Gemma Matthews
4 min read
Ah, Halloween. Year after year, we dress up and express our creativity – whether we’re a ghost, a scary clown or even a scarecrow. After October 31st we go back to our normal routine and we’re back to business as usual.
But what if instead, your recruiting process resembles Halloween year round? Once there was an abundance of applicants, but now cobwebs fill the spaces that used to be flourishing.
Or maybe you’re attracting candidates, but they’re not the right type of candidates for your organisation – instead they're zombies. So, what changed to make your candidate experience a horror show?
Maybe the wicked witch of the west cursed your recruiting process, or more realistically, maybe you need to improve your employer branding.
We’ve pulled together some of our top blogs on how to avoid turning your candidate experience into a horror show.
1. Make sure your company values are a part of your recruiting process
If you really want potential employees to connect to your employer brand and company culture from the get-go, you need to connect your company values to your recruiting process. Learn some tips from my colleague, HR Business Partner Carla Sutherland, on how to make your mission, purpose and values shine in everything your company does – especially during the recruiting process.
2. Make sure you embrace creativity when creating job advertisements
One of the best ways to make your company stand out from all the rest is to make it unique and use your creativity. Learn why skipping the traditional template is key and trying something new in your recruitment process is beneficial. Discover how our Global Head of Engagement, Catrin Lewis, created her own values-driven job advertisement to attract top talent.
3. Make sure you look beyond the resume to find top talent
Sometimes companies focus on resumes alone in the recruiting process to find top talent. But, it’s important to note that resumes aren’t everything. In fact, I've argued before that you should look beyond the resume in the recruiting process and instead focus on letting your values lead and find out if the candidate fits or adds to your company culture.
4. Make sure you use moments of employee recognition to fuel your employer brand
Both internal and external employee recognition are equally important in fueling your employer brand. Share moments of recognition on social media, like showing off your company’s fun side with an event or shining a light on company values. Learn about the seven ways to extend your employee brand through employee recognition from RG’s Head of Global Engagement, Catrin Lewis.
5. Make sure you use your EVP to attract and retain candidates
Designing your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to appeal to your ideal candidate helps you identify the type of people you ideally want you attract to your organisation. Start by asking your current employees what attracted them to your organisation in the first place to get a better idea of where to start. James Edwards, Global Support & Implementation Director, walks you through why enhancing your EVP is about more than attracting candidates, it’s also about retaining top talent as well.
6. Make sure you create employee-centric content for new starters
New starters should immediately feel connected to your employer brand and EVP, aka what makes your organisation unique. In short, your EVP helps you understand what value you bring potential and current employees and what attracts people in the first place. Join our Head of Learning & People Experience, Didi Kirova as she discusses how we use our Culture Book to develop our own employer brand.
This Halloween, take a step back and look at the bigger picture of your candidate experience. Is it overall more of a trick than a treat? Are you scaring away top talent rather than attracting them to your door?
In order to improve your candidate experience, instead of turning it into a horror show – focus on enhancing your EVP, shining a spotlight on your company values and using moments of employee recognition to fuel your employer brand.
If you have any more ideas on how to avoid turning your candidate experience into a horror show, leave them in the comments section below!