Reputation management 101: consider candidate experience
| Published date | 09 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0044 |
| Date | 09 October 2017 |
| Pages | 239-240 |
| Author | Amy Finn |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour |
Reputation management 101: consider
candidate experience
Amy Finn
Amy Finn is Director, Candidate
Experience & Marketing at
WinterWyman, Waltham,
Massachusetts, USA.
In the digital age, everyone can
be a critic – or an advocate.
Whether a restaurant review on
Yelp, a class on Rate My Professor
or an apartment on Review My
Landlord, the internet has given
voice to the masses to share what
they want, when they want. For
employers – particularly in this
low-unemployment, competitive
market – it is especially important to
understand this and to recognize
the importance of positive reviews
on sites like Glassdoor and Vault or
being listed as some of the best
places to work. But also to
recognize the power, and
trickle-down effect, of any social
platform – from Facebook to Twitter
to Snapchat – in relaying stories
(positive or negative) of an
experience. This makes it critical for
companies to develop, implement
and refine processes, from
recruiting to onboarding that create
positive candidate experiences.
Just think about how quickly word
travels within your industry. They
are typically small circles, where
word gets around. For example, if
a software engineer leaves an
interview feeling mistreated,
chances are pretty good that
colleagues hear about it – and
then the treacherous game of
telephone begins. A candidate
may be excited about an
opportunity, but when they hear it
is with your company – a company
that a colleague told them to stay
away from – it is likely to have an
impact.
A bad candidate experience will
hinder talent attraction, especially
in a tight market, when talent is at
a premium. In addition to the work,
salary and culture, candidates
evaluate opportunities based on
how they have been treated during
the process.
Improving candidate experience
does not take a large capital
investment or require many
resources. Improvements can be
made through simple changes in
the way candidates are viewed
and treated. The No. 1 tip for
keeping candidates happy is to
remember the Golden Rule: treat
job seekers the way you would
want to be treated – or the way
you would want your parent,
sibling, child or best friend to be
treated. By simply treating
candidates in a respectful,
professional, honest and kind way,
you will make the entire process
more positive.
Some simple improvement steps in
developing a strong candidate
experience include:
Be responsive. Professionals
applying for appropriate jobs
should always receive something
from your organization to avoid the
“black hole” of job applications.
Responding is good for the
Strategic commentary
DOI 10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0044 VOL. 16 NO. 5 2017, pp. 239-240, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 239
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