Mapping the candidate journey [Webinar wrap-up]

Do you know how your candidates approach the job search?

That is the candidate journey.

For this month's Phenom People Webinar we examine the purpose and value of mapping your candidates' journey.

Phenom People CEO Mahe Bayireddi and VP of Client Services Ed Newman capture our analysis from last month's webinar and take it a step further in order to help cutting-edge employers create engaging, personal experiences for job seekers based on their individual journey.

What is the candidate journey?

What's the difference between the candidate experience and the candidate journey?

The candidate experience is a combination of what the candidate is doing and what type of experience employers are creating for job seekers.

The candidate journey is different from the candidate experience because each candidate has their own journey. Employers can better understand candidates' thought processes, interests and needs by trying to understand who their candidates really are and figuring out ways to help guide them along their journey.

The value of mapping the candidate journey

Understanding how your candidates feel throughout the job search journey goes a long way towards being able create the type of experience that attracts, engages and ultimately convinces top talent your company is right for them.

A candidate's journey is their's to control, but there are ways for you to influence it. Think about how candidates feel during their job search journey.

Typically, candidates become confused and frustrated when they cannot find the information they are searching for - creating a hostile experience.

Searching for your dream job should be an inspiring experience - it should be exciting like the feeling a little kid has when they slide down a slide.



In order to deliver the high-quality experiences that candidates expect, we have to look at the job search from the candidate's point of view.

The problem today is that we have tons of content and open jobs being thrown at candidates and employers are not doing anything to help their candidates understand how to navigate through these complicated processes.

Employers should be leveraging all of their content to make it more accessible and relevant: by strategically placing content right where candidates are searching - on your career site.

By granting access to an employer's content in the places candidates are researching the company, employers can help drive candidates towards their final destination - applying for a job at your company.

Understanding how candidates interact with your company at various stages

Employers should realize that all people are different. Every job is not for every candidate, which seems like common sense, but currently within the market, employers are treating every candidate the exact same way.



There are many different kinds of jobseekers so employers should be cognizant of these various types of job seekers in order to tailor the messaging to resonate with the different types of job seekers that employers want to attract.

Each type of job seeker pictured above represents a different persona. Each of these different personas are attracted to different things.

Think of it like flavors of ice cream. One type of person might be attracted to chocolate ice cream. It's easy to understand that although one type of person might be attracted to chocolate, not every type of person is attracted to chocolate.

In terms of attracting different types of candidates, employers need to find ways to make their "ice cream flavor" appeal to many different types of job seekers and not just the ones who like chocolate.

Tips for optimizing the candidate journey

The goal of mapping the candidate journey is to create experiences for job seekers that motivate and excite them about the opportunity to work for your company. Each journey and each candidate is different so it's important for employers to think about what job seekers are doing, thinking, feeling and experiencing.

By identifying the various types of job seekers and making an effort to understand their needs and interests, employers can serve up the type high quality experiences that job seekers expect.

Employers can also identify the interruptions that cause candidate dissatisfaction in order to lend help to candidates as they navigate through the peaks and valleys of their job search.

By leveraging your content and ultimately your jobs to appeal to job seekers, employers can gain attention and trust from job seekers and help drive them to their final destination - the apply button after filling out an application to one of your jobs.



Talent Relationship Marketing makes the experience of finding a job and acquiring talent more efficient and effective by helping candidates find the right jobs and making recruiters more productive.

Can TRM help you and your organization? Download our Talent Relationship Marketing E-book below to find out.