Industry Research: Is Automation Killing the Candidate Experience?

Hiring can be stressful when added to your day-to-day responsibilities

Before candidates even apply to your open position, they take an immense amount of time crafting their resumes and practicing interview questions to make a good impression as soon as they hit send on the job application. They want to feel as though they have put their best foot forward and done everything they can do to be a top candidate and stand out against other bright candidates.

So, what happens when they push the send button and never hear back? Or worse, they receive a disqualification email 5 seconds later? This is why it is crucial to understand how automation can work for your hiring process or how it can really put a bad taste in the candidate’s mouth.

As an HR Professional, you are the face of the company, the first person someone hears back from after they apply. Putting yourself in the candidate’s shoes can put into perspective how important communication is, especially how the message is received and when.

With applicant tracking systems becoming more sophisticated, it is easy to set it and forget it when it comes to the automation they provide. However, taking a little extra time to craft messages and set the right times for communications to go out can make all the difference in how appreciated you make the candidate feel. After all, you want them to work for you. 

When setting up your ATS automations, ask yourself these questions:
 

By using automation the right way, you will save time doing the typical daily mundane tasks while increasing productivity and communication between your hiring team and with your candidates. This is the key to keeping hiring human while giving your candidates a good impression of your company.

Screening candidates is hard. In fact, 52% of you agree it is the hardest part of hiring. You push out your job posting and you are infiltrated with hundreds of candidates. How do you get through them all? Do you want to read every single resume and profile for each candidate? You already have so much to do in your day-to-day work.

It is important to remember that, in most cases, the candidate took the time to view your job description, research your company, and apply. Active job seekers are anxious to hear back from you to get that first interview. 

Using your hiring software to improve your workflow is the way to go. Use it to help screen out candidates that do not match the necessary qualifications for the job. Set up questions in the application that can automatically disqualify a candidate or send out a follow-up questionnaire after they apply.

Set up emails to go out as soon as a candidate applies that thanks them for taking the time to apply and you received their application. Let them know when they might expect to hear back about the position, whether they are picked to move forward or not. This gives the applicant a good first impression of your company and gets them pumped for the next communication.

When you have disqualification or not considered emails going out, make sure to set your automation time schedule up to delay the email for a day or two. Nobody likes getting an automatic rejection letter right after they apply. Give it some time. When you can, give a reason for not continuing the candidate through the process. This can help the candidate improve for other possible applications or even to apply to your next open position that they are qualified for.

Hot tip: Personalize the emails with an actual real-life person from your team and not sending the email from just your team.

Many active candidates may be pursuing an array of opportunities. For highly-skilled candidates, if your company isn’t top of mind throughout their entire journey, you may be losing out on having them consider your company as a viable place to work.

Engaged candidates with a positive candidate experience are 38% more likely to accept a job offer. If you feel a candidate has good potential, invite them for an interview as soon as can. Shortening the hiring process in places that make sense convey to the candidate that you care about their time. Use automation to send interview invites to candidates right inside of your hiring software. This eliminates all the email back and forth of traditional interview scheduling. No lost emails, no lost time.

Hiring can be stressful when added to your day-to-day responsibilities. Lightening your task load with automation can free up your time to add a more personal human touch to your hiring process. Let your ATS save you time to do the part of your job you actually enjoy doing.