Hiring Hacks: The 6 Elements of a Game-Changing Candidate Experience

GREENHOUSE + THE MUSE + TALENT BOARD
The 6 Elements of a Game-Changing
Candidate Experience

GREENHOUSE + SQUARESPACE #HIRINGHACKS
Today’s Moderator
Casey Marshall
Greenhouse
casey.marshall@greenhouse.io
#HIRINGHACKS

GREENHOUSE + SQUARESPACE
reenhouse • Greenhouse is an end-to-end solution that
optimizes your entire recruiting process
• Talent is critical for building outstanding
companies
• World-class recruiting requires focused
effort across your entire organization
#HIRINGHACKS

GREENHOUSE + SQUARESPACE
Hiring Hacks • Each webinar in the series focuses on
strategies and tools that help measurably
improve the recruiting process
#HIRINGHACKS

#HIRINGHACKS
● What data is essential to track when
measuring your candidate experience
● When is the right time to conduct candidate
surveys
● Ways to enhance your employer brand
● The potential business impact of candidate
experience
Today’s Agenda

#HIRINGHACKS
Speaker Highlight
Kevin Grossman
VP, Talent Board
linkedin.com/in/kevinwgrossman
Lauren Roberts
Manager of Talent Acquisition, The Muse
linkedin.com/in/laurentroberts
#HIRINGHACKS

• 5M+ unique visitors come to The Muse
each month for career advice
• We help companies get in front of this
audience by creating a profile with office
photos and employee videos that help
share their employer brand
• Follow us on Twitter: @dailymuse

• Nonprofit research organization founded in
2011 and focused on elevating and
promoting a positive candidate experience
• Nearly 400 companies and over 220,000
job candidates participating in our global
2016 candidate experience research
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheCandEs

• It still takes 30-60+ minutes to complete
online applications
• It’s not a consistent experience for
candidates from desktop to mobile
• Candidates have no idea what the next
steps will be post application
• No opportunity to give the employer
feedback on the process
Challenge #1
The Application Process
#HIRINGHACKS

Too many candidates have no idea of what to expect during the
application process and either unrealistic timelines are given to
them by the employers -- or none at all. And 47% of candidates
go 2+ months without any response from employers once
they’ve applied.
Companies still try to emulate the old-school paper application
via their career sites and online applications -- like they’re trying
to capture everything up front on the job applicants. While some
of that may help self-select some candidates out, more than
likely many qualified candidates will jump ship because of the
cumbersome process.

• Employers should go through their own
application process to see exactly what it’s
like and what works and what doesn’t
• Candidates should know exactly how long
the application should take and what to
expect post-application
• Ask candidates what else they’d like to
share that wasn’t asked in the application
Solution:
The Application Process
#HIRINGHACKS

• Help candidates feel prepared and
comfortable going through your process
• Eliminate disorganization and confusion for
the candidate and internal hiring teams
• Make candidates feel respected
Challenge #2
Structured Interviewing
#HIRINGHACKS

...And now you're hesitating to make a hiring decision because
you don't have enough information to move forward. You lose
that momentum you thought you gained by skipping some really
important steps.
The alternative: you post the JD and immediately start vetting
the applications. Maybe you talk to the first few people you
meet, but without a plan, you keep having conversational
interviews that don't yield results, and feedback that only covers
how much you like the candidate...

• Hiring manager kickoff
• Scorecard
• Interview committee selection
• Intentional interview process
• Prep the internal team
• Learn as you go
Solution:
Structured Interviewing
#HIRINGHACKS

• Candidate experience has a huge effect on
employer brand: make sure to treat
everyone with respect!
• Be honest in how you present your
employer brand: live up to promises that
you make to prospective candidates
• Be authentically yourself: you don’t have to
present a false story to attract the right
people
Challenge #3
Employer Brand
#HIRINGHACKS

...You want people to join your company who are excited about
that environment that you have today, vs being attracted to
perks! Being true to who you are attracts people who share your
values.
"I'm not sure if now's the right time: we're small, and don't
really have a cool office, I don't think we're ready to share
that with the world, until we get where we want to be."

• Align HR/ Talent Acquisition/ Marketing to
make sure the brand matches the
candidate and employee experience
• Make sure expectations are realistic and
aligned
• Start this process at any size!
Solution:
Employer Brand
#HIRINGHACKS

• Easy to get overwhelmed, especially if
you’re getting hundreds of applications
• The urge might be to only get back to the
best people
• Responding to everyone is important: be
empathetic to your candidates.
• Give people feedback: it's part of the job &
it's important to give people feedback, even
when it's not what they want to hear
Challenge #4
Responsiveness
#HIRINGHACKS

• Share the interview process at the end of
the phone screen
• Compare timelines to get on the same page
• Give feedback, even when it’s hard to do
• Prepare the candidate so they can shine
Solution:
Responsiveness
#HIRINGHACKS

• Ensuring the time between final interview
and verbal/written offer is within 1-2 weeks
• Getting new hire paperwork done in a
timely fashion so they can get to work
• Having hiring managers contact new hires
before they start working and asking for
feedback
Challenge #5
The Offer and Onboarding
#HIRINGHACKS

• Invest in an onboarding solution or make
sure your ATS and/or background
screening provider has an onboarding
module
• Be timely with making offers to finalists to
stay competitive
• Ask for feedback, offer feedback and
communicate often with new hires (and
even silver medalists)
Solution:
The Offer and Onboarding
#HIRINGHACKS

• Candidates continue to share positive and
negative experiences with their inner circles
and via social media
• Candidates who have an overall poor
recruiting experience are more likely to
never apply again or refer
• Candidates who have an overall poor
recruiting experience are more likely to not
make direct purchases from consumer-
based businesses
Challenge #6
The Business Impact
#HIRINGHACKS

On average 41% of tens of thousands of candidates globally
who believe they have had a “negative” overall 1-star job seeker
experience (based on a 1-5 Likert Scale rating) say they will
definitely take their alliance, product purchases and relationship
somewhere else. On the other hand, 64% say they’ll definitely
increase their employer relationships based on the very positive
job seeker experiences they’ve had.
Many talent acquisition professionals complain that there’s no
way they can “touch” every single candidate with a positive
affirmation, much less acknowledge their interest in the
company or giving them closure when they’re not selected.

• Employers should keep on ongoing pulse of
how candidates rate the recruiting
experience from pre-application to
onboarding
• Employers should measure NPS scores on
candidates’ willingness to apply again and
refer others based on their experience
• B2C and B2B employers should quantify
the potential business impact to make the
case to improve
Solution:
The Business Impact
#HIRINGHACKS

Hiring Hacks: The 6 Elements of a Game-Changing Candidate Experience

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Hiring Hacks: The 6 Elements of a Game-Changing Candidate Experience