How to Improve Candidate Experience

Forty-five percent. That's the number of candidates who feel stuck in their careers due to limited growth opportunities. This frustration often carries into the hiring process when they encounter slow communication, unclear timelines, or interviews that feel disorganized and unfair. Candidates quickly form opinions about how your company treats people based on these touchpoints, regardless of whether they receive an offer.

As a staffing firm, if you want to know how to improve candidate experience, you must create a hiring journey that feels transparent, responsive, and respectful from start to finish. When you prioritize the candidate experience, you directly strengthen your employer brand, increase your number of referrals, and improve offer acceptance rates. 

In this article, we’ll learn strategies that will help you achieve this.

What Defines a Great Candidate Experience

The hiring process shapes how people talk about your company long after the interview ends. When you learn how to improve candidate experience, you build trust and make your recruitment candidate journey one that attracts stronger applicants.

• Clear communication: Candidates lose confidence quickly when they feel left in the dark about next steps. Communicating interview timelines, feedback expectations, and role details early sets the right tone. 
• Transparency: Openness around salary ranges, role expectations, and growth opportunities prevents misunderstandings later in the recruitment candidate journey. It also strengthens employer branding because candidates know you value honesty in every stage of the hiring process.
• Respect: Respect means treating every applicant as more than just a résumé. It means offering timely feedback, being prepared during interviews, and following through on promises. Candidates notice when respect is present, and it becomes a deciding factor in whether they recommend your company to others.
• Personalization: The evolution of client experience in staffing shows that personalization now matters more than ever. Job seekers are adapting to AI tools that recommend roles, with 66% feeling confident in their ability to use them. Personalized communication, job suggestions, and feedback reassure candidates that your firm values their unique strengths.

Top 12 Ways to Improve Candidate Experience in Recruitment

Want to attract, engage, and hire the most qualified candidates? Here are some top candidate experience best practices for staffing firms you can start applying immediately.

1. Keep candidates informed every step of the way

Candidates often lose interest when they feel ignored, so consistent updates about interviews, timelines, and next steps can make a huge difference in their recruitment journey. One of the most effective ways to create clarity is to use simple communication methods that feel timely and respectful, such as:

• Personalized email templates that deliver reminders, interview details, or constructive feedback at the right time
• Weekly check-ins that keep candidates informed, even when no final decision has been reached yet
• Honest updates that highlight progress in the process and show that every candidate’s effort matters

When staffing firms use platforms like ClearlyRated to collect feedback and measure satisfaction, they create data-driven improvements that strengthen trust and improve long-term hiring outcomes.

2. Set clear expectations from the start

Candidates often leave a hiring process frustrated when they are left waiting without clear updates or timelines. To build confidence and keep candidates engaged, staffing companies should focus on practices that create openness and consistency, such as:

• Outlining the entire hiring process in advance so candidates know exactly what to expect at every stage
• Sharing a realistic timeline for interviews, decisions, and feedback rather than leaving candidates uncertain or waiting endlessly
• Sending regular updates that confirm progress, even if no final choice has been made yet
• Offering transparency about job requirements, remote work policies, and company expectations before interviews begin

When staffing firms prioritize transparency in their recruitment candidate journey, they reduce anxiety for candidates and strengthen relationships that carry lasting value.

3. Write clear and concise job descriptions 

Have you ever wondered why qualified candidates skip over certain job postings without even applying? 

A vague job description creates confusion, wastes time, and discourages talent before the process even begins. Buyers may not feel confident using AI for talent acquisition themselves, yet 70% expect staffing firms to match candidates accurately with job requirements, and 67% expect firms to improve the candidate experience during the recruitment process.

Meeting these expectations starts with specific and concise job postings that give candidates the details they care about most. When writing job descriptions, include these essentials:

• A clear job title that reflects the role accurately without unnecessary buzzwords
• A summary that highlights the role’s purpose and how it contributes to the company’s success
• A detailed list of key responsibilities written in straightforward language 
• Specific qualifications, skills, or certifications that the role requires, with realistic expectations about experience
• Transparent information about compensation, benefits, work model, and location
• Insights about company culture, growth opportunities, or team structure 

4. Optimize the candidate application process

Have you ever started an application and given up halfway because it felt long, confusing, or repetitive? That is exactly how many candidates feel when staffing firms make the process difficult.

Clients also notice the difference, because application quality directly influences placement quality. In fact, 44% of clients say they have received candidate placements that did not match their expectations. You can improve the process by focusing on three clear priorities that make applications easier and more effective:

• Create mobile-friendly applications that enable candidates to apply quickly, regardless of their location.
• Use resume parsing and LinkedIn or social logins so candidates spend less time re-entering information.
• Offer clarity around assessments by stating upfront why they are required and how long they will take.

This small but important shift builds trust with both sides, which ultimately strengthens your long-term relationships.

5. Keep every candidate in the loop

One of the most common service failures in staffing is a simple lack of response. Just as 36% of clients reported an unanswered call or email to their primary contact, this same neglect often extends to candidates as well. Similarly, candidates often experience complete silence after applying or interviewing, leaving them uncertain about their status.

Here is an example of how you can write to a candidate who was not selected:

However, not every situation allows for a long email, especially when recruiters send quick updates across platforms like LinkedIn or a mobile phone. A shorter, professional template helps you keep candidates informed without delay:

“Hi [Candidate’s Name], thank you for your interest in the [Job Title] role. After review, we have moved forward with another candidate. We truly appreciate your time and encourage you to stay connected with us for future opportunities.”

6. Build stronger bonds with personalized  communication

How often do candidates remember a firm that addressed them by name and respected their time? Personalized communication creates loyalty at every stage of the recruitment candidate journey, from the first application to post-placement support. 

When you provide meaningful feedback after interviews and remove unnecessary steps with shorter forms, candidates feel valued and respected. Studies show that 73% of US customers leave after one poor experience, which makes timely and thoughtful communication essential. 

Our platform, for instance, helps firms send customizable surveys at key touchpoints. Additionally, event-triggered surveys give you immediate feedback at crucial moments throughout the candidate journey. Using a personalized, mobile-optimized survey interface makes it easy for candidates to respond, helping you prevent negative experiences that lead to turnover.

7. Build a career website that engages candidates

A career website should excite candidates the moment they land on it, not confuse or overwhelm them. When you design an engaging talent experience, you have to make it easier for candidates to explore opportunities and feel motivated to apply. 

Here are the essentials that make a career site truly candidate-friendly:

• Mobile-optimized layouts for a smooth browsing and application process
• Resume parsing and LinkedIn login for faster applications
• Smart search filters that help candidates locate the right roles quickly
• Chatbots or live chat that answer candidate questions instantly

Candidates also respond positively to videos, employee stories, and precise details about company culture, which makes them feel more connected and motivated to move forward with their applications.

8. Create lasting impressions with strong onboarding

A candidate’s first days shape how they view both the staffing firm and the client relationship. When onboarding feels smooth, candidates feel valued, and clients see faster productivity. Firms that invest in consistent onboarding practices avoid mistakes that harm retention or weaken long-term trust.

9. Make hiring easier with video interviews

Seventy-six percent of companies using AI-driven video interviews report that it has reduced the need for in-person interviews by up to 40%, saving both time and costs associated with travel and scheduling. Candidates appreciate flexibility, allowing them to highlight skills without extra stress, while recruiters connect with more applicants efficiently and assess communication style effectively. 

Video interviews also create a consistent process where every candidate experiences fairness and convenience. To improve results, staffing firms can focus on these elements:

• Easy scheduling that lets candidates pick times that work for them
• Recording features that allow thorough review and multiple decision-makers to provide input
• Clear technical instructions that prevent stress and confusion during the interview

10. Make feedback your biggest asset

Strong client relationships create lasting partnerships that bring you repeat business and help your company grow over time. But how do you measure and improve those relationships beyond just filling jobs? 

By continuously collecting feedback, you can refine your recruitment practices and gain valuable insights. Hence, start with a post-interview or post-application survey to get an immediate sense of the candidate experience.

With our candidate NPS survey tailored for staffing firms, you can gain insights into service quality and revenue opportunities. Our surveys go beyond mere satisfaction measurement, asking specific NPS questions to identify which services have the greatest impact on revenue.

These real-time insights help staffing firms in three important ways:

• Maximize revenue from existing accounts by offering more services to satisfied clients
• Recover at-risk revenue by addressing concerns before they grow into larger problems
• Build trust with new clients by providing data-backed proof of your service excellence

By focusing on these areas, staffing firms drive internal efficiency, improve service quality, and ultimately increase revenue.

11. Focus on a candidate-centric approach

Building a positive candidate experience is one of the best candidate experience strategies you can use to attract and hire top talent. This means you must put a lot of effort into making sure every candidate feels respected throughout your entire hiring process. 

There are several ways you can start building a candidate-first experience right now:

• Send out short and simple post-interview surveys to all candidates to get a sense of how you are performing throughout the hiring process
• Provide clear and consistent communication about what candidates can expect next, even when you have no updates for them
• Use the insights from surveys to determine how to improve candidate experience and inform future changes

12. Leverage technology for efficient recruiting

Clients in the staffing industry want two things: fast hires and cost savings. You can give them both with the right technology and processes. 

Ideally, your tech stack should consist of:

• Applicant tracking system (ATS)
• Automated data entry
• Candidate communication tools
• Interview scheduling automation
• Hiring pipeline updates

We provide candidate feedback tools that give actionable insights, helping you ensure you meet client expectations. Our platform integrates with top CRMs and data management systems, such as Bullhorn and Salesforce, allowing you to keep resumes organized, track applicants, and rate candidates from a single central location.

Second, if you listen to your recruiters, they will tell you exactly where they waste their time. They know which tasks slow them down, so once you find these challenges, you can automate them. This allows your team to focus on the tasks that truly add value to your staffing firm's growth strategies.

Instead of uploading contacts manually, you can integrate your CRM or ATS directly into the platform using its custom API. This means survey contacts are automatically sent to the correct survey, saving you time and removing a lot of hassle. 

You can also set contact filters and clean data to reduce manual work and keep your contacts survey-ready, which also verifies that the reports in your dashboard are accurate. This is one of the best practices for staffing agencies that saves hours and helps you remove human error.

How ClearlyRated Helps in Improving Candidate Experience

Recruitment firms looking to improve talent experience can find a powerful solution with ClearlyRated. Our platform gives you a few powerful ways to get started:

• You can collect NPS-based candidate feedback at key touchpoints like the application, interview, and rejection stages.
• Talent engagement surveys continuously track engagement to improve transparency, recruiter responsiveness, and candidate trust.
• The platform helps recruiters build personal profiles with verified star ratings and testimonials from candidates, which boosts their credibility and response rates.
• Integrations with top ATS like Bullhorn automate survey distribution and feedback collection, giving you valuable real-time insights.

For example, Apex Systems partnered with us to implement NPS surveys and gained valuable feedback from both clients and talent. These insights helped the company identify areas for improvement, resulting in a 55.6 NPS for client satisfaction. 

As a result, Apex Systems retained clients and earned a 10-Year Diamond Award for its excellence in client satisfaction.

Grow Your Staffing Firm with ClearlyRated

With strategies for driving new business now in place, your next step is to make sure you consistently meet client expectations. Tracking client and candidate satisfaction through NPS surveys helps you refine your approach, strengthen relationships, and improve service quality over time.

We make this entire process simple by making survey follow-ups more efficient, providing valuable insights, and benchmarking your NPS against industry standards. 

Want to see how this works in action? Schedule a meeting today!

FAQs

What are the 4 levels of retention strategies?

Retention strategies operate on four levels: transactional, relational, proactive, and predictive. Each focuses on different aspects of customer interaction, from basic loyalty to anticipating needs and preventing churn.

What are the strategies of customer retention?

Customer retention strategies include delivering consistent service, personalized communication, loyalty programs, proactive problem-solving, regular feedback collection, and building emotional connections to increase satisfaction, trust, and long-term engagement with the brand.

What is an effective method to encourage client retention?

A practical method to boost client retention is to provide personalized experiences, timely follow-ups, proactive issue resolution, and regular feedback opportunities that demonstrate responsiveness and reinforce the client’s value.