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The Digital Consumer Experience Improves the Flow of High-Quality Candidates: Part Two – The Importance of Superior Candidate Experience

Candidate Experience, Recruitment Marketing| Views: 2101

In Part One of this series, we considered how the digital consumer experience is shaping candidate behaviors on career sites, focusing primarily on the on-site job search experience. Our own insights into candidate behaviors show that: 

  • “Inconspicuous” or “hidden” search leads to 56% fewer searches and 62% fewer apply clicks
  • Enabling location searches drives 34% of clicks on search results and 64% more apply clicks from candidates using search
  • Including street addresses when presenting search results drives 91% more search result clicks

We’re adapting an “e-commerce approach” to the on-site search experience on career sites to anticipate that the first thing that candidates want to see is a job that makes sense, as well as to eliminate friction and ambiguity related to location.

Does this mean that if we just help candidates find a job faster they’ll be more likely to apply? Maybe, but it’s more likely that a better search is one important factor in a more complex story. The second major factor in this instance is delivering a superior candidate experience at the job level – one that is built on the Employer Brand, persuades rather than simply informs, and personalizes with unprecedented granularity.

Most candidates will look to see if they’re a good fit for a job before they know why they’re a good fit for your business. Job pages now need to ensure that these things happen simultaneously. If you visit a product page for a book on Amazon, you’ll notice that Amazon conveniently includes information and content that’s proven by data to be effective in persuading customers to make an informed buying decision. Does Amazon offer customers a link to a “Customer Reviews” page that presents every review written about every book they sell, letting customers sort out the ones important to influencing their decision on every book they might want? Of course not. You’ll find the reviews for a book on the page for the book.

Many career sites treat their Employer Value Proposition like it’s a scavenger hunt, where candidates are rewarded with often remarkable content found only across multiple landing pages. This approach often sequesters valuable information in places like a “What It’s Like to Work At…” page. Instead of rewarding candidates who are persistent or lucky, why not serve them instead? I am not saying that landing pages aren’t important or useful, because they are. Chances are that if information is useful on a landing page, it is equally or more useful on some, if maybe not all, of the company’s job pages. If getting the right people to apply is what you want, then volunteering useful information next to the apply button on a job page guarantees a better return on your content assets.            

Here is what a branded, content-rich candidate experience might look like in an Advanced Job Description, which is a differentiating feature of the TalentBrew Recruitment Marketing Platform:

Companies relentlessly focused on delivering a superior candidate experience at the job level have another enormous competitive opportunity: delivering unprecedented granularity in personalization.  Search books on Amazon for “War and Peace” and you’ll easily find 10 different results for Tolstoy’s classic – same book, 10 unique pages helping buyers make informed choices considering things like translations, deluxe editions, even weight (some get heavy!). It’s kind of mind-blowing to think that every product page on Amazon is uniquely presented to sell that one product – but I bet it’s true. While most businesses seek to build their candidate experience around a consistent, universal presentation of their Employer Brand, there are dozens of factors that can impact candidates at a more personal level. Consider two:

  • Same job, different locations? One job opportunity at the Corporate HQ, another for the same job but working remotely. One features content with employees raving about the great amenities at Corporate. The second persuades a superstar candidate to apply: perhaps they’re unsure if working from home would be right for them, but a video of other remote workers discussing the company’s support network for remote workers convinces them to apply. Everyone wins with thorough, more informed decisions! 
  • Today’s enterprises have complex hiring needs, and different things typically matter to candidates for different roles. Engineers may value solving challenging problems. Retail workers may value flexibility and career paths. Telemarketers may benefit from knowing there’s a supportive environment to help cope with rejection. All benefit from videos featuring authentic, honest and affirming insights from employees in peer roles, conveniently located next to the apply button on a job page.

So, there it is. First, make it easy for candidates to find what they want: a job. Then, serve up the information that works best in persuading great candidates to apply. It all sounds so simple. The devil, as they say, is in the details!

About Mike Bliss

Mike is the Sales Development Manager at Radancy. He has over 12 years of experience in the Cloud HCM Software Industry. One of the things he enjoys most about his work at Radancy is having a front-row seat watching the changes that shape the candidate experience and how businesses attract, engage and ultimately hire the people that will drive the success of their enterprise. He likes taking walks with his wife and their dog, spending time with his 3 kids, fishing on a quiet pond, and the occasional round of golf.

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