21 Candidate Experience Best Practices

Your job description serves as both a marketing tool and a screening mechanism. Use it to share what you’re looking for in a new team member — and what you can offer them in return.

For example:

Include compensation and benefits. A full 61% of candidates prioritize compensation and benefits when considering a new job. Sharing this information upfront saves everyone time in the event a candidate wouldn’t ultimately accept your job offer.

Start with a clear, descriptive job title that accurately reflects the role. Avoid internal jargon or creative titles that candidates won’t recognize or search for. For example, “experienced software developer” is a better option than “rock star developer.”

Include specific responsibilities, required qualifications, and what impact the role has on the organization. For example, “You’ll own the social media strategy to amplify our brand voice and engage our community.”

Use inclusive language that welcomes a diverse group of candidates. It can be helpful to ask a diverse group of people within your organization to review the job description and offer feedback.

Proofread carefully. Nearly a third of candidates (30%) would abandon a job application with spelling and grammatical errors, so attention to detail matters.

Candidates want to learn about your company during their job search, and 39% cite careers sites as their most valuable research channel. Your careers site should give candidates a glimpse of what it would be like to work at your organization and help them find the right opportunity.

Include information about your company culture, team member benefits, growth opportunities, and what a typical day looks like in different roles. Add employee testimonials and photos that give candidates a genuine feel for your workplace environment.

Consider adding a section about your interview process. When candidates know what to expect, they’re more likely to prepare properly and feel confident throughout the experience.

Your careers site might also include a talent network where candidates can express interest in working at your organization when there’s not a suitable open role.

Nearly half of job seekers (49%) say that most job application processes are too long and complicated. This can leave a negative impression on your candidates right from the start.

Your job application should collect essential information from candidates without creating unnecessary barriers. A basic application might include just a resume, while more detailed job applications may include several job-specific questions. 

Enable candidates to apply using LinkedIn profiles or resume uploads. Modern applicant tracking systems can parse this information automatically, reducing typing for candidates and increasing completion rates.

Your application process should work seamlessly whether someone is applying from their laptop during lunch or their phone while commuting. Nearly a quarter of candidates (22%) want to complete applications on their mobile devices. 

Test your application process on different devices and screen sizes. If candidates need to scroll horizontally, zoom in to read text, or struggle with tiny form fields, you’re creating unnecessary friction that causes a poor candidate experience.

Set up automated confirmation emails that let candidates know you received their application and what happens next. Include a realistic timeline like “We’ll review applications and reach out within one week if we’d like to schedule an interview.”

This simple step eliminates the anxiety many candidates feel after submitting their application and wondering if their resume disappeared into a black hole. It also gives you a chance to reinforce your employer brand with a friendly, professional message.

Share your hiring timeline and process upfront so candidates know what to expect. For example, let them know that they’ll have a phone screen, two onsite interviews, and a reference check before getting an offer, and that the entire process will take 4-6 weeks. Clear expectations help your candidates plan accordingly and stay engaged throughout the process

Most recruiting professionals (78%) have lost a candidate because they couldn’t schedule their interviews quickly enough.

Use self-scheduling tools to reduce back-and-forth emails and show respect for your candidates’ time. Inviting candidates to pick from available time slots that work for them can eliminate the frustration of conflicting schedules and speed up the process.

Every additional interview round increases the risk of losing candidates to competitors or fatigue.

Evaluate whether each interview stage adds genuine value to your decision-making process. Look for opportunities to combine interviews, assess multiple competencies in a single conversation, and eliminate stages that don’t significantly impact your hiring decisions.

Over half of employers conduct four or more interviews across 4–6 weeks — so a faster process may stand out to candidates.

Include accessibility statements in your job posts and interview communications to make it clear that you welcome and encourage candidates to share their needs. Simple language like “We’re happy to provide accommodations to ensure all candidates can participate fully in our interview process” signals that you value inclusivity. You can also take this a step further by specifically mentioning options like wheelchair accessibility, sign language interpreters, or flexible interview formats.

Your team members might be technical experts, but that doesn’t automatically make them skilled interviewers. This can be problematic: 51% of workers said that an interviewer’s attitude or behavior could cause them to voluntarily pull out of the recruitment process.

Provide interviewer training that covers how to create a welcoming environment, ask effective questions, avoid legal pitfalls, and assess candidates fairly. Include guidance on unconscious bias and how to ensure every candidate gets a consistent, positive experience.

Structured interviews involve asking each candidate the same core questions and evaluating responses using predetermined criteria. This approach makes it easier to compare candidates fairly and reduces the impact of interviewer bias.

Prepare a list of relevant questions in advance and create a simple scoring system. You can still allow for follow-up questions and natural conversation while maintaining structure that leads to better hiring decisions.

Send detailed interview confirmation emails to candidates that include logistics, interview format, who they’ll meet, and any materials they should bring. Consider sharing some questions in advance to reduce anxiety and help candidates present their best selves.

When candidates know what to expect, they can focus on demonstrating their qualifications rather than worrying about logistics. This preparation leads to more productive conversations for everyone involved.

Ensure candidates feel comfortable and respected whether they’re interviewing in person or virtually. Provide a clean, quiet space with comfortable seating for in-person interviews and test your technology in advance for virtual interviews.

Start interviews with friendly conversation to help candidates relax. Remember that nervous candidates might not represent their true capabilities, so creating a welcoming atmosphere benefits both parties.

Reserve time at the end of each interview for candidate questions. This demonstrates respect for their curiosity and helps them assess whether your opportunity aligns with their goals.

The questions candidates ask often reveal valuable information about their priorities, preparation level, and genuine interest in the role. These conversations also help you sell qualified candidates on why they should choose your company.

Almost half of job seekers (47%) said poor communication would cause them to voluntarily pull out of the recruitment process.

Regular updates, even when you don’t have new information, keep candidates engaged and demonstrate professionalism. Send personalized messages rather than generic templates. A quick email saying “We’re still reviewing applications and will update you by Friday” shows more consideration than radio silence.

Your candidates are eager to hear back from you after each interview. You can keep your top candidates engaged and let the rest down gently by getting back to them as quickly as possible. In fact, 83% of candidates want to know as soon as possible when they’re no longer being considered for a job.

Show genuine excitement about the candidate joining your team by calling your top choice to extend a verbal offer. Offer to answer any questions they might have and let them know that you’ll follow up with a written offer.

Send an engaging offer letter that references specific conversations from the interview process and explains why you’re excited to work with them. Include comprehensive details about the role, benefits, growth opportunities, and what their first few weeks will look like. You should also provide a clear timeline for their response to ensure you can get back to the rest of your candidates within a reasonable time frame.

The time between offer acceptance and start date represents a crucial opportunity to build excitement and engagement. Good onboarding communication makes hired candidates 137% more willing to refer others, have brand affinity, and make purchases from the company. 

Send a welcome call or email that outlines what to expect on their first day. Share information about parking, dress code, lunch plans, and who they’ll meet. Consider sending a welcome package with company-branded items or information about your team and culture.

While you can’t provide detailed feedback to every applicant, prioritize candidates who interviewed with your team. This can leave the candidate experience on a high note, as 70% of rejected candidates say receiving detailed feedback would leave them with a positive impression. 

Focus on constructive, specific feedback that candidates can use for professional development. Instead of saying “you weren’t a good fit,” try “Your technical skills were strong, but we were looking for someone with more experience managing remote teams.”

Ask candidates for feedback about their experience, regardless of whether you hired them. Only 21% of candidates have been surveyed about their satisfaction with the hiring process, which means most companies are missing valuable improvement opportunities.

Keep surveys short and focused on actionable areas like communication quality, interview process efficiency, and overall professionalism. Use this feedback to identify patterns and make improvements.

Quantitative data adds another layer of insight to qualitative feedback so you can measure and improve your candidate experience. Track withdrawal rates, time to hire, offer acceptance rates, and candidate satisfaction scores to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. You can track these same metrics to measure the impact of candidate experience investments.