From the first contact with the candidate to the final acceptance or rejection letter, personalizing the process is non-negotiable. Not only that, but it’s become standard practice, especially as we increasingly take advantage of technology to automate communication with candidates. But how to improve candidate engagement? Make sure to address them by name in all communications, and try to personalize contact further by referencing other relevant factors, such as job title, employer or geographic location.
In many instances, candidates can’t determine whether they’re interacting with a person or robot, so humanize your approach and create a positive impact by including the recruiter’s profile and photo on emails from the initial engagement.
You should also add recruiting team images and ideally hiring manager names and bios on your career site and landing pages. More than half (56 percent) of candidates say that they’re more likely to respond if a hiring manager reaches out to them than a recruiter. When it comes to the rejection process, continue to demonstrate a human touch by sending rejected candidates who have reached a certain level in the process a thank you gift, such as a discount code, or even just a little note to say ‘we appreciate the time you’ve spent with us’. They might come in handy in future searches, especially in the case of silver medallists.
Delivering a personalized candidate experience on your careers site, by recommending jobs based on factors such as an individual’s historical data, search history or location, or based on their resume when they upload it to your career marketplace, can be an easy way to impress potential candidates and drive conversion.
