Candidate experience derives from the emotions and perceptions a candidate forms during their hiring journey. The goal is to provide a positive experience and to ultimately build an overall positive brand image. Which can help candidate retention, decrease dropout and get candidates to reapply again in the future.
If for whatever reason the experience is negative it’s challenging to try and win candidates back. A bad candidate experience taints a brand reputation and candidates will be less willing to give the employer a second chance and reapply again for future roles.
Here’s how to make a comeback from a negative experience:
Regain their trust
It’s all about trust when it comes to rebuilding a damaged employer’s reputation. Show the candidate that things have changed since their first experience. To do this you’ll need to assess the recruitment process and find weak spots where areas of improvement are needed.
Look for areas where there could potentially be long delays in the recruitment process. Lengthy and complicated hiring stages are a major factor in candidate dropout and poor candidate experience. It’s important to identify these areas and make changes to improve the efficiency of the hiring process.
Build meaningful interactions
We’ve always stressed the importance of communication in the hiring process to build a strong foundation for a positive candidate journey. However (and shockingly) a recent report by Greenhouse found that over 75% of job seekers have been ‘ghosted’ after an interview and never hear from the company again. Still, candidates are being left in the dark in 2022 and their time and effort are not being appreciated. It’s simple to inform candidates of their job progress with, call, email and texting (all of which can be automated too!). But it’s also time we start building more meaningful interactions with candidates and get to know them as a person. Acknowledge their efforts and always follow up after an interview.
Reconsider them for future roles
Another way to make past candidates feel valued again is to reconsider them for future roles. Rejected candidates are usually offered the option to be kept on file for future opportunities. Whilst this gesture of good intent means well, often it gets forgotten about and sadly the candidate never hears back from the employer.
Next time, show them you’re serious! Value their application and reconsider silver medalist candidates for new job opportunities. Using automation you can instantly search and screen past applicants inside your talent database at the start of every new job requisition. You’ll no longer have to remember past applicant qualifications and manually match them relevant job roles because automated software does this for you. Continue the candidate journey and make sure past applicants never feel forgotten about.
Never leave a candidate behind
If a candidate reapplies for a new role with an employer they previously had a bad experience with – take full advantage of this opportunity. You’ve been given a second chance don’t let it go to waste. With exceptional communication, trust and reconsideration for future roles you’re off to a good start.
Don’t let candidates slip away if they’re not matched for their original intended role. Screen them against all other open job vacancies to continue the candidate journey. With automated talent referral, you can automatically screen unmatched applicants against all vaccines for which you’re hiring. The candidate will be forwarded as a suggestion for the new role that might better suit their skillset and experience! You can help improve the candidate experience and ensure the best matches are made between applications and vacancies.
