Hi.
Today you'll learn how to build
an excellent applicant funnel, Ready?
Let's get started.
The applicant funnel is one of those ideas
borrowed from the marketing world.
In marketing they use something called the buyer journey,
to track incoming clients
from the very first point of contact
all the way through the happy customer.
Let's now look at the funnel mode
in terms of what's called the candidate's journey.
First there's the awareness.
This represents the first stage of the funnel.
At this stage, the candidate is in one of two situations.
They are either ready to apply
and will go straight into your pipeline
as an active applicant,
or they may be passive job seekers
who will stay in this stage for several months.
How you handle the two will obviously differ,
however, this is your first touch point.
I'll talk more about touch points in a bit.
Awareness is followed by consideration.
Perhaps, the most pivotal step in the candidate journey.
This is where the potential candidate
decides to become an active applicant.
They've done their research, they like what they see
in your content relating to your employer brand
and employee value proposition,
and they're ready to come on board.
The third and last phase of the funnel
is that of the decision.
This is the final and most stressful
stage for the candidate.
Don't drop the ball here by keeping them out of the loop.
Constant updates, check-in emails will show your engagement
and remind the new applicant
of why they love your employer brand
and company culture in the first place.
Let's now talk about how you should put
your applicant funnel into action.
The name of the game here is respect.
Candidate experience matters, a lot.
So you need to demonstrate that you respect your applicants
time, energy and abilities.
This way you'll not only increase your value in their eyes
but you'll also see returns in higher quality of applicants,
dedication of employees, and ROI
on your hiring process as a whole.
How do you demonstrate this respect?
With touch points all the way through the process.
First, there's awareness.
The respect starts while your applicant
is still a passive job seeker.
In this stage,
you need to be aware of your presence on social media.
Interact with your followers, respond to block comments
and generally be alert and aware of these folks.
Make sure you content is on point.
Describing your employer brand in detail
without getting bombastic or hype.
This content will draw your potential applicants in
leaving comments, re-posting, liking
and sharing it with their friends.
How you respond to these interactions
is your first touch point.
Be respectful, thanking them for the shares,
replying to the comments, and answering the questions.
Remember to be authentic.
Don't just say, thanks for the comment and leave it at that.
Call out something constructive they said.
Or turn it around and ask them a question.
Do this in a conversational tone
and your audience is likely to respond in kind.
This is also an opportunity to show people
where your strengths lie.
And even some possible weaknesses,
where they can be of assistance
if they come to work for you.
Consideration.
As I mentioned before,
this is perhaps the most important stage
in the applicant funnel.
At this point, your applicant has decided
they like what you have to offer
and is looking at openings.
Reading your company LinkedIn reviews
and pulling the trigger on applying.
The key here is to stay in touch.
These touch points ensure that these folks
know what's going on behind the scenes.
As candidates, they deserve to know
where their application stands.
If there are delays, tell them what's up,
set and manage expectations early,
this way the applicant will know what to expect.
It also gives you the opportunity to notify them
of any changes in those expectations should a problem arise,
letting them know you respect their time.
Decision.
There's nothing worse in the application process
than thinking an interview went well
only not to hear a single peep from the company for ever.
This continues the touch-points
from the middle of the funnel, and let's applicants know
that they still matter and that you respect the stress
this process puts on them.
The touch-points are nearly duplicates of the last ones.
If there are delays in a decision being made,
tell them.
If it's going to take an extra few days
because someone is out of town,
let them know that.
If someone else wants to meet them,
fill them in ASAP,
so that they can get it in their calendar.
Treat your applicants like a priority they are
and they'll get a good feeling for how you'll treat them
once they're hired.
That's it for today's bites in which you've learned
that the funnel model is a great way
to map your candidate journey
from the first contact via your contact marketing efforts
all the way through happy new hire.
The key is to respect your candidates time,
energy and abilities by staying in touch
throughout the process.
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and I'll see you soon in our next learning bites.