Ep 199 - What Job Seekers Want from the Candidate Experience - Workology

Ep 199 - What Job Seekers Want from the Candidate Experience - Workology What Do Job Seekers Want in the Hiring and Applicant Experience? Private groups, networks and communities are becoming the new norm, and this fundamentally changes how we interact with candidates because the way job seekers interact with social media networks has evolved. One example of what job seekers want from the candidate experience is the Austin Digital Jobs Group on Facebook, which has exploded to over 45,000 members in the past several years. This is a moderated and supportive group offering resources to job seekers, as well as a place for recruiters looking for employees and relationship building with the community. This podcast is sponsored by ClearCompany. Ep 199: What Job Seekers Want from the Candidate Experience with Lani Rosales   (@laniar) In this episode, I’m joined by Lani Rosales Chief Operating Officer at The American Genius and founder of the Austin Digital Jobs Facebook Group. This Facebook group is over 45,000 members who are a combination of job seekers and recruiters who live or are affiliated with Austin, Texas, in some way. The group is active and engaged sharing jobs while also providing support and resources to the Austin job seeker community. Sometimes that support comes in form of lending a helpful ear, sometimes its a funny Gif or Meme thread to help lighten up a job seekers day. And sometimes its recruiters and the community sharing job openings and introductions for the community. What Do Job Seekers Want in the Hiring and Applicant Experience? Lani because of her experience in running  The American Genius combined with her experience with events and cultivating the job seeker community makes her uniquely qualified to talk about what the community wants from recruiters and the candidate experience as a job applicant. Lani says engagement and relationships are important. They want to be connected and responsiveness from recruiters and hiring managers. For many of these job seekers, being without a job or in the job market takes a toll on them emotionally and financially. They want feedback on where they are in the hiring process, information on how to improve, and resources to improve their chances for the next job opportunity. The Real Problem with Candidate and Recruiter Ghosting One of the topics that seems to be hot in the ADJ Group and with job seekers and recruiters alike is the topic of ghosting. Ghosting refers to when a person, candidate or recruiter just disappears from the hiring or the recruitment process. Maybe they dont show up for the interview or there is a promise of a follow up but a person in the relationship disappears or doesnt ever engage the other party again. Lani says the real problem with ghosting is two fold. Candidates are more informed and have more access to information. They are treating the hiring process like a sales process just as recruiters are meaning that if a new job opportunity arises, they are jumping on that one and disappearing from all the other conversations with other companies they have applied to in the past. The other part of the problem stems from the fact that recruiting leaders are overwhelmed with job seekers and requisitions. They are not able to follow through with candidates as much as theyd like to. Conclusion The evolution of the candidate experience online is so evident in the growth of Facebook Groups like ADJ. These communities can be excellent educational experiences for recruiters who want to know what job seekers are looking for in a specific sector or location. I’ve been a follower and commenter on ADJ since I moved to Austin and have seen so much growth in the community there in just the past few years. I’m so glad to have the chance to talk to Lani Rosales about the group and get her thoughts on what we should be doing in our social networking. Connect with Lani Rosales. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Austin Digital Jobs on Facebook A Look at the Candidate Experience Lifecycle The American Genius BASHH networking events A History of the Candidate Experience How to Subscribe to the Workology Podcast Stitcher | PocketCast | iTunes | Podcast RSS | Google Play | YouTube | TuneIn Find out how to be a guest on the Workology Podcast.