From the Process to the Person: Refocusing Recruitment on Candidate Experience

In September, we hosted our annual Supernova Talent Conference. It was the result of a lot of hard work. We booked the venue a year in advance, planned the theme, lined up phenomenal keynote speakers and secured expert panellists. On the day, our team ensured everything ran smoothly and everyone was taken care of. We left nothing to chance. 

Now, imagine if we’d organised the event without considering our attendees. If no one was there to greet them personally, make them feel welcome and give them a rundown of what they could expect. Suppose we hadn’t allowed them to ask questions, be involved, or network. Even if the event ran flawlessly, they’d feel neglected and unappreciated. 

You might see where we’re going here. This is what it feels like for countless candidates when they apply for a job. When they’re fed into an overly prescriptive process, where they’re treated like just another number in the funnel. It’s what happens when we overlook the importance of a person-centred approach to candidate experience. And it’s what some analysts call the dark side of recruitment. The side we must all work hard to avoid. 

Given that three-quarters (77%) of employers globally report difficulties in finding the skilled recruits they need and the same proportion (72%) of candidates say the smoothness of an interview process would sway their decision to accept a job offer, it’s clear organisations need to do more—and that starts with understanding what’s wrong with existing process-centric hiring practices.

The causes and impacts of a negative candidate experience

At this year’s Supernova, in a fun and interactive display, keynote speakers Larry Kelly, co-founder and director of Attract Wonder and career and leadership coach Clare O’Mahony, put experienced talent acquisition leaders into the shoes of candidates both literally and figuratively and asked, ‘What’s the most annoying part of the recruitment process and how does it make you feel?’. Here’s what we learned. 

Ghosting candidates: First up to put themselves in a candidate’s shoes, Anne Duggan, formally of VMware, while wearing a fetching pair of oversized Wellington boots, highlighted the lack of response and feedback as a major source of frustration, especially given the time and attention applicants put into job hunting, compiling a CV and the application process. Anne stressed how unhelpful and confusing this can be for young and inexperienced candidates, in particular. 

Abysmal interviews: OpenText’s Finbarr O’Connell, in someone else’s trainers, cited the adage, ‘You should prepare for a candidate in the same way you prepare for a customer’ to spotlight the annoying and disheartening issue of poor preparation on the part of interviewers where candidates are asked to attend multiple rounds and repeatedly asked the same questions.

Communication issues: Sporting white platform sandals, Amandeep Shergill of Automattic foregrounded a lack of transparent communication in the interview process, where candidates are often kept in the dark about what they’ll be asked to do and given little chance to prepare, illustrating how alienated and worthless candidates can be made to feel.

Lack of personalisation: Drawing on their recent experience after the sway of big tech layoffs, another recruiter described the impact of rigid and distant processes on a human level as soul-crushing and confidence-zapping when faced with job hunting after a career spanning two decades at the same company.

Inconsistent information: Candidates being daunted, put-off, and stressed was also underlined given some recruiters’ over-reliance on complex technologies like applicant tracking systems means they’re given differing or inaccurate responses to their specific questions. 

Overly complicated or long processes: Another issue raised was the time it takes to upload CVs and complete application forms on online portals, followed by drawn-out and slow follow-up rounds of interviews or testing. Such processes often feel more like tick-box exercises, which drain motivation and deplete all sense of human connection. 

Best practice for re-centring the process onto the person

As the participants at Supernova highlighted, efficient and effective hiring processes, particularly in today’s tough recruitment landscape, have a massive part to play. But as they, and we at Starcircle, continually reinforce, it’s vital to maintain the human touch and keep the person at the centre because this is where the true value of our work lies. 

It can be hard to know what this looks like in practice, so here’s a roundup of actionable insights: 

1. Respect candidates’ time—Just like the rest of us, applicants have busy lives and juggle multiple commitments like existing jobs and caring responsibilities. Even simple actions like punctuality, minimising delays, and scheduling interviews at convenient times in flexible formats help foster a sense of worth.

2. Considerate communication—We all appreciate clear and timely information. For candidates, this includes setting realistic expectations and keeping them updated. It also means letting them know how long the process will take, what time commitment they’ll need to make, and asking for feedback. 

3. Preparation, preparation, preparation—From the job description to the interview and beyond, those on the hiring side of the process should be fully informed, well-prepared, and have access to the resources they need to inspire confidence and make the candidates’ journey as smooth as possible. 

4. Genuine interactions—Nobody wants to be seen like just another number. Treating candidates like the individuals they are is key. Changing the name on a template response won’t cut it. Candidates deserve to have their unique skills and experiences acknowledged with tailored communication in preferred formats. 

5. User-friendly tech—There’s nothing worse than clunky technologies that are difficult to navigate. Applicant tracking systems, AI, and chatbots can all enhance the hiring process, but only if they’re intuitive and offer the user a seamless and painless experience. 

The benefits of a person-centred candidate experience

Refocusing recruitment on candidate experience isn’t just about being nice. It’s a strategic approach that bolsters the success of organisations over the long term. 

Research from IBM, for instance, shows a positive candidate experience boosts business outcomes in a range of ways, including:

• Enhancing employer brand
• Increasing acceptance rates
• Reducing time to hire, and
• Improving retention

In short, the reduced friction in hiring processes results in a positive candidate experience fortifying the employer’s reputation in the labour market, aiding with attracting and keeping skilled talent, and even converting applicants—including the unsuccessful ones—into brand advocates. 

Final words

Despite the beneficial impacts of a person-centred approach, according to the latest annual Global Candidate Experience (CandE) Benchmark Research Report, contentment among job candidates—a measure of positive experience within the hiring process—has been in decline since 2021, while candidate resentment remains high. This tells us that process-centric hiring remains the norm rather than the exception. 

A depersonalised candidate experience is often the result of well-meaning initiatives designed to overcome challenges like leaner teams and growing applicant volumes. It’s what happens when there’s a push for efficient and repeatable workflows which focus on logistics and procedures. And it happens when out-of-the-box technologies are deployed without due care and human oversight. 

We realise that shifting the industry’s mindset toward a person-centred approach to candidate experience won’t be easy or happen overnight. But we believe it should be a priority. We’ll leave the last word to Larry and Clare, who believe the starting point for us all should be, ‘Think outside the rigid nature of the process and be more open and creative. Use empathy to build a connection—imagine walking in the candidates’ shoes!’

About James Galvin

James Galvin is the founder & CEO of Starcircle. For over 15 years, James has provided industry-leading tech-powered hiring solutions to the world’s most innovative organisations, including Meta, Amazon, Dropbox and Cisco.  He has a technical background in computer science and an MBA from INSEAD.

About Starcircle

Starcircle is the tech-first hiring engine, powering some of the world’s most exciting companies. Starcircle provides a deeper understanding of business demand and talent supply with a flexible tech-first solution that drives efficiency, lowers costs and results in the right hires, not just any hires. 

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