The candidate experience is the totality of engagements, interactions, and touchpoints between a candidate and an employer. It starts when the candidate is first exposed to a potential employer – but the candidate experience never ends.
It’s like the annual Thanksgiving dinner. If your family creates a great Thanksgiving experience, your guests will accept next year’s invitation. If the experience is dreadful, your guests will have already declined next year’s invitation, before telling the whole neighbourhood that they should never attend your Thanksgiving dinner.
This is the recipe for a great Thanksgiving candidate experience:
TURKEY
Job Description
It’s the minimum. This is what your guests look forward to and what they’ll be doing. It’s the meat of the Thanksgiving experience.
POTATOES
Employment Contract: Salary, Term, Maternity Cover, Flexibility, etc.
This is the potatoes of the meat and potatoes. There are so many different styles you can prepare. Your family doesn’t have to serve potatoes with the meat, but your guests will appreciate seeing so many different potato styles offered on the dinner table. These potatoes complement the sides.
GRAVY, STUFFING, AND CRANBERRY SAUCE
Communication, Promptness, Transparency
Again, your family doesn’t have to serve sides, but they complement each other and show your guests that you’re committed to creating a great Thanksgiving experience.
TOFURKEY
Special Accommodations
A great Thanksgiving experience offers alternative options for guests who belong to traditionally underrepresented demographics. Your family shouldn’t wait for your guests to uncomfortably ask if you’ll serve tofurkey. You should let every invitee know at the time of the invitation that you can provide tofurkey upon request. If you don’t, you could lose great guests to another Thanksgiving dinner.
HOST
Recruiter
This is you, or whichever family member whom delivered the invitations by phone or text message. Although this family member is the primary point of contact, they’ve consulted elders and ancestors with much more Thanksgiving hosting experience for advice on creating a great Thanksgiving experience. Hopefully, your family name is respected among your invitees.
INVITEES & GUESTS
Candidates
Hopefully, by now, you’ve acquired a long list of invitees. While you’ll need to convince some to attend, others will accept immediately. Remember, guest quality is more important than guest quantity. Once your guests see how many other guests arrive, they’ll feel like a number so give them one-on-one time.
ROUNDTABLE OF THANKS
Post-Application Survey
You’ve asked your guests at the dinner table to talk. It’s optional. Every guest has something on their mind or something to say. It may enhance their Thanksgiving experience. Some will immediately announce what they are thankful for, while others will pass.
FOOTBALL GAME
Interview
Whether they like it or not, your guests know the football game is coming. This is when most guests will feel nervous, especially if they don’t watch football much, or at all. Your family should appreciate the guests who ask the right questions. And in return, ensure that your family members don’t ask non-football related questions – it’s inappropriate and illegal.
PUMPKIN PIE
Job Offer
Your family must serve the pumpkin pie at the right time. If you serve the dessert too early and pressure them too quickly into deciding if they want to enjoy a slice, they won’t eat your pumpkin pie. If you serve the dessert too late, they’ll assume you haven’t prepared a pumpkin pie and leave early. But, if you serve the dessert at the right time after the football game, it’s statistically more likely that your guests will leave happy and that they’ll accept next year’s invitation.