Recruitment is a brand moment

We’ve all abandoned an online checkout because the experience was clunky, hard or too long. Friction is a killer. 

The same is true in recruitment.

I know from my research that people who are looking for a new job find the process ‘draining’ and ‘brutal’.

According to this research, 37% of job applications take more than 20 minutes to complete. Application fatigue is a real threat to achieving the best hiring outcomes.

The same research index showed 1 in 3 job ads fail to communicate company values. These things are both a pipeline problem and a brand experience problem.

Recruitment is a marketing challenge. Just as marketing must convert the prospect to a customer, hiring teams must turn awareness into action, interest into application and the hiring experience into a commitment. 

Yet too many organisations still treat recruitment as a compliance exercise, not a brand moment.

When the application process is long, confusing or impersonal, it creates friction.

Friction kills attraction. 

Candidates lose interest, drop out or simply disappear. Perhaps it’s not a talent shortage but rather a trust gap.

Experience is a message

Candidate experience is a core part of your employer brand. It tells people more about your culture than any job ad or website ever could.

A well-designed experience says, ‘We value your time’. It reflects empathy, consistency and respect.

A poor experience – slow responses, unclear communication, endless forms – says the opposite. And once that message lands, it sticks. When people apply and never hear back, the message isn’t neutral; it’s negative. 

Every moment in recruitment is a story being told about your organisation.

The first chapter of employee experience

Candidate experience is the first chapter of employee experience. It sets expectations, tone and trust before day one in the job. If attraction is the goal, experience is the method.

When you design hiring with the same care you give to the customer or donor journey, you can build connection before the employment contract is signed.

Design a better candidate experience

You don’t need a big budget to create a positive, memorable candidate experience. You need clarity, empathy and intention. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Simplify your process. If an application takes longer than 10 minutes, it’s too long.

• Communicate values, expectations, opportunities and challenges early. Don’t save the important messages for the latter stages.

• Respect people’s time. Every unanswered application is a missed opportunity to build goodwill and protect your reputation.

• Test your own process. Apply for one of your jobs and observe what your candidates experience.

• Consider if there are any unnecessary stages which could be combined or streamlined.

Brands aren’t built through advertising or flashy campaigns. They’re built through experience.

Candidate experience is your brand.

There is a whole chapter dedicated to candidate experience in Attract: Recruitment Reimagined.