It can be easy for small business owners to overlook the importance of creating a great candidate experience. It’s completely understandable given how many hats the average small business owner has to wear!

But don’t make the mistake of assuming it’s not worth investing the time into improving your candidate experience. A recent CareerPlug survey of job seekers found that 67% of job seekers have had a negative experience during a hiring process within the past year and 58% had declined a job offer due to poor experience.

Luckily, it’s not all doom and gloom. Of the job seekers who had a positive candidate experience during the hiring process, 80% said it influenced their decision to accept the job offer. 

Long story short: The candidate experience is an essential element in any good recruitment strategy.

Check out the video below from CareerPlug’s Director of HR, Natalie Morgan, to learn more about creating an exceptional candidate experience.

What’s the relationship between candidate experience and applicant quality?

Hiring managers tell us that one of their most challenging pain points in recruiting is a lack of high-quality applicants. This can result from a variety of factors, which can vary based on industry, region, economic climate, unemployment rates, and more. 

While some causes are outside of your control, the candidate experience is one element that is entirely within your control as an employer. 

Consider that more than half of job seekers will abandon their pursuit of a job after reading negative online reviews about the employer. Employer review sites like Glassdoor allow reviews from candidates who have been through your interview process, whether you hired them or not. 

By taking the time to create a great candidate experience, you can make sure that you’re not missing out on the high-quality applicants who are motivated enough to research your company.

Measuring candidate experience 

Candidate experience has a massive impact on your employer brand, or your business’ reputation as a place to work. To evaluate your candidate experience, try integrating a candidate experience survey into your existing hiring process. 

We’ve created a free candidate experience survey template to get you started. Click the button below to download.

Candidate experience survey best practices

Here are a few tips to help you make the most out of your candidate experience survey:

• Email your candidate experience survey to all candidates you’ve interviewed. It’s a good idea to ask for feedback from candidates you’ve interacted with, whether at the initial phone screen stage or after multiple rounds of interviews.
• Be open to both positive and negative feedback. The purpose of this exercise is to surface any weak points in your hiring process. Don’t take negative feedback personally! You’re working to improve your chances of attracting high-quality applicants in the future.
• Survey your existing employees. Who knows your hiring process better than the hires you made? Ask them for their honest feedback, and you may be able to make quick changes to your hiring process even before bringing new candidates through the door.

Take action

CareerPlug’s applicant tracking system is built around a hiring process that values the candidate experience. Speak with one of our hiring experts today to see how we can help you create an exceptional candidate experience so you can make the right hires.