Best Practices for Simplifying Candidate Communication

United Airlines has been my airline of choice since they merged with Continental, and it's one of the few brands that has my absolutely loyalty as a customer. And currently, they are having success with "oversharing" around their delays - and it's working with greater customer satisfaction since implementing this strategy. This is something I've noticed in recent months. Looking at my texts, I can see where they let me know that we'd be delayed due to limits on the number of flights allowed to land due to construction at SFO. Another was a technical issue, with regular updates on their efforts to find a new plane. Most travelers know that delays are part of the game, and often outside of the control of airlines. I don't think most of us are unreasonable when faced with delays. The issue is often the lack of information - not knowing why the delay exists, what's being done about it, and estimates on when the issue will be resolved. Recruiting professionals out there, take note because we can learn something from this when it comes to candidate experience. Transparency builds trust, and it leads to a better experience for everyone involved. 1. Embrace the "no update update" Sometimes, just being told you need a bit more time to review an application or have scheduled all of the interviews needed can alleviate a lot of anxiety vs someone applying and sitting in an applicant pool for weeks or months on end! At Zapier, we try to communicate every 7 days...we may miss the mark sometimes, but our hope is that candidates are never wondering where they stand. 2. Share "the why" Airlines have always let us know when there's a delay - that's not new. But sharing the "why" behind it is. That can feel scary, especially if the news is something like, "we've extended an offer, but think you're amazing and if it doesn't pan out, we'd love to hire you". But candidates ultimately appreciate it, AND it shows them they can trust what your company tells them. Offering feedback after interviews is another way to do this and leave people feeling a less confused around rejections. 3. Tell people what to expect Let candidates know who they are interviewing with. Let them know what topics will be discussed. Tell them how you plan to set their compensation. The more information you can provide candidates, the better the experience will be for everyone. If any of these seem hard, there are tons of tools out there that can help. candidate.fyi creates a candidate hub making it easy to share this info directly with candidates (and empower candidates in a variety of other ways). Crosschq provides an arsenal of data, and one of my favorites is color-coding candidates so you can see when a candidate needs communication. And most decent ATSs will help you automate those "no update updates". It doesn't take significantly more effort to create a significantly better candidate experience - just lean into transparency!

Let’s talk about hiring and how we treat people in the process. There’s a lot going on in the world right now. For many, the job search only adds more stress and uncertainty. I’ve been thinking about how we can show up for our communities, and in my own work, that means prioritizing how we support candidates. In the progressive movement, we talk a lot about liberation, equity, and justice. But those values don’t always show up where they should (in our hiring practices). Whether we’re building campaigns, nonprofits, or foundations, *how* we hire is just as important as *who* we hire. The process is wicked important. It’s a window into how we operate, how we value people, and how seriously we take our commitments to equity. Here’s what it looks like to treat candidates well in the hiring process, especially in movement-aligned spaces: 1. Transparency & Respect ➡️ Post the salary every time. It’s not radical anymore, it’s baseline. ➡️ Share your timeline and stick to it. If things shift, update candidates about that shift. ➡️ Respond to everyone who applies or interviews. Even if it’s a no, it matters. ➡️ Share interview questions with your candidates ahead of time. This helps them prep and show up as their best selves to the call. 2. Remove Barriers ➡️ Ditch the cover letter and use clear application questions. Or, just ask for a resume and send a short written questionnaire as the first step in the process. ➡️ Again, be upfront about salary and benefits. It saves everyone time and builds trust. ➡️ Be mindful of time. Many strong candidates simply can’t afford to spend 10+ hours on interviews. Keep the process streamlined, focused, and as efficient as possible. ➡️ Compensate finalists for exercises. It shows you value people’s time and helps dismantle unpaid labor culture. 3. Consistent Process & Reduced Bias ➡️ Standardize your interviews. Same questions, same format = less bias, more fairness. ➡️ Use blind grading when appropriate. I like doing this especially for written exercises. A clear rubric helps us focus on key competencies.  ➡️ Make it collaborative. Final stages should include buy-in from both leadership and peers or direct reports the hire will work closely with. 4. The Candidate Experience Is Movement Work ➡️ Share your mission, values, and team vibe throughout the process. Candidates want to know what they’re stepping into. ➡️ For interviews, give candidates a heads-up on who they’ll meet and what to expect. When we treat candidates with dignity and transparency, we build stronger teams and stronger movements. We’re not perfect, and we don’t expect anyone else to be either, but we love partnering with clients who are willing to do the work to get better together. 🔍🔍 What would you add? What have you seen that works (or doesn’t) in progressive hiring? Drop your thoughts below. #EquityInHiring #NonprofitJobs #DEI #WorkplaceCulture #CandidateExperience #HiringEquity #PayTransparency 

As I’ve been working with my public interest 3L students, I’ve been hearing themes from them about how challenging the post grad hiring process can be. Some employers make the process seamless, while others drag out the process for months and give very little information to candidates about what they can expect. I was talking to my colleague Seth Mills about this and we came up with a few things we’d love to see from employers (both private and public interest): ✔ Transparency - let students know upfront what to expect out of the hiring process, including a clear timeline and what each interview will entail. ✔ A simple application - have an online system where students can upload resume, cover letter, and then hit submit. ✔ A short hiring timeline - if you start interviewing in September, give all of your offers by December. If you don’t plan on making offers until May, don’t start interviewing before January. A short timeline keeps students from feeling like the process is dragging on forever. ✔ Consistency - have a similar interview process for every candidate. Have standardized interview questions to ensure an equitable hiring process. ✔ Communication - don’t ghost candidates! Let them know if they are no longer being considered. Keep students posted about where they are in the process. ✔ Easy to schedule interviews - have an easy online system for candidates to schedule interview times and get confirmations with clear instructions on how to join the interview. ✔ A point of contact - have one person or one email address that students can contact in order to communicate any issues that come up or questions they want to ask. ✔ Pay for candidates to travel to your office if you expect in person interviews. Otherwise rely on remote interviewing. ✔ Time to make a decision on an offer - this is a big life decision - don’t pressure them to accept on the spot.  What else am I missing? Any reason employers wouldn’t be able to have this straightforward process? #lawstudents #publicinterest #hiring