruitment consultant has on the candidate experience is mega! After all, as the recruiter, you’re the person who takes them through the entire recruitment process helping them prepare for a potential new career. You have the opportunity to ensure their experience is not only smooth and seamless but that it adds value every step of the way, gets the excitement flowing, and builds meaningful connections and relationships throughout.
72% of candidates who have a negative experience will tell others about it. But on the flip side, if it’s an amazing experience, they’ll shout about it! We all know that word-of-mouth marketing is the best kind, so having a fantastic candidate experience has the potential to generate a pool of new candidates, which in turn will impact the bottom line. More candidates, more incredible futures to build, more placements and more revenue - win, win and more wins!
When a recruitment consultant learns about the candidate's wants and needs, it’s their responsibility to align them with the right opportunity, company values, purpose and mission. This plays a huge role in ensuring a successful placement and a long-term, fulfilling career for the candidate. By making the right match, the recruitment consultant can help create a positive and productive work environment that benefits both the candidate and the company
Here are our top 3 tips on how to offer an incredible candidate experience during the recruitment process.
1. Treat everyone individually
When you reach out to a candidate, that initial contact will shape their opinion going forward. People are bombarded with messages all the time and can sometimes end up feeling like a number or tick box exercise. You’ve probably been in a similar situation yourself where a message has landed in your inbox that clearly has no relevance to you whatsoever. By taking a one- size-fits-all approach, you might a) target the wrong people and b) miss out on really getting to know the right candidates. Not to mention the impact it may have on yours and the businesses reputation!
The recruitment industry is a competitive market and one thing that can really differentiate you from another recruiter is the meaningful relationships you build with your candidates. By demonstrating you care and have the candidates best interest at heart and are genuinely invested in helping them build an incredible career, means you can develop a relationship based on trust and loyalty.
2. Go the extra mile
Most people think of a candidate's experience as a recruiter helping someone find a job. But as you’ll know, it’s so much more than this!
Our Head of Talent, Hannah Gardiner, mentioned in LinkedIns Talent Blog - “Every candidate, every conversation, whether that candidate is successful or not, we’ve got an opportunity and a responsibility to add value to those individuals. Lead with empathy. If you have a phenomenal candidate experience, that is massively going to support you in winning great talent.”
Sharing your experiences and knowledge and adding value to the candidate is another thing that’ll make your approach stand out. This goes above and beyond the standard expectations of a recruiter as you can bring the candidate out of their shell by mentoring them with insights, tips and advice. By putting their needs above all else, you can help them be the best version of themselves.
3. Check in regularly
No one likes to be left in the dark! Sometimes this small element can be missed in the hustle of the recruitment process. To ensure a seamless recruitment process, it's essential to keep candidates informed about what they can expect from you as their recruiter, as well as provide a detailed outline of each step of the process. This will help to maintain their engagement and provide clarity throughout the recruitment journey, reassuring them that they are front of mind and that you’re doing everything you can to support them.
As a recruiter, you have your candidates best interests at heart and genuinely want them to have an incredible career. A simple message or call asking how they’re feeling or if they have everything they need will really make all the difference. This personal touch is key to going above and beyond in the candidate experience!
IF YOU’RE GONNA DO IT, DO IT RIGHT…
Here at Austin International, we practise what we preach and are proud to have amazing recruitment consultants who offer incredible candidate experiences. Not only that, but we also want to ensure that anyone joining our team has the best experience too. So if you fancy joining our team of incredible recruitment consultants, reach out to our lovely talent team.