The Applicant-Centric Approach to Recruiting

The Shift

Decades ago, before the internet and all of its information existed, companies did not have to try too hard to “sell” an applicant on working for them. Applicants could not access online reviews, forums, or social media to discover what thousands of people had to say about a particular company. However, when the internet came to full throttle in the 2000s, this rapidly began to change. Now we have companies like Glassdoor that exist to allow previous applicants and employees to share their experiences with a company – everything from the application process to the exit interview.

For example, let’s look at two reviews on the same company; we’ll call it Company X. If we look up Company X on Glassdoor, we would find several reviews about the hiring procedures for a “Sales Associate” position. One woman claims the application, interview, and overall hiring experience was quick and smooth. Meanwhile, another woman’s testimony reveals that during the second interview, she was asked strange questions that did not pertain to the position, or to work at all. She further states that she was intimidated and uncomfortable throughout the interview.

Now, it is crucial that your applicants have a great experience, and more and more companies realize this. The internet has a powerful effect on the way potential and current candidates view your company. You no longer are able to make the first impression. Instead, your candidates are looking to places like Glassdoor and Linkedin before they even speak with you. Companies are taking an applicant-centric approach to drastically improve, simplify, and impress their applicants to initiate that first great impression.

Qualified Applicants and a Great Marketing Tactic

How many quality applicants have you lost due to a lack of organization or communication throughout the application, interview, or hiring processes? When companies adopt and implement applicant-centric approaches to each of these processes, they become far less likely to lose any qualified applicant. If your company lacks either organization or communication, that could trigger a red flag in an applicant resulting in a withdrawal of candidacy. On the contrary, if you have streamlined processes in place permitting simple communication and status updates, your candidate will be pleased and looking forward to what lies ahead.

Furthermore, a candidate who has a positive application experience is much more likely to share their experience with others. Whether it is by word of mouth or online, having constructive stories shared about your company is a good marketing tactic to build a great brand reputation. According to Influitive, “Four out of five people will tell an average of three others about a positive experience they had with a company.” These people are essentially your company’s advocates. When you are able to deliver a great product, service, or application, you will be able to get your advocates talking about your brand, initiating conversations, and generating sincere interest.

While you cannot force your advocates to say positive things about your company, there are a few steps you can take to help them get the word out. One of them is requesting and collecting testimonials and reviews. These will help establish trust among your potential applicants and candidates. You can also encourage your advocates to post their own reviews on your social media pages. This will be especially helpful since 88% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal reference. If you really want to go the extra mile, you can even invite your advocates to speak at your company or industry job fairs and have them personally connect with potential applicants.

The Pre-Select Solution

By now you know how important it is for your applicants and employees to have positive experiences – and for them to share those experiences. So, how can you ensure you have applicant centric recruiting? Use Pre-Select, a hiring solution naturally geared towards the job seeker, from its user-friendly interface to fast and easy onboarding. Let Pre-Select help you get better applicants, improve your marketing strategy, and upsurge your brand awareness.

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