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The new rules of [candidate] engagement

March 11, 2021
 
iCIMS Staff
3 min read

The way we connect and build relationships with talent has changed forever.

The proliferation of remote work, changes to how we consume information in our everyday lives, and even shifts in who candidates trust the most have fundamentally changed how we need to be engaging talent.

Doing ‘what has always worked’ is no longer a viable strategy. In some talent populations, candidate satisfaction around learning about and engaging with a company is as low as 24%. In order to stay competitive, we need to start exploring new engaging, digital experiences that candidates are looking for.

Knowing where to start can be tough, so here are three new rules of candidate engagement to consider as you begin to map out your transformation plan.

Rule 1: Amplify the voice of your employees through employee testimonial videos

Employer brand has been a focus for organizations for a long time, but having a professionally shot corporate video or some words on your career page to highlight your culture just doesn’t cut it anymore. ‘Culture’ has become a buzzword, and everywhere you look, you’ll find a company telling candidates just how great it is to work at their company.

Candidates want to hear and see what you believe in. They care about the actions you take. They want to see real evidence of how you care for your people amidst crisis and everyday situations. And they want to hear it directly from your employees.  According to LinkedIn, candidates trust a company’s employees 3x more than the company itself.

A great way to cut through the noise and build meaningful connections with candidates is by showcasing your authentic employer brand through employee-generated videos. Placing authentic, relevant employee video testimonials across different candidate touchpoints brings your brand voice to life and helps candidates understand what it’s like to work at your company. Video testimonials can live on your career site, in job descriptions, in emails, and on your social channels.

Rule 2: Make it easy for candidates to connect with you with text recruiting and video interviewing

A lot has been said about reducing friction at work by meeting hiring managers and employees in the flow of work. And rightfully so. Integrating your core systems with the collaboration tools that your employees live and breathe in helps accelerate business and offers a great employee experience.

Candidates deserve and expect the same frictionless experiences that they’ve long been experiencing with consumer technology and are now experiencing in the workplace as they engage with a company they might want to join.

The key to ensuring a great candidate experience is by offering flexibility throughout the journey that fits within the flow of their everyday lives. Remote work and the pandemic have blurred the lines between work and home, and candidates need flexible and convenient ways to move along the hiring process that fit within their schedule.

This means communicating with candidates in their channel of choice – whether it be texting, through video, or even a recruiting chatbot. It means offering them the option to do live or on-demand interviews using video interviewing software, because we all know how difficult it can be to find that quiet place at noon on a Wednesday.

Rule 3: Find virtual alternatives to what’s made you successful in the past

It’s tempting to feel the need to rewrite your talent engagement playbook after taking a long, hard look at the current landscape and all of the challenges and restrictions it presents in how we connect with talent.

But there’s plenty of opportunity to recreate the magic that’s made you successful in the past, just in new digital ways.

If in-person hiring events were vital to building talent pipelines and engaging specific candidate pipelines, explore their digital alternatives. Virtual career fairs offer the same opportunity to target specific candidate populations and even enable you to cast a wider net and connect with previously untapped talent pools.

To learn about more innovative ways to engage with today’s talent, check out iCIMS’ Q1 2021 Winter Release highlights video.

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