Recruiters: Leverage Technology to Optimize the Candidate Experience

Type “optimizing the candidate experience” into your favorite search engine and see what happens. On Google, more than 3 million articles, blog posts, and even Pinterest pages will flood your screen with tips, tricks, rules, steps, and shaman wisdom for attracting the best candidates to your job postings. Each claims that with total commitment to their directives, any recruiter will become irresistible to candidates.  (Is this beginning to sound like a cult to anyone else?)

The truth is there is no magic formula for attracting top talent.  Instead, there are only facts:

1.       An ATS/CRM improves recruiters’ productivity.

Bullhorn ATS/CRM allows agencies to recover up to 75 minutes per day per recruiter, equating to around 300 hours a year.  Centralized candidate records and recruiting processes improve recruiters’ response rates and streamline the application process for candidates. If Benjamin Franklin was right and time truly is money, then this means major coinage for staffing and recruiting companies.  More importantly, the faster a recruiter gets back to a candidate, the better the candidate experience and agency brand perception.

2.       Mobile capabilities allow recruiters access to their data 24/7.

Managing the candidate experience does not end at 5 o’clock.  In a society where a growing portion of the candidate pool was born with mobile device in-hand, candidates demand an unprecedented level of connectivity during the application process.  Bullhorn’s mobile recruiting capabilities allow recruiters to update candidate records and access their data using their smartphone or tablet device.  This means that when a candidate calls during off-business hours – and they will – recruiters have access to all the same information as they would in the office.  Using this information, recruiters can keep their candidates up-to-date with the latest information regarding their application, resulting in more contented candidates.

3.       Social media expands networking possibilities.

Candidates are no longer held captive by job boards with limited content.  With the increasing popularity of social media sites, candidates now have access to a plethora of postings and networking opportunities.  According to the Pew Internet Project’s results, as of September 2013:

• 71% of online adults use Facebook
• 19% of online adults use Twitter
• 22% of online adults use LinkedIn

Furthermore, according to Bullhorn’s 2013 North American Social Recruiting Activity Report,

• 98% of recruiters use at least one social media site to post jobs

That’s a lot of networking! Social recruiting is emerging as an increasingly productive way to source candidates. By leveraging their social media networks, recruiters can find the best candidates fast. Using a social recruiting product like Bullhorn Reach, recruiters can identify both active and passive candidates and directly engage with them during application process.

There is no foolproof formula for perfecting the candidate experience.  However, it is important for recruiters to use the best tools in the industry to keep both clients and candidates happy. Recruiters can improve their speed, accuracy, and accessibility using Bullhorn’s range of products and features, including the Bullhorn applicant tracking system and recruitment CRM, Bullhorn Reach, and Bullhorn’s mobile recruiting capabilities. By utilizing these tools, recruiters can streamline the application process and provide candidates with the quick, convenient service they crave. This is an optimized candidate experience.

This Bullhorn Blog post was written by Samantha McPhall.