How to Improve the Key Touchpoints in the Candidate Journey

The candidate journey encompasses all the experiences candidates have throughout the entire hiring process. It starts before an application but also continues after someone has signed a contract.

To improve those experiences and become more successful in your hiring efforts, it pays to map out the touchpoints of the candidate journey. This lowers hiring costs and time per candidate, and increases your match rate.

Touchpoints in three phases

1. Pre-application phase

Candidates already have points of contact with your organization before deciding to apply. Three steps: first introduction, considering whether they want to work through your organization, and showing interest.

2. Application phase

This runs from submitting the application to being hired or rejected. How you reject a candidate is at least as important as how you hire them. Transparency in this phase significantly improves the candidate experience.

3. After the application

Candidates who go through a good onboarding program typically stay connected to the employer longer. Think of a congratulatory email after the probation period or points of contact during the first weeks.

How do you improve the touchpoints?

Step 1: define your candidate personas, just like customer personas for sales and marketing.

Step 2: identify your candidate's needs per phase.

Step 3: create an overview of all touchpoints — which sites do candidates visit, which social channels do they use. This helps identify and resolve bottlenecks in the hiring process.