Candidate first hiring refers to implementing a candidate-driven approach in the recruitment process to provide tremendous experience to the candidates. It includes all the aspects such as job search, the application process, interview process, online assessments, and onboarding process.

Generally, the hiring process is divided into 4 parts: sourcing, screening, selection, and onboarding. The experience which a candidate perceives in these 4 stages says a lot about you as a brand.

Every organization must focus on providing a great experience to the candidates as it is directly related to creating a positive employer brand and enhancing online reputation. When you give a great experience to the candidates, they are more likely to discuss your brand with their friends and relatives and may post a positive review on multiple recruiting sites.

On the other hand, when you provide a bad candidate experience, you will miss out on opportunities to attract and hire the top talent, affecting your business’s overall productivity.

It is imperative to provide great candidate experience to attract and retain high-quality talent in today’s competitive job market. When candidates look for a new job or a job change, they apply to multiple organizations. They are more likely to accept a job offer from a company that provides a great candidate experience.

When you focus on the candidate first hiring approach, candidates will accept your job offer over your competitors. Also, these candidates will look more positively on your brand – and so are more likely to become customers or even brand ambassadors in the future.

Improve Employer Brand

We have already mentioned that providing a good candidate experience improves your employer brand and will enhance your online reputation.

However, when the candidates are not selected in your organization, they share their experiences via their own personal and professional networks. Being recommended as a great workplace to apply to attracts better and high-quality candidates.

Identify The Right Talent Via Pre-Employment Assessments

More than 80% of companies worldwide conduct some form of pre-employment assessments. These assessments can benefit both employers and the candidates.

Pre-employment assessments give you a clear picture of the candidate and identify whether the candidate is the right fit for your company’s culture. When candidates are asked to complete a pre-employment test, they feel as if they are accurately evaluated among the vast talent pool. Therefore, assessments can be a differentiator in your candidate experience.

More Referrals And Improved Hiring Cycle

When you provide a great experience to your employees, they will tell their friends, relatives, and colleagues about the new job opening in your company.

Also, candidates who were unsuccessful but had a great experience with your company will accept your job offer in the future or apply again for any other position. This will improve your hiring cycle and reduce the time and money you put into interviewing candidates.

Improve Your Job Offer Acceptance Rate

Obviously, you need to be clear throughout the hiring process, and it can improve your offer acceptance rate (OAR).

Candidates want to feel more valued and respected at work. So, when you follow up with them, respect their time, set clear expectations, and be attentive during the recruitment process can give candidates a real sense of how they’ll be treated when they are selected in your organization.

Giving a personal touch during the recruitment process can increase the chance of candidates accepting your job offer.

Boost Long-Term Employee Engagement

For candidates who accept the company’s job offer, the onboarding process is the most crucial step.

Companies with bad onboarding experience can lose up to 20% of new employees within the first 45 days. On the other hand, candidates with an effective onboarding process were 10 times more likely to feel highly committed to their company.

Now you know the importance of candidate first hiring, let’s discuss how you can improve candidate experience in your organization:

Write Clear Job Descriptions

Most job seekers prefer simple language in a job description, and you must mention your company’s requirements.

Job descriptions with an infinite list of requirements can make candidates step out of the application process, and you’ll miss out on many opportunities to hire top candidates.

Use An Easy To Use Assessment Tool

While assessments play a crucial role in attracting top talent, most companies use a complex tool that can turn off the candidates and increase the drop-off rates during assessments.

Instead, you must use an easy-to-use tool such as Intervue – recruiters’ most preferred screening tool. It can help recruiters by automatically eliminating the unqualified candidates and let recruiters focus on the qualified ones.

Stay Connected With The Candidates

8 out of 10 candidates say that they didn’t get any response from the employer after an interview. Candidates are impatient, and multiple job opportunities are lying on their table. Don’t let them wait for weeks and months; otherwise, you will miss hiring the top talent.

After an interview, you must give timely feedback to the candidates to know where they stand in the recruitment process. Getting back to candidates will set you apart and show that you value your candidates.

Give And Ask For Feedback

Candidates appreciate getting feedback from employers, and they will improve themselves for future interviews. This kind of feedback can help candidates approach their job search strategically, and they will move on to another job opportunity with you.

Additionally, it’s also valuable to ask candidates to give you feedback. Ask them how their experience was throughout the recruitment process. Feedback from candidates will provide you with deep insight into what you can improve in your recruitment process.

Focusing on candidate first hiring will help you build a stronger employer brand, enhance online reputation, and improve employee retention rates. You should look for ways to add clarity in the recruitment process and a human touch to your new employees for the first 30 to 90 days.

Being consistent throughout the hiring process will help them feel valued. And even if they are not selected, it will leave a long-lasting impression on them.