Employers Create a Bad Experience for Job Seekers These 4 Ways

When job seekers have a bad experience with your company's hiring process, the ramifications can be damaging. According to a CareerArc survey, unhappy job candidates are less likely to purchase your products in the future. What's more, the negative reviews they post online can discourage other workers from applying. If your company is guilty of these hiring behaviors, it's time to rethink your strategies and build a more positive procedure.

Vague Job Descriptions

The humble job description plays a crucial role in your company's hiring process. It helps candidates self-select for a position and has a direct impact on your talent pool. A vague, outdated or outright incorrect posting causes a variety of problems. It floods your HR department with unsuitable applications, extends the process and creates more work for your search team. What's more, when a candidate reaches the interview stage and finds the actual position is significantly different from the description, he may take himself out of the running and spread the word to other industry talent. A detailed, specific job description for each position can go a long way toward improving your job seeker experience.

Extended Timeframe

Many job seekers don't have time to wait months before a company makes a decision. If your candidate search stretches for an unreasonable period, you may lose excellent applicants to other jobs, while others may give up out of frustration. In 2015, Glassdoor found that the average American hiring process lasted 23 days. If yours takes significantly longer, you can improve the experience by finding ways to speed things up. Use fewer interviews, for example, or consolidate the approval process.

Lack of Communication

After an application or interview, some companies go silent, leaving candidates in the dark. This lack of communication instantly puts your organization at a disadvantage, particularly when compared to competitors with a more transparent hiring process. When candidates aren't updated, they are more likely to call or email your HR department, putting extra work on already busy staff. Worse, frustrated applicants may infer that their bad experience would be reflected in the daily operations of the company, and decide not to continue. Frequent, friendly communication about each person's status, both during the hiring process and after a decision is made, can keep potential employees engaged.

Poor Employee Interactions

As a candidate is applying and interviewing, he makes judgments about your company culture based on his communication with your workers. If those interactions are negative or off-putting, it can taint the entire process. Examples include underinformed HR representatives, employees who aren't engaged or enthusiastic and managers who fail to create a friendly interview atmosphere. To improve the candidate experience, ensure each employee can be engaging, welcoming and positive.

A candidate's experience with your hiring process can affect everything from your talent pool to your company's public reputation. By taking the time to improve and streamline each step, you can keep applicants happy and engaged, even when they don't get the job.

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