Creating a Positive Candidate Experience

Whether a candidate gets a job or not, they deserve feedback or a response, not to be ghosted. A rejection is better than silence. ❌ > 🫥 When I was a recruiter at my last company, my manager set an expectation that all candidates would receive a response no matter if they got an offer or not. In addition to that, the interview process would provide them updates every step along the way. By ghosting and not providing a response or feedback, it shows the culture of the company. Companies who provide transparency, empathy, and communication to job seekers are more likely to see a positive outcome of : 👏 Strengthens Candidate Experience: Providing clear communication, even in rejection, contributes to a positive candidate experience, which can impact how candidates talk about your company to others. 🤝 Reflects Company Culture: How you treat candidates reflects your organization’s values and culture. Consistent, respectful communication shows you prioritize transparency and integrity. 🫶 Enhances Employer Brand: Candidates who feel respected, regardless of outcome, are more likely to view your company positively, boosting your employer brand and making it more attractive to future talent. Candidates deserve transparency on where they are at and that’s why I love ActiveCampaign. It is an essential tool for keeping candidates informed during the interview and offer process, ensuring they receive timely updates and don’t feel ghosted—even if the decision is a rejection. With automated follow-ups and personalized messaging, it shows respect for candidates' time and efforts, creating a positive experience that builds trust and professionalism. A clear response is always better than silence, and ActiveCampaign makes it easy to deliver that respect throughout your hiring process. The candidates that didn’t end up getting an offer or moved forward through the process,  expressed that they appreciated that there was some form of response even though it was a rejection. The job search is hard enough, let’s not make it harder by ghosting 💙 #activecampaignpartner

"If you want to get hired, send a thank you note" - influencers everywhere. But what if - and here me out - we shifted from putting this expectation on candidates, to asking employers to show some gratitude to the people who put time and energy into interviewing with them? The people doing the interviewing? They're being paid by their employer and doing their job by building their teams. But jobseekers are spending hours on each interview process with no guarantee of payoff. So here are a few ideas employers might consider to show some appreciation to those people who invest in your company through the interview process: 1. candidate.fyi recently rolled out a cool new feature allowing employers to offer exclusive discounts to candidates as a "thank you" during the interview process. Their platform manages and tracks all of this for you as well, and it could give candidates even more insight into your product and brand which can help them be more competitive in the future. 2. Consider compensating candidates when you ask them to put extensive time into a take-home project, or if anything in their work could be utilized by your company in the future. If this is too tricky, a gift card, swag, or even a personalized thank you note following an interview could be a show of appreciation for their efforts. 3. Provide other helpful resources! For example, at Zapier, we've gotten a lot of positive feedback on sharing a list of other remote companies that are hiring as well as some of the organizations we partner with that could be helpful to candidates in their own job search. These are all low-lift steps you can take to help candidates feel a bit more appreciated, build your employer brand, and keep those top candidates excited to come back and explore opportunities next time you have an opening. And if you're an employer thinking that a bad candidate experience doesn't negatively impact your business, think again. Back in 2017, Virgin Media realized they were losing $5M annually as a result of a poor candidate experience. Perhaps investing in candidate experience in 2024 could be the reason you hit bonus in 2025! P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't say that a thank you note isn't going to get you hired. It's always a polite thing to do but it's not going to be a game changer. - someone who has hired tens of thousands of people over the years.

I just had a Zoom interview for a position I'm super excited about, and the interviewer did something I've never experienced before. After he asked each question, he typed it into the chat box in Zoom. This was such a simple gesture, but it was a GAME CHANGER for me as someone with #ADHD. This interviewer's proactive approach to making the interview process more accessible made me want to be a part of their team even more than I already did. In past interviews, I've sometimes found myself halfway through a response to an interviewer's question and unable to remember exactly what the question was. This was especially true if the question had multiple parts. (And the ADHD urge to go on tangents while speaking can be STRONG.) Having the interview questions in front of me, in writing, both calmed my nerves and allowed me to make sure I clearly and directly answered each question. So based on this experience, I have some advice. If you're interviewing someone virtually, add your questions to the chat box as you go. Your interviewee might be reluctant to ask for this, but it may help them shine. And why wouldn't you want to give a candidate the best possible opportunity to shine? If you're a candidate interviewing virtually, ask your interviewer to add the questions to the chat box as the interview proceeds. Either the interviewer will agree, making the interview less mentally taxing for you, or they'll refuse, which will give you some insight into their (lack of) willingness to accommodate other people's needs. And that alone may tell you more about whether you want to work for that person than anything else that happens during the interview. #interviewtips #accessibility #neurodiversityatwork #neurodivergence #inclusion

How does a company with 1000 people end up with fewer than 20 Black people or less than 10% women? It’s called “diversity debt” — the idea that if your company consists primarily of a specific type of person by hire number 10, it’s basically impossible to get representation back on track. No one wants to be a DEI hire. When we were recruiting for Chezie, a company with an explicit mission to build more diverse and equitable workplaces, we knew we couldn’t fall into this trap. We had to figure out how to promote fair recruiting practices from day 1. Here’s what we did: 1. Encouraged all to apply: We know long lists of requirements can scare people off, so we made sure to include a note encouraging candidates to apply, even if they didn’t check every box (pictured below!). More and more companies are doing this these days, which we love to see. 2. Posted clear compensation ranges: Transparency is huge for us, so we shared salary and equity details upfront in every job posting. This keeps us accountable and helps us avoid perpetuating pay gaps. 3. Standardized the application process: Every candidate went through the same @Airtable form with screener questions, which made sure we evaluated based on qualifications, not biases. 4. Sourced diverse candidates: We intentionally reached out to underrepresented communities. For example, we used Wellfound’s diversity feature filter to invite people directly to apply. 5. Accommodations-Ready: Before interviews, we asked candidates if they needed any accommodations because everyone should feel comfortable and supported during the process. You can hire for merit and make your process more inclusive at the same time. I promise. As the founder ecosystem becomes more diverse, I think more founders will prioritize building teams the right way. For any founders hiring or who’ve recently hired, what did you do to build equity into the process? #recruiting #startups

Treat your recruiting team the way you'd want them to treat your candidates. Your recruiters can only deliver what you enable them to deliver. No clarity from hiring managers means no clarity for candidates. Here's what this principle actually means: 1. Give them real ammunition, not job descriptions Recruiters can't sell what they don't understand. Yet most hiring managers hand them a JD and say "go find someone." Then wonder why candidates aren't excited. Do a real kickoff. Create an intake doc. Brief your recruiters like you'd brief your sales team. Why does this role matter? What will this person actually build? Show them the real impact. When recruiters understand the mission & the role, candidates feel it. 2. Stop making them chase you for answers Imagine if you applied somewhere and waited a week for every response. That's what recruiters face internally. They message candidates "we'll get back to you soon" while waiting days for your feedback. They look incompetent because you're not responding. Every delayed decision is a recruiter losing credibility with a candidate who has three other offers. 3. Your urgency becomes their urgency When a CEO personally joins a recruiting standup or sends a quick note about why a role matters, everything changes. Recruiters move faster. They push harder. They believe more. Send emails on their behalf. Jump into nurture sequences. When hiring is treated as "HR's problem," recruiters feel it. And so do candidates. The energy you bring to hiring is the energy candidates feel in the process. 4. Let them shape the process, not just execute it Recruiters see hundreds of interviews. They start to see which questions actually predict success. They spot patterns you miss. Too many companies treat them like admins. Include them in designing interview loops. Let them flag when your process is losing good people. They're your early warning system if you actually listen. 5. They're selling your company 100 times while you're building it Every recruiter conversation is a brand moment. Every rejection handled poorly is a Glassdoor review. Every candidate who feels respected tells ten friends. Even your rejections matter. Give real feedback. Close the loop. Your recruiters are having more conversations about your company than anyone except customers. Treat them like the frontline brand ambassadors they actually are. When recruiters feel like partners, candidates feel it too. When they feel like order-takers, your hiring shows it. The best companies don't have recruiting teams. They have talent partners.

A common mistake I see when delivering an offer to candidates... In recruiting, we give out offers everyday so it can feel very routine and exciting for us. For candidates, this can be a decision that shapes their entire life and can come with a ton of mixed emotions. Think about this for yourself... Have you ever been in an interview process where things picked up quickly and all of the sudden, you are at the offer stage. You were so focused on completing each stage and putting your best foot forward that you didn't really take the time to consider all of the ramifications of changing jobs or considering multiple pathways at once. Recruiters tend to think that the moment of offer is going to be pure joy from the candidate (I made this mistake early on in my career), only to be surprised when you realize there can be 10 things that come up for the candidate that now have to be managed and worked through. Here are a few things I’ve learned to do differently: 1. Prep the candidate. I don't make promises. But I do find a moment in the process to say, “If you were to move forward to an offer, what are the things you’d need to consider in your decision?” That question alone opens the door for reflection. 2. Don’t lead with numbers. When I deliver an offer, I never jump straight into comp. I first ask: “Are there any open questions about the opportunity or role?” If there’s any vagueness or hesitation, we pause. No point delivering an offer until we’re aligned. 3. Give space to process. After I walk through the offer, I do ask if they've made a decision (a step I think is necessary as a recruiter) but I don't push after that. I answer questions. I follow up. But I respect that the weight of the moment takes time to sit with. 4. Ask how they make big decisions. I’ll often ask, “Who’s in your corner when you make big calls like this? Where do you go to think clearly?” This helps the candidate begin their decision-making process—and it helps me better support them, too. 5. Check in early and often. Sometimes I’ll say, “Hey, taking my recruiting hat off for a second—how are you feeling?” That small gesture can go a long way in building trust. We give out offers every day. But for the person on the other side of the table, this might be the biggest professional decision they’ve ever made. We should treat it that way. #hiring #recruiting #techrecruiting #techhiring

When and HOW should you be using stories in your high-stakes communications? Like this. Structure your stories. Bring in that narrative detail — sight, sound, smell, and everything — so people can be in the story with you. When they’re in the story with you, they will remember. And, hopefully, they will act. Breaking down Steve Kerr’s recent speech into classic story structure: SITUATION – Where are we? What’s happening? Set the stage. "I was in Paris, France, with 12 incredible players…" COMPLICATION – What’s the challenge? The tension? "They had fought against each other their whole careers…" RESOLUTION – How does it get solved? "They came together, wearing gold, hand on heart…" POINT – What do you want people to take away? "Imagine what we could do if all 330 million of us came together." And the key here? NARRATIVE DETAIL — sight, sound, imagery. Gold medals around necks, the flag raising, the anthem playing... all of it brings us (the audience) into the moment. So we can feel the stakes, and resonate with the POINT. Seems too simple? Trust me, the simplicity of it is WHY this works. Build your story, keep it short, clear, and use this framework to ensure it resonates and sticks with your audience. #Storytelling #PublicSpeaking #HighStakesCommunication

Ever walked into a room and felt like you didn't belong? Now imagine feeling that way at work. Every. Single. Day. This is why diversity and inclusion in recruitment isn't just a buzzword – it's a business imperative. As someone who's spent years in executive research and recruitment, I've seen firsthand the power of diverse teams. But here's the truth: attracting diverse talent is just the beginning. I remember when a client came to me, frustrated. "We're trying to hire diversely," they said, "but it's not working." Their mistake? They were fishing in the same old ponds. So, how do we shake things up? Here's what I've learned: 1. Cast a wider net: Look beyond your usual talent pools. Partner with diverse professional organizations. 2. Check your job descriptions: Are they truly inclusive? Words matter more than you think. 3. Diverse interview panels: Candidates should see themselves reflected in your team. 4. Blind resume reviews: Remove bias-triggering information like names and schools. 5. Showcase your commitment: Make your diversity initiatives visible on your website and social media. And hiring diverse talent means nothing if you can't retain them. Inclusion is where the real work begins. I once worked with a company that hired a diverse workforce but couldn't figure out why turnover was so high. The problem? They expected new hires to "fit in" rather than creating a culture where everyone could belong. To foster true inclusion: -> Mentor programs: Pair diverse employees with senior leaders. -> Employee resource groups: Give people a place to connect and be heard. -> Inclusive leadership training: Help managers understand and mitigate unconscious bias. -> Regular feedback: Create safe spaces for honest conversations about inclusion. -> Celebrate differences: Don't just tolerate diversity – embrace it! You should focus on creating a workplace where everyone can thrive, contribute, and feel valued. As leaders, it's on us to make this happen. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it. What's your experience with diversity and inclusion initiatives? #DiversityAndInclusion #RecruitmentBestPractices #InclusiveLeadership #WorkplaceCulture

Recruiting isn't about closing fast. It's about staying close. But here's the challenge: How do you follow up long-term without annoying the candidate? How do you stay on their radar… without feeling like a telemarketer? You ask for permission, and you earn the right to stay in the conversation. Here's a simple 3-part framework I teach leaders to use: 1. Acknowledge the timing "I totally get that now may not be the right time to make a move." When you acknowledge their current reality, you build trust. 2. Ask for alignment "Would it be okay if I stayed in touch over the next few months, just to keep the conversation open?" This shifts follow-up from "nagging" to agreed-upon access. 3. Set the tone for future value "I'll make sure anything I send your way is relevant to where you're headed, not just where you are today." Now you're not a recruiter. You're a future-focused partner. Bonus tip: Keep it human and low-pressure. Text updates. Quick voice notes. A win your team just had. A leadership thought that made you think of them. The goal isn't to sell. It's to stay worth replying to. Because the best candidates aren't always ready on the first call. But they do remember who stayed connected the right way. Play the long game, with permission, not persistence.

On the second to last Tuesday of October, which is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), I want to remind everyone of the tough decisions that disabled job seekers face every day. Deciding whether or not to disclose a disability and ask for accommodations in a job interview can feel like playing a game of roulette with your career. It’s a personal choice that involves a little wheel spinning and a lot of praying. Will this disclosure help you interview at your best and land the job, or will it cause you to lose the opportunity? Even in 2024, the uncertainty of this process leaves many talented individuals gambling with their futures. Employers who genuinely want to live up to their public statements of how much they care about inclusion must do more than meet minimum legal requirements when requested. They need to actively foster environments where candidates feel safe and confident disclosing their needs. This will enable people to bring their best, most authentic selves to the interview without the fear of their disability disclosure affecting the outcome. It's time for HR staff and hiring managers to normalize discussions around accommodations. Every single time you set up an interview, the last question you should ask is, "Is there anything we can do to make sure you are at your best during the interview process?" I like this phrasing because people associate "accommodation" with "medical paperwork." When we create spaces where disability and accommodations are handled matter-of-factly, everyone wins, from the employees who thrive to the organizations that benefit from genuine diversity and inclusion. Forward this post to your favorite HR person 🙂 Alt: Deciding whether or not to disclose your disability and ask for accommodations in a job interview feels like a delicate career balancing act. One misstep could tip the scales and cost you the opportunity. #NDEAM #DisabilityInclusion #Accessibility #InclusiveHiring #DiversityInTheWorkplace #Accommodations #DisabilityRights*