CareerBuilder’s Applicant Experience study, which tracked the experiences and opinions of more than 800,000 workers who applied for jobs from June 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012, found that a bad experience applying for a job can play a critical role in the candidate’s decision to accept a position.
Poor first impressions, for starters, can cause job seekers to eliminate the employer from consideration altogether. Twenty-one percent of respondents reported that they’ve experienced a recruiter who was not enthusiastic about his or her company being an employer of choice for the candidate. Seventeen percent didn’t believe the recruiter was knowledgeable, and 15% didn’t think the recruiter was professional. All of those things can make for a bad experience and cause a candidate to stop pursuing that company or to turn down a job offer, of he or she gets that far.
“First impressions are critical,” says Sanja Licina, Ph.D. and senior director of Talent Intelligence at CareerBuilder. “While leaner staffs and budgets can make it difficult to keep up with a large influx of job candidates, it’s important to provide a positive experience throughout all stages of the application process. Your employees are your greatest ambassadors of your employment brand. You want to make sure that you’re acknowledging all applicants, reinforcing the unique work experience your company offers and seeking feedback for opportunities to improve.”
It doesn’t stop there. Employers could lose out on more than just talent when the applicant experience is bad; the company’s reputation and business can suffer, too.
Fifteen percent of job seekers reported having a lower opinion of the employer after they were contacted for an interview, and 44% of workers who didn’t hear back at all when they applied for a job said their opinion of the company worsened. Meanwhile, a separate CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,000 employers and 5,000 workers found that nearly one-third (32%) of job seekers reported they are less likely to purchase a product from a company who didn’t respond to their job application.
“Some companies may be hiring thousands of people at any given time, so numbers could potentially add up,” Licina says. “A small business losing a client may feel a more immediate impact. But, at the end of the day, you don’t want to lose business on any scale for something that could be fixed. Sending an e-mail acknowledging a receipt of the application can make a difference.”
CareerBuilder research also dispelled the myth that what happens in the recruitment process, stays in the recruitment process. A study by CareerBuilder and Inavero of more than 4,500 workers nationwide found that bad experiences may go viral, or can quickly spread throughout someone’s personal network.
Seventy-eight percent of surveyed workers said they would talk about a bad experience they had with a company with friends and family, and nearly a quarter of respondents would post something about their negative experience on social media or a blog.
“Social media, blogs and YouTube all provide a voice for people that can potentially attract national attention,” Licina says. “What the study shows us is that the applicant experience doesn’t necessarily stay between the employer and the candidate. If you have someone speaking negatively about your organization, that could have bigger implications for the companies in terms of attracting talent and consumers. People are increasingly relying on insights and experiences of those they know before making a variety of decisions, from their career to what detergent to purchase, so it is important to not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth and how quickly it can spread through social media.”
To help employers improve the applicant experience and thus avoid the repercussions mentioned above, Licina offered the following tips:
Keep job candidates in the loop.
“If limited resources and large volumes of applications prohibit a customized response, at the very least, set up an automatic reply with a quick note on the timeframe of hiring, so the candidate knows you received his or her application and is aware of your hiring timeline,” Licina says. Keep job seekers informed about the timeline for interviews and when you will make hiring decisions, and always follow up with candidates who ultimately weren’t selected for the job after an interview.
Focus on what matters most to job seekers.
Coming off of a recession where workers struggled with longer hours and having to transition to new industries, more are placing a greater emphasis on looking for jobs that have training opportunities, work-life balance and interesting assignments, Licina says. “Make sure to highlight relevant attributes along with your company’s competitive standing, advancement opportunities and other factors.”
Role play with ambassadors.
“Your employees are the greatest ambassadors of your employment brand,” she says. Set up mock interviews with recruiters and hiring managers, and survey applicants to get their feedback at the end of the application process.
Check it and then check it again.
It turns out technical issues are often the culprit behind job seekers dropping off from applying to a job he or she may be interested in. Licina suggests that employers triple check links on the company career page, online job sites, social media pages, etc. to make sure the connection is live and leading to the right information.
Readers: Tell us about your most memorable experiences as a job applicant in the comment section below.
