Candidate experience isn’t just about getting people to apply for your opening positions.  It is also about getting them to continue to or start buying your products and services.  In a recent candidate experience study by IBM,  “candidates who are satisfied with their experience are twice as likely to become a customer of the hiring organization compared to unsatisfied candidates (53 percent vs. 25 percent).”

So you may not care if an unqualified applicant applies for your openings, but you definitely want everyone to continue or start buying from you.

With this in mind, communication is the most critical piece of positive candidate experience.  In order to create a positive experience these things need to be present:

1. Informative Communication. Many applicants find that their application goes into a “black hole” and they never hear anything.  Candidates should be informed if they have been screened out for a job and why.  A rejection may seem like bad communication, but in reality, no communication is much worse.  Make sure you follow-up and inform candidates after every step of the process (application, phone screen, assessment, interviews, etc.) as to whether or not they are still in the applicant pool and why or why not.

If candidates are screened out, inform them of other openings with your organization that may be a good fit for them, if this is in fact the case.  Definitely don’t do this if you do not have openings that are a fit for them because this is misleading and unauthentic (see #4).

2. Differentiated Communication. If you’ve done a good job of informing candidates, the next step is to go beyond using the boiler plate emails that your ATS provides. Customize the communication to reflect your culture and brand.

3. Diverse Communication. One way to differentiate your communication with candidates is to diversify it. Let candidates hear from someone other than the recruiter or hiring manager.  This could come from someone in the job they are applying for, someone who is at the same stage in their career, and/or someone who fits their demographic profile.

Video is a great way to differentiate and diversify your communication.  Take short clips of people throughout the organization talking about what they do and what they like about their jobs and the organization.  Use these on your careers site but also make use of it in customized emails/newsletters to candidates you are trying to target as well as those who are already in your pipeline.

4. Authentic Communication.  If you’ve differentiated and diversified your communication, you’re stepping in the right direction of displaying authentic communication.

Make sure your communication materials do not convey something your organization is not.  No organization is all sunshine and rainbows, so make sure your candidate communication is realistic, honest and authentic.  If you don’t have pool tables in the breakroom along with endless snacks, don’t act like you do because you’ve heard that is the way to attract millennials to a workplace.  If you’re organization’s demographic isn’t diverse as you’d like, don’t hire actors or use stock graphics to populate your careers page.  Actually use people who work in your organization.

Make sure you know who and what you are as an organization and what you are striving to become.  Tell candidates about this throughout the process.

What do you do to communicate effectively with candidates to build a positive experience for them?