Let’s define what candidate-centric recruitment is and the benefits for your organization. We’ll also discuss the best practices you can implement to easily connect with skilled & talented candidates through creating an exceptional candidate journey.

Defining Candidate-Centric Recruiting

Candidate-centric recruiting is a strategy where you focus first on your candidates’ needs before the organization’s. This strategy is becoming more popular as employers realize that they have to act like service providers and treat their candidates as customers. Providing a great candidate experience is the key to successful candidate-centric recruitment.

This is heavily influenced by the employment rate decreasing from 14.7 percent in April 2020 to 3.9 percent in October 2023, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, effectively increasing employee demand.¹

The Advantages of Creating a Positive Experience for Job Seekers

Candidate-centric recruiting can be advantageous to you, not only to your candidates. Here’s how:

1. You can attract high-quality candidates.

Enhancing the candidate journey will spread the word among potential applicants through positive peer testimonials. This can attract the attention of the best candidates in the market and make them want to apply for your job openings.

2. You can improve the match between the candidate and the role.

Adopting a candidate-centric approach in your recruitment process increases the likelihood of discovering qualified individuals possessing the necessary expertise and skills to successfully fill your vacant positions.

3. You can reduce your turnover rates.

Candidates with the best candidate experience can become satisfied employees because they know their employer is supportive from the first contract, inspiring them to stay working with you longer.

Putting Candidates First: Best Practices to Create a Positive Candidate Experience

If you wish to create a candidate-centric recruitment, you have to improve your recruitment process. Here are some practices you can implement as you put the needs of your candidates first:

1. Write a clear and truthful job ad.

Candidates can be put off if your job ad doesn’t precisely match the role you are hiring for.

To craft a clear, truthful, and candidate-centric job post, you have to present the role’s responsibilities and requirements transparently. Define your expectations to avoid misinterpretation and emphasize growth opportunities to attract high-quality talent.

On top of this, according to a Paychex survey, candidates are discouraged for several reasons.² Here are the job posting red flags you may want to avoid:

• 50% Experience requirement for the position is too high
• 43% Long list of job qualifications
• 60% Low base salary
• 33% Mention of occasional weekend work
• 48% Mistakes in spelling and grammar
• 36% No mention of paid sick leave
• 36% No mention of paid time off (PTO)
• 65% No salary range mentioned
• 49% Pay commensurate with experience
• 33% Too many interviews

2. Create a comfortable journey through the use of technology.

You can elevate your recruitment process by integrating the right technologies in every step. For example, you can make the process easier and smoother through mobile-friendly applications.

You can also leverage AI-powered tools for unbiased resume screening. Personalized communication can also complement your strategies through chatbots and other automated responses.

3. Keep the candidate informed throughout the journey.

If you wish to put your candidates first through the recruitment journey, you must keep them involved and informed about every step of the recruitment process.

You can do this by giving them an idea of every process they will go through. Give them a brief background of each person interviewing them, and you may discuss what questions will be asked for each stage, allowing candidates to give their very best throughout the journey.

4. Respect the candidate’s time.

Candidates are often busy as most apply to multiple companies at a time or may even have a current role. Here are a few things you can do to help candidates spend their time wisely:

Minimize the number of interviews you will have.

Limiting the number of interviews can demonstrate respect for the candidate’s time and reduce the risk of them feeling that their time has been wasted.

If you think multiple people will want to ask the same questions, consider having a panel interview.

Start interviews at the right time.

Ensuring that interviews are conducted punctually is essential for creating a positive candidate experience and showing respect for the candidate’s time.

Provide immediate feedback and guidance.

Don’t let candidates wait for your updates. Keep in touch, especially if you promised to send an email.

5. Make the hiring process a learning experience.

Did you know that employers are ghosting 77 percent of candidates?³ And 10 percent were even left hanging after being offered the job verbally.

Remember to provide kind feedback to help them do better in the future. This can help increase their chances of impressing potential employers, even if they were unsuccessful in your company.

6. Gather candidate feedback.

The candidate-centric recruitment can be a learning process for you and your team. At the last stage of a candidate’s recruitment journey, take the time to ask for quick feedback about their experience. You can also attach a survey in your ‘thank you’ email.

Ask about how each interview was or what they think can be improved. You can be specific about what you want to ask by giving multiple choices or easy-to-answer questions like using yes or no and rating.

7. Add candidates to your talent pool.

Stay connected with your previous candidates by adding them to your talent pool. You can still build and maintain connections through newsletters and networking invitations even if they weren’t hired.

You can also let them know of future openings which they can apply for if a more suitable position opens.

Elevate Your Hiring Approach with Candidate-Centric Recruitment Strategies

Embracing candidate-centric recruitment can transform your hiring landscape by prioritizing individuals’ experiences and needs. This approach can be enriched by technology as you ensure transparency, inclusivity, and efficiency throughout your recruitment process.

Focus on creating clear and personalized communication strategies, from job ads to job offers or thank-you emails.

With all these things considered, you can attract top talent who can stay longer with you.