Candidate Engagement

Candidate engagement can be described as the process of continually communicating with your potential candidate during the recruitment process. The term itself means how responsive and interested a candidate is during the recruitment process. It involves communication with the candidate through texts, email, face-to-face.

Candidate engagement also measures how a candidate feels during the entire recruiting process.

Table of content  

• Benefits of Candidate engagement
• Candidate engagement Strategies
• Process of Candidate engagement
• FAQs

Benefits of Candidate Engagement

Effectively engaging candidates improves their experience and builds a positive employer brand. This enhanced experience of the candidate during the recruitment process may lead them to spread a positive word about the company even if they were not recruited.

Enhanced candidate engagement may also reduce the number of dropouts from the company.

Candidate Engagement Strategies

• Make them want to work for your company

  A well-established brand attracts better applicants. Strengthening your brand is the very first step to attracting better candidates. Actively engage with your candidates on social media platforms and build a strong social media presence.

• Maintain a proper communication

  Personalize communication individually based on the candidates interests and skills. Respond to each and every application at the initial stage even if the application is denied. Not replying to an application is considered as ghosting and leaves a bad impression.

  Make sure your candidate knows that they are a valued member for the company.

• Implement proper technology for use

  Incorporating proper technology is very important for proper functioning of the company. Not only that, incorporating Application Tracking Systems (ATS) can help streamline the entire recruiting process.

• Feedback

  Feedback is considered a crucial part of any process. As a recruiter, you must provide the candidate with feedback. Everybody appreciates feedback. This helps them understand their areas of improvement and leaves a positive impression in the candidate’s minds.

Process of Candidate Engagement

Candidate engagement is a very important aspect of recruitment. Candidate engagement is an important process as it not only enhances the candidate’s experience, but also helps in securing the best candidates out there and develops a strong employer brand image.

The candidate engagement process involves-

• Attraction

  Attraction, as the name suggests, involves attracting eligible candidates. This includes employer branding, job description and social media presence. Developing a strong employer brand highlights the values and culture of the company. A clear and detailed job description is very important as it illuminates what is expected of the candidate clearly.

• Application process

  As a recruiter, it is your duty to ensure that the application process is user friendly and simple. You should be clear with the instructions and good at communication.

• Interaction

  Interacting with the candidate properly is important. You should make them feel valued. Acknowledge and reply to their messages and emails in a timely manner.

• Interview

  The interview stage is one of the most critical stages. You must inform your candidate about the details of the interview. Whether it’s a virtual interview or in-person meeting, you should inform the candidate beforehand. You may also convey what is expected of them. During the interview, remember to be respectful and tell them about your company. Let them clear up their doubts or queries if they have any.

• Hiring and onboarding

  You should always revert to the candidate even if they are not selected. This helps in strengthening the employer brand and spreads a good word about the organization or the company.For the selected candidates, highlight the achievements of the company and the opportunities presented by it. Be enthusiastic and welcoming while extending the job offer.Develop a simple onboarding process to welcome the employees into your company.

FAQs

• What do you mean by candidate engagement?

  Candidate engagement means how responsive and interested a candidate is during the recruitment process. It is the process and measurement of regular communication with the candidate through texts, email, face-to-face.

• What is the importance of candidate engagement?

  Enhanced candidate engagement may reduce the number of dropouts from the company, not only that but it may also bring up the number of passive candidates in the company strengthening the workforce.