Job hunting in the digital age: How companies are boosting their candidate experience

Applying for a job 20 years ago involved a lot of waiting. Waiting to speak with a manager face-to-face. Waiting to mail your resume and get a response. Waiting for a phone call that might never come. 

Saying that hiring has changed in the last 20 years in an understatement. As a candidate, you’re now applying for positions in the digital age. No one is expecting you to mail resumes or knock on company doors. 

In many ways, candidate expectations have changed just as drastically, especially as companies started adopting Direct Sourcing hiring strategies. 

We look at how the digital age affected the candidate experience, and what you should keep in mind when applying. 

What does the hiring market look like right now?

The current job market is facing an interesting contradiction. Candidates are dealing with an employer-led environment, where applicants are competing for fewer open positions while companies announce hiring freezes due to the turbulent economy.

And yet, many organizations are still looking for workers. Businesses are experiencing a concerning skills shortage due to exponential technological growth and a lack of qualified talent. 

According to the Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), a recent survey of over 2000 businesses showed that 44% of respondents are having issues attracting specific skill sets while 92% are struggling with employee attraction, retention, and engagement. 

Many are turning to contingent hiring to fill these needs through a Direct Sourcing approach. This allows companies to be proactive in their hiring by building Talent Communities filled with qualified workers. 

A Direct Sourcing approach includes an intuitive digital platform that uses AI-based technology to improve the candidate experience.  

What should the candidate experience be during the hiring process?

As more businesses turn to digital tools and Direct Sourcing platforms, candidates are looking for:

• Faster communication. Gone are the days when emails took weeks to send and candidates waited by the phone for days. In today’s digital age, applicants are expecting quicker, more personalized communication.
• A simpler application process. As a candidate, chances are you aren’t willing to spend hours filling out a complicated form, only to then be asked to attach your resumes. As companies turn to AI-based platforms, applicants are expecting a seamless process. 
• Transparency. There’s nothing worse than waiting ages to hear back from a company you’ve applied for. Except, of course, not hearing from them at all. Skilled workers are expecting companies to let them keep track of their application status in real time. 

Which features are companies using to improve the candidate experience?

Boosting the candidate experience is a priority for a number of companies. Not only does a better experience lead to a higher quality of candidates, it also increases retention rates. 

Many organizations partner with Direct Sourcing platforms, which offer features that create easier, more efficient processes. These include: 

• Applicant tracking. TalentNet’s platform, for example, lets candidates see where they are in the hiring process, from initial outreach to a successful offer. This way, applicants aren’t waiting to hear back from recruiters and hiring managers, and can check their progress anytime.  
• Personalized, timely communication. Direct Sourcing platforms allow recruiters to quickly reach out to talent at any step of the hiring journey through SMS and email functionalities. Personalized communication templates also make it easier to create customized messages for candidates. 
• Job matching capabilities. TalentNet’s AI-driven platform is able to review each applicant’s resume and match them to open positions based on their skills and experience. Each candidate can see a job match percentage and better understand which jobs would be a good fit. This also allows for a 60 second application process.

Meeting changing expectations in the digital age

As companies continue to adopt industry leading technology into their hiring process, candidates are shifting their expectations. From better communication, more transparent timelines and job matching capabilities, applicants no longer have to apply blindly for roles that aren’t a good fit. 

For more tips and insights on the hiring process, check out TalentNet’s resources here.