Placing Yourself in your Candidate Shoes can Change the Way you Manage your Entire Candidate Experience?

So, you think you have a solid candidate attraction strategy? Think again and remember, candidates minds work differently to yours. Commonly known in the marketing industry as shoe-shifting, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is essential when looking at your own candidate experience.

Most of us think we’re great listeners and fabulous empathisers, but do you practice it? Thinking it doesn’t make it so. Put yourself in other people’s shoes, but first, get out of your own.

How do your candidates really view your business?

There’s only one way to find out – become one. No, don’t hand in your notice, but do take a day out of your familiar surroundings, put on your summer shorts and spend an afternoon in a café with your laptop, smartphone and tablet, and live and breathe the candidate experience by applying for your vacancies.

Candidates are looking for an efficient and simple process (after all, you’re not the only employer on the market), as well as information about your company, ethos, career development and, of course, the workplace itself. Does your attraction strategy tick all boxes?

Social Media: Search for your roles on Twitter. DM your Twitter account. How positive was the experience? Did you even find your vacancies? Did you get an immediate reply? This is social media remember – ask yourself, are you sufficiently social?

Mobile: Your mobile apply process exists, right? If you don’t have one, you’re already behind the competition and your candidate experience is lacking somewhat. Jobseekers can be very unforgiving if your mobile offering does not hit the mark straight away.

Careers Site: If a job seeker can’t find your roles within one click (yes, just one) you’re making them work too hard. Check your website. Revisit your career site’s original development brief. Did anything get lost along the way?

Building a talent pool – candidates like to contact humans – what you must consider:

• “I have a strong desire to work for your organisation but you don’t quite have the role I am looking for.” • “I would however like to alert you of my availability, after all the job that matches my skill-set may very well be on your list of roles to hire.” • “I am interested in one of your roles but I have a few quick questions.”

Now ask yourself, are you able to answer these enquiries quickly? How easy was it to communicate with your recruitment team? Did you get positive replies?

Understand your target audience and remember the expectations of Gen Y and baby boomers can be completely different. Where do they go shopping for their next career move? Some will be social savvy while others will search on more traditional channels.

There is, of course, an endless stream of areas to examine when reviewing your own candidate experience. Create a list of areas to study, put your feet up, become a candidate and develop a 360 degree perspective of everything thing your candidates experience.