The Secret to a Great Candidate Experience? Candidate Prep
According to IBM, candidates are 38% more likely to accept a job offer after having a positive experience. Another report found that 77% of those who have had a positive candidate experience will share it with their network. And nearly 4 in 5 (78%) believe the overall candidate experience they receive is an indicator of how a company values its people (CareerBuilder).
The statistics for the benefits of positive candidate experience are omnipresent. It’s one of those no-brainer functions, but so many organizations fall short. Glassdoor is a cornucopia of negative reviews from employees who have been treated poorly by hiring managers or HR staff. Complaints range from lateness and attitudes, to lack of information, unpreparedness, and slow response rates.
What can be done?
In a world where key talent is sparse, organizations need to focus on pulling out all the stops when it comes to candidate experience. Ask yourself:
- Is the process smooth?
- Is communication clear and concise?
- Are hiring managers and interviewers aligned?
- Do you build a culture of inclusion?
- Are the candidates prepared for the interview?
This last question is often hugely overlooked, but can be of paramount importance. Ensuring your candidates understand what to expect from the hiring process and what ‘good looks like’ in terms of an interview can elevate the experience massively. It creates an even playing field, allowing applicants to present the best version of themselves and demonstrate their capabilities without fear of the unknown.
But how can organizations provide an experience like this in a relevant and scalable manner? SocialTalent has the answer!
The SocialTalent Candidate Prep Program
We’re teaming up with renowned career coach, Aimee Bateman, to create exclusive content to help candidates ace their interviews. Designed to mirror the best practice techniques demonstrated throughout SocialTalent’s interview training, these courses teach applicants how to match their individual skills to the requirements of the potential role.
Aimee prepares candidates to tackle behavioral, situational, and value-based questions, all while helping them to discover how to manage their mindsets and overcome any mental blocks that could arise in the interview. Hugely practical, this content provides insights for both external and internal hires, equipping them with exactly what they need to succeed.
Take a quick look at one of the learning items from these missions to get an understanding of how valuable this training can be:
Learn more: Check out Aimee’s author spotlight here!
Candidate prep in action
Tailor-made to help candidates, this content can be sent to applicants prior to their interviews and provides a number of key benefits for organizations:
- Positive candidate feedback: Implementing pre-interview training programs shows how much you value and care about the people coming through the process. You’re invested in their success. And this can feed into your employer brand, encouraging even more applications.
- Improved interview performance: Candidates who have access to training materials and resources are generally more likely to perform better in interviews. When candidates are well-prepared, they can provide more thoughtful and relevant responses, resulting in a positive impression on the interviewer.
- Reduced anxiety and stress: Interviews can be stressful for candidates, especially if they are unsure about what to expect. Providing training materials helps alleviate anxiety by giving candidates a better understanding of the interview process, the company’s expectations, and the types of questions they may face. This is a huge tick for creating a positive candidate experience!
- Increased fairness and equal opportunity: Offering interview prep levels the playing field by ensuring that all candidates have access to the same resources. This promotes fairness and equal opportunity, allowing candidates to showcase their skills and competencies on an even basis.
And the great thing about SocialTalent’s Candidate Prep Program is how malleable it is. With the ability to add your own content, you can make bespoke learning paths that reflect your company and its values. It creates a sense of alignment between interviewer and interviewee, and provides a seamlessness that would otherwise be difficult to achieve.
Final thoughts
The landscape of interviews is changing. What were once deemed stressful, fact-finding, interrogative conversations have evolved well beyond this. The best interview processes establish an atmosphere where candidates can flourish. By investing in candidate prep, companies demonstrate their commitment to supporting candidates throughout the whole recruiting process, creating a positive and equitable impression. It can be a key differentiator, particularly in this crowded market where candidate experience is worth its metaphorical weight in gold!