Hire Ground
Welcome to Hire Ground, the podcast where staffing, recruiting, and talent strategy take center stage. This show takes a deep look into the real-world challenges and cutting-edge innovations shaping the hiring landscape today.
From one-on-one interviews with industry leaders to solo episodes packed with strategy, we cover what it takes to build winning teams. We unpack hiring trends, sourcing secrets, candidate experience strategies, and what it really takes to build winning teams in a fast-changing world of work.
Whether you're an agency recruiter, in-house TA leader, or scaling a startup, Hire Ground gives you the tools, stories, and insights to elevate your hiring game and gain higher ground in your talent journey.
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Hire Ground
Episode #2 - Mastering the Candidate Experience: What Top Talent Really Wants
Tired of losing top talent during your recruitment process? The modern hiring landscape has fundamentally changed, with candidates now ghosting employers just as frequently as they've been ghosted. This power shift demands a complete rethinking of how we approach candidate experience.
In this eye-opening episode of Higher Ground, we take a look into what truly matters to high-quality candidates throughout their journey from application to offer. We discuss challenges traditional recruitment practices, questioning why companies still hide salary ranges ("No one works for free") and why hiring teams insist on lengthy, redundant interview processes ("There's nothing that we can do in our professions that require eight, nine, whatever steps").
This episode moves beyond theoretical concepts to provide actionable insights on creating a talent acquisition process that functions as a powerful brand ambassador. From crafting compelling job descriptions that highlight impact over requirements to implementing mobile-first application systems, every touchpoint represents an opportunity to demonstrate your organizational values. The conversation covers practical wisdom on interview coordination, scheduling automation, and the critical importance of timely communication - noting that "silence is still saying something" to waiting candidates.
Perhaps most valuable is the episode's emphasis on feedback and rejection handling. Even one line of specific feedback transforms a rejection from a dead end into a growth opportunity, potentially converting today's "no" into tomorrow's enthusiastic "yes." We conclude with a straightforward action plan that doesn't require additional budget or headcount just intention and consistent effort to make candidates feel seen, respected, and aligned with your mission.
Whether you're building a talent acquisition function from scratch or refining an established recruitment process, this episode provides the blueprint for creating candidate experiences that become your competitive advantage. Remember: your hiring process isn't just about filling positions it's the beginning of the employee journey and a window into your company's soul.
Connect with me on LinkedIn (1) Joe Motes, Executive MBA | LinkedIn
Interested in joining this show? Contact Hire Ground at hiregroundpodcast@gmail.com.
Welcome to Hire Ground, the podcast that puts hiring quality above all else and elevates the way we think about staffing. In a world where the competition for top talent is fierce and the margin for hiring error is razor thin, we're bringing you the best in recruitment strategy, talent insights and real-world best practices that actually work, from sourcing and selection to candidate experience and team building. We tackle what it takes to staff smarter, lead stronger and build workplaces that win. Looking for that talent-finding edge, you've just found the higher ground. Now here's your host, Joe Motes.
Joe :Higher Ground. Now here's your host, joe Motes, and welcome back everyone to Higher Ground, the show where we elevate recruiting strategy and well, really, through conversations with people-first leaders. I'm your host, joe Motes, and today we're covering something that's been on my mind and on the mind of every employer and that is always up front is going to be the candidate experience, and we've heard that term thrown around HR circles forever, but what does it really mean? And, more importantly, what do top tier, the best of the best candidates actually want from a hiring process? And today we're going to walk through the full journey from application to offer, and I'm going to share how you can transform your process into a talent magnet, right when you're just sucking these candidates in.
Joe :And this isn't just about HR policy, it's about brand experience. We talked about it a little bit in our first episode the importance of emotional intelligence and respect. And the best companies create consistency and care across every candidate touchpoint and when they do the best, talent flocks to them. They're drawn in to those type of companies and we need to be aware of that as talent acquisition leaders the importance of brand experience and in our processes. So I think why, if I ask myself why candidate experience matters more than ever. It's really because the hiring landscape is is really more competitive than than ever, at least since since I've been in the field and candidates ghost employers just as much as employers ghost candidates. You know. I see these hiring managers all the time, or organizations all the time get so offended when a candidate ghosts them. Yet they will let candidates spend weeks without hearing anything back from their interview and yeah, that's not. That's not happening in a vacuum, it's. It's a response and how they've been treated. Right that that they're going to ghost you. If you ghost them and you know great, great candidates they have options. If your process is slow or confusing, they'll choose another offer before you even hit. Send on that offer letter proof here.
Joe :One bad review from a candidate can dissuade hundreds of future applicants, and companies with strong candidate experiences often, see, I would wager retention because expectations are set clearly up front. Full transparency is there, the process is smooth, the recruiting team is engaged, the hiring team is engaged, the hiring team is engaged, the operations team is engaged. It's all firing on all cylinders and it's no longer enough for organizations, talent acquisition teams, to just post a job and hope. We need to think about the experience like a product you're selling for your company. Again, going back to the first episode, towards the end, I talked about the importance of being a subject matter expert on your product. Know your customer.
Joe :How your process feels to a candidate is often more influential than the job description itself, and we have to also ask ourselves what candidates really want. Okay, we need to avoid jargon. We need to avoid jargon. We need to highlight impact and expectations. Include your salary range. I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why organizations are hesitant about sharing salary ranges. No one works for free. Okay, so we know, as leaders and hiring managers, that we're going to have to pay employees. Why do we keep that so close to our chest? Why the candidate has a number, you have a number. Why not figure out right up front if there's a match or if there's anything can be done, versus waiting, waiting, waiting to the last stages of the process and figuring out your $40,000 apart and it's just not going to work.
Joe :Be real about your workload. Be real about, or transparent about, your challenges and also who they'll report to Spell out the tools they'll be using and how their role ties into company goals. I think that's a very important point goals. I think that's a very important point. They need to be able to see their work and how it makes the company succeed. About ai recently and I shared that I am a huge supporter of ai. I believe that there is a lot of use for it, especially when it comes to crafting job descriptions.
Joe :I think that hiring teams should be running their job descriptions through some type of AI, but they can't just only run it through AI. Ai is the start. Then you need to tailor it to the job you're trying to convey and the job you're hiring for, the job you're trying to convey and the job you're hiring for. But what you don't do is start adding unrealistic expectations, and I'm going to do an entire episode It'll probably be a guest episode on managing leaders' expectations and how we, as trusted advisors, can do that, some strategies to do that, some things to look out for. So, if you're a leader, you're using AI or you have a template built into your ATS, don't go in there and just start adding things that you feel like they should have. What do they need to be successful in the job, what do they need to contribute to the team and the organization, and what metrics do they need to hit and goals, and that's what you need to be looking out for.
Joe :Timely, I would say timely communication is another one. I so real time updates, even the rejections, automated updates, just aren't enough. Human touch matters. Words matter. Silence is still saying something. It's the biggest turnoff for candidates. Even a short email to acknowledge receipt can really set you apart receipt of a communication coming from a candidate. I got to a point when I was a recruiter I would set reminders. I would use our CRM and set reminders of when I need to follow up on key stages and I would personalize when I could, especially when hiring, like physicians and scientists and whatnot.
Joe :The other thing that they're looking for is a very streamlined application process and don't ask candidates to upload resumes and retype info. I have so many times, so many times, I have X'd out of the application screen because they wanted me to type in the same information that's on my resume that I attached and they made these fields required Like why would you do that? Why would you do that? I would say companies that have a mobile first design is a cut above the rest. I mean, they're probably getting more applicants than those that just kind of have a standard micro career page. All of us have our phones on us all. This is a mobile market. So your application process, whatever it is, however, it's streamlining. Streamline needs to have some type of mobile design to it. If your process feels like a chore, you're going to lose top candidates. Think of the application as that first virtual handshake. It should be fast, friendly and really frictionless, and use tools that parse resumes into your ATS efficiently.
Joe :I use when I job search. I try to look for, you know, jobs that have their easy apply turned on For me. I don't have a lot of time to sit there and fill out an application on mobile or online, so if I can just click it and go, it's for the best. I think another thing that they look for is the efficient, the efficiency in interviewing. You know Some people say that they have to have all of these stages in the interview process and it's absolutely not true. There's nothing that we can do in our professions that require eight, nine, whatever steps. I think for me, if you're going to have steps, I think it's two, but you know three, maybe four, I think four. You're pushing it. I think ideally it's two to three, but anything after four, you're just. You're wasting the candidate's time for the data analyst or not the data analyst, but the software.
Joe :I'm trying to think how I want to tie this. The application developer needs to meet with, say, the marketing coordinator. Right, it's just. Yes, you can make a case for anything. You know they're going to walk by this person's desk four times a day. Let's set them up and make sure they're okay with it. But no, you, you. There's not that many points of connection and performance that you need that many interviews.
Joe :Also, in your interviews, avoid repetitive questions across the interviewees, especially if you have a panel. Make sure that each person on the panel is evaluating a specific performance behavior. Coordinate among your interviewers to ensure questions are not redundant, that they're complementary to what you're evaluating, and keep those interviews tightly focused on core competencies. And by doing that we help alleviate any biases and we let candidates know, or we're able to let candidates know, what to expect at each stage. If I think of maybe a fifth one, it's respect for time Look, stay on schedule, send agendas and timelines beforehand, inform the candidate before connecting with them what to expect, how long to plan for that initial screen, and you know as much as you can share up front about your process with that candidate in that first interaction, the better. In that first interaction, the better.
Joe :You know we have to value their time as you would your client's time or your boss's time, and if a meeting needs to be scheduled or excuse me rescheduled, communicate proactively and with courtesy. You know, when I, when I was in my MBA program at KSU, I remember getting into somewhat of a back and forth with one of the lecturers and it was around. Well, in business, you should never apologize in a response. You should never use the word or phrase I apologize, and I thought that was really dumb to say. And I definitely and I definitely apologize in my emails when appropriate, especially if I have to reschedule with someone, if something came up that I had no control over. It's courtesy, it's having respect for their time.
Joe :And I also recommend your company integrating and using scheduling tools that allow candidates to self-select interview slots. It always blows my mind when you have these hiring managers who want fast, fast, fast recruiting cycles but they don't want to automate the scheduling. They want to do the scheduling themselves. But then they get into this back and forth and then it's two weeks goes by before they even reach out to the candidate. So automate your scheduling. You can use things like Calendly and there's many others out there. In our organization we use Calendly. That's a hard word to say for me, but again, a lot of stuff out there, use it, use it, use it. It's the biggest way to respect their time. They can see your calendar and most of these platforms and they can select what's most convenient. We talked about this also in our first episode.
Joe :The importance about feedback. Even when they don't get the job. This is important. Important Constructive comments leave a good impression and encourages return applicants. A thoughtful rejection message can turn a no into a yes. I've seen that. I have well. It also signals maturity and professionalism. Even one line of specific feedback is more valuable than a generic. We went with someone else Right, and I get it.
Joe :It's hard sometimes to say no, especially if you know someone did well in the interview rounds but the other person that was chosen was just a little bit better. Or maybe the hiring team just liked them a little bit more and thought they were a better fit. But you know, this person that's getting rejected absolutely wanted this job. It can be hard. It can be hard, but if you are armed or if you are prepared is a better phrase to say here With feedback that is clear, that is truthful, that is more than just they like the other person better. You did great. No, what are some of the specifics? What did they like more about that person? Now, a hiring team it is important that the reasons you did not select them aren't due to any bias you had or unethical or illegal reasons. So, recruiters, help your hiring managers out in that regard, but make sure you're giving candidates feedback when they don't get the job.
Joe :So a lot of, a lot, a lot of the things that that kind of talked about here can stay top of mind. If, when you're recruiting and bringing someone through the process, that you just think about all the things that stress you out as a job seeker when you're in job seeking mode, all the things that stress you out, it's going to stress other job seekers out Now, some more than others. But five, six, seven interviews who's got time for that? A repetitive, redundant onboarding and application process that's insane. I mean, most of us are trying to transition out of our other job while we're trying to get our paperwork together for the next job and ghosting. From the organization standpoint, look, we can't do anything about a candidate ghosting us, we just can't. But we should never be ghosting candidates. Candidates should never go two, three, four weeks without some kind of follow-up and look, hey, I have been guilty of this, I am, look, if you're in recruiting. We've all been guilty of this, we've all done this. We all didn't come out of the gate doing this great, and I've done this even as a leader.
Joe :Timely communication is one of the fastest ways to build trust within your team, with your candidate, with your hiring managers. I remember there was a role that I had a few jobs ago where there was a hiring manager or I won't say manager, but a leader in one of the functions that we just didn't see eye to eye, the functions that we just didn't see eye to eye. But the more I kind of looked at that partnership or that relationship there, I started to realize that I was contributing to a lot of the problem because I wasn't being timely with my feedback and communication on the things that he needed to give feedback and communication to those that were asking him questions. So once we got on a better communication loop, a more timely one, and we were actually overicating. But not only did our productivity increase, our pipeline increase, but also our partnership and business relationship increased, and when I parted ways with that company, it was one of the strongest partnerships that I had and I felt really confident that I was a trusted advisor.
Joe :So think like a job seeker always, even when you have a job and you're in recruiting, think about the impact of your actions, your lack of communication and so on. So what can we do? Well, with everything we we learn anything new we need. We need to develop some type of action plan for our employers. Right, maybe you're small and you're growing fast and you need to figure out how to build or how to create an action plan for a best in class recruiting process or department. I've got a little action plan for you. The first thing you're going to want to do is you're going to want to audit your current process. You know, have someone on your team walk through it, take notes and report where it drags or bottlenecks, and ask a recently hired employee for their feedback and, while their memory is fresh on the process, both in my current role, my new role, both my CHRO, who I report into and I went through the hiring process not simultaneously or at the same time, but pretty close, and we were able to compare notes and look at some bottlenecks and you know, in the future these are things we're going to work on. Of course we've got a lot of priorities right now, but that audit and paying attention to that was really good for us and so maybe you don't have that, but have someone in your organization go through that process and maybe it's someone who started very early on, maybe there wasn't really a process and now there is and have them go back through it and see if it's something that they would have appreciate or they feel has become more laborious.
Joe :You have to train, I'd say the next thing. You have to train hiring managers and interview etiquette. I'd say the next thing you would have. You have to train hiring managers and interview etiquette, and this is something that is super important. Uh, not just from a just right way of doing things or best practice, but sometimes it can. It can mean the difference in a lawsuit and it's got legal compliance and ethical um situations that can happen out of it. You know, provide them with guidebooks or templates and mock interview coaching. Teach them to balance rigor with warmth, and what I mean by that is we all have people in our organizations that they just have this stone face about them and during the interview they never smile, they never give off this warm feeling. I'm not saying when your candidate comes in, you pick them up and you bear, hug them and twirl them around and high five them, and that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about letting them see your human side, especially if you are the hiring manager and they're reporting directly to you. Know the things that you're not supposed to ask, or they need to know the things that they're not supposed to ask All the HR questions. I think that would be a good episode. Right To ask or not to ask? That is the question. I think we need to do an episode on that and have some HR professionals on. That'll be fun. I think.
Joe :Also for an action plan standardize your timelines and stick tool. Set internal SLAs, service level agreements for each step. Transparency builds credibility full stop. You have to use feedback loops. You can do this through candidate surveys. Most I won't say most, but a lot of companies that I've been a part of or that I know of use the net promoter score style question. Or you know the Qualtrics systems. These things can reveal trends and companies need to be monitoring this data. This is not fire and forget, right. This is constantly watching what's going on with these scores. You need to think about in your action plan how you can personalize rejections with brief insights, a simple line like we needed more X. Experience shows respect.
Joe :You can use templates, but add custom notes. It's fine using templates, but don't only use the template. Find a place in that template before you send, to put a note like call out something that you remember from the interview or something that they're interested in, or something that lets them know that, as I'm reading this, this is a oh wait, maybe this isn't a template because they, they, they called back this and and mentions in this they, they did pay attention to me, even though they didn't select me. They paid attention to me and valued my time. I think the biggest thing we can do or you can do in your action plan is celebrate candidate milestones, send a welcome note or a Slack, shout out. Small moments create big emotional lifts, and changing jobs is an emotional thing. It can be very overwhelming. I've and it's so easy to do this right. It's so easy to send a welcome letter. It's so easy for the direct supervisor to call them and let them know in advance what you know to be wearing their first day or what time to be there, or sending a department-wide email announcing their hires.
Joe :One company I worked with the marketing team when we would hire a physician, they would send out a big hey, this you know, dr so-and-so has joined our practice and they would send it out to all the social media feeds in the areas and geofence, the areas that they're going to be working in and practice. I mean they made a big deal out of it and they did it for every provider we hired Physician, middle level. It didn't matter every time when I was recruiting and I don't think I missed this often I'm not saying I didn't miss it every now and then but typically within a couple hours after that offer had been signed and I saw it come through, I was emailing the candidates and telling them how excited I was that they were joining us, how excited I was that they were joining us. So I think that if we recap and we think about candidate experience, it's really our silent brand ambassador. You know, every email, every call, every interview is a window into into really our company soul. That's pretty deep. Maybe I was a little too deep, but top talent just top talent doesn't just want a job. They want to feel seen, respected and aligned with your mission.
Joe :And you see, here's the best part. You don't need more budget or headcount to improve this. All you need is intention and effort. Start small, track the results and look. Remember a great candidate experience isn't the finish line. It's the beginning of a great employee journey, of a great employee journey. Thanks so much for joining me on this second episode of Higher Ground. If this resonated with you, subscribe, share it, leave a review, send me questions and if you've got questions or ideas or want to be a guest, reach out and I will get back to you. Continue to be excited for what this is turning into. Already started getting a lot of good, positive feedback on the postings and episode one. So let's continue to build something together and remember, always aim for the higher ground.
Intro/Outro:That's it for this episode of Higher Ground, the podcast that raises the standard for hiring and sets the tone for modern staffing success. If today's insights gave you something to think about, share it with your team, your network or anyone who believes great hiring is business critical. Don't forget to follow, rate and review the show wherever you get your podcasts and stay connected for more conversations that push recruiting forward. Thanks for listening and remember in the world of talent, aim higher.