It’s easy to think, when searching for a job, that the leverage resides with the hiring organization. But just as job seekers try to impress prospective employers, organizations must also impress candidates with a sound candidate experience to improve their chances of hiring great talent.
One could think about it in terms of other experiences: A restaurant with the hottest chef cooking up amazing food wouldn’t want its customer base to dwindle due to poor service. An e-commerce platform wouldn’t want to fumble a sale through a clunky point-of-sale system. Or, on the more personal side, a blind date wouldn’t want to turn off a prospective love match because they’re running late for dinner.
Sure, it’s up to a candidate to persuasively articulate and demonstrate why they’re the right person for a role. Similarly, though, an employer must illustrate to that candidate why they're compelling in their own right — and a major step toward that is treating the hiring process with thoughtfulness, courtesy and openness.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about building relationships,” said Jeremy Wilson, vice president and senior talent acquisition consultant at City National Bank.
And just like any relationship, first impressions matter — a staple of the candidate experience philosophy at Wix, according to U.S. Talent Acquisition Leader Anthony Rodriguez.
“Whether it’s via the careers site or with a recruiter at a career fair, having a positive first experience sets the tone for the rest of the interview process,” Rodriguez said.
When connecting with Wilson, Rodriguez and Invicti Talent Acquisition Partner Brielynd Schultz, the professionals singled out some essentials that make for a stellar candidate experience: Thoughtful listening. Open and frequent communication. Transparency and authenticity. In other words, treating the process with a human touch, and not a paint-by-numbers blueprint.
Continue on for their best practices for engaging with on-the-hunt talent.
City National Bank’s fully remote team provides banking, trust and investment services.
What is the most important thing you want candidates to learn about City National Bank, and how do you communicate it during the hiring process?
Our culture sets us apart. We have a very proud and long history of putting people first and being in the relationship business. We think and act like owners and hold ourselves to the highest standards — not just with clients, but with each other as colleagues.
As a company, we are very focused on the employee experience. We prioritize future growth and career development, provide excellent benefits like profit sharing and continually make adjustments to have engaged employees. The interview process gives me a perfect opportunity to show candidates what our culture feels like as I walk them through every step and answer any questions or concerns they may have along the way.
What are three ingredients that create a great candidate experience?
It is imperative to listen, respond promptly, be engaged and be truly consultative during the interview process. That’s our culture in action: We provide a high level of service to our candidates and hiring managers to ensure everyone understands and can easily navigate the hiring journey. This is true whether the applicant is a top candidate or if the role isn’t the right fit. At the end of the day, it’s all about building relationships.
It is imperative to listen, respond promptly, be engaged and be truly consultative during the interview process.”
How has your candidate experience changed over time, and why did you enact those changes?
We continually look to remove barriers so that the candidate experience is easy, simple and positive. Recently, we worked with our managers to decrease the number of interviews candidates have to go through and to shorten the decision-making timeframe. That made a huge difference, especially in job areas where the market is moving very quickly. Like other companies, we shifted to virtual interviews during the pandemic and have continued with that approach, even as we have started to hire candidates for our “hub” areas. The flexibility works well for candidates and us.
Wix is a platform for creating and designing websites.
What is the most important thing you want candidates to learn about Wix, and how do you communicate it during the hiring process?
We would like our candidates to learn and experience the “Wix Way” throughout their interview process. The Wix Way is a set of values, ideas and beliefs that make us who we are and drive our candidate experience. We communicate our values in multiple ways, such as through content articles, career pages, job descriptions and knowledge sharing; however, the most impactful method to show our values is by truly embodying them throughout the process. This means allowing failures, being transparent and also having fun.
In your opinion, what are three ingredients that create a great candidate experience?
A great candidate experience truly starts the first time a candidate interacts with Wix. Whether it’s via the careers site or with a recruiter at a career fair, having a positive first experience sets the tone for the rest of the interview process. Next, we value being transparent and direct. By setting expectations at the beginning and being open about the interview process, a candidate should never feel lost and always know where they stand. We make it a point to connect with candidates even if we are not ready with any updates just yet. Lastly, we provide feedback when possible. Whether it is a “yes,” or a “not right now,” we truly believe one should never leave a candidate in the dark. At Wix, we really strive to get back to every single candidate who applied and provide feedback to candidates who invest a lot of time into the interview process.
We value being transparent and direct, setting expectations at the beginning and being open about the interview process.”
How has your candidate experience changed over time, and why did you enact those changes?
When I joined Wix four years ago, the world was entirely different. Candidate experience truly started when the candidate walked into our office for interviews and, quite frankly, it was much easier to provide an impactful experience in person. When the pandemic hit, we were forced to change our experience to a fully virtual world. Our biggest challenge was figuring out how to show the Wix Way in a virtual setting. In the past couple of years, we have created culture decks, day-in-the-life content and we reworked the way we conduct our remote interviews to ensure that candidates are comfortable and able to bring their whole selves to the conversation, wherever they are.
Invicti is a cybersecurity company with two web app security brands: Netsparker and Acunetix.
What is the most important thing you want candidates to learn about Invicti, and how do you communicate it during the hiring process?
I want candidates to realize that working at Invicti means working for a company with amazing products that do great things. No matter what department you are in at Invicti, you can lay your head down at night knowing you’ve helped protect schools, governments, banks and so many other entities that require protection from malicious hackers. This is something I take great pride in and I love sharing it with candidates during our initial conversation.
In your opinion, what are three ingredients that create a great candidate experience?
Communication to help foster an open environment; follow-through so that everyone is on the same page; and compassion and patience throughout the entire process.
How has your candidate experience changed over time, and why did you enact those changes?
Over time, I have learned how important authenticity is when it comes to the experience of a candidate. Each person is unique and should be given a process that works for them, not necessarily the one-size-fits-all approach. I want to provide candidates with the space to tell me what they need, rather than the other way around (i.e., “We as a company are looking for…”).
Over time, I have learned how important authenticity is when it comes to the experience of a candidate.”
My conversations previously consisted of me reading from a generalized script. As I’ve gained more confidence in myself, I’ve shared my Invicti journey with candidates and I approach things from an authentic place every day. This has allowed me to pivot to fit the candidate’s needs while also showing my genuine enthusiasm for the person and the company.
