How to Boost Candidate Experience in the UK Job Market
If you’re working for a UK business and trying to hire at the minute, the job market conditions are a little unusual.
On the one hand, it is a candidate-rich market for employers (with recent reports of 1.2 million UK graduates competing for only 17,000 roles). But on the other hand, both economic conditions and the government’s labour reforms are reportedly causing one in three companies to cut their hiring.
This creates a need to change up our hiring strategies. As David Neal, Managing Director of Morgan McKinley UK recently shared in our UK Salary Guide explains: “Much like the current landscape in the U.S, broader macro uncertainty has made employers increasingly selective, leading to extended decision timelines and moderated expansion.”
He adds: “For employers, flexibility and responsiveness have become core priorities. Those who invest in tech-enabled hiring processes and clear candidate experiences are currently maintaining a significant competitive advantage.”
So, what can we do to improve the candidate experience, especially in relation to how we use technology in our hiring process?
Here’s what Mark Astbury, Director of Project & Change Recruitment at Morgan McKinley UK, advises, urging us not to let candidate experience suffer, even in a client-led market.
1. Break Out of the “Perfect” Candidate Mindset
Although businesses have a lot of options, it’s leading to hiring paralysis, says Mark: “Hiring managers are searching for that needle in the haystack that sometimes doesn’t even exist. They may want a perfect nine or ten, yet in a different market, they’d hire a six or seven who has the ability to grow and develop new skills.” Inevitably, this can impact candidate experience.
And these delays are something to be very mindful of: “In a tight talent market, hesitation is costly. It signals indecision to candidates, particularly the strongest ones. And when candidates have a poor experience, they’ll share it with others in their network, which can lead to reputational damage. The organisations that will win and stay ahead are those that act decisively in their hiring.”
2. Eliminate the "Black Hole" Effect
The problem here is that when high quality candidates are left waiting around in a ‘black hole’ of delayed communication, they don’t pause to reassess, explains Mark: “They think that delays signal indecision and internal misalignment that quickly erode the confidence the candidate has in the organisation.”
Another layer of complication here is that top talent are often considering multiple opportunities: “If another company has a slick, efficient hiring process and can make an offer within two weeks, that’s the organisation likely to win the candidate. Businesses need to increase their speed and clarity as part of their value proposition.”
3. Create Clear Expectations From the Outset
To remedy that, setting clear process timelines and maintaining consistent communication is key, particularly in relation to salary expectations, says Mark: “The last thing you want to do is end up four or five stages into the hiring process and lose a candidate because they are seeking a completely different package to what the client is offering.”
Mark has also seen the damage caused when expectations shift late in the process. In some cases, candidates with highly niche skills have been presented with offers similar to their current salary, despite earlier discussions aligning around a higher figure:
“That approach seriously erodes trust between the candidate and the client.” In reality, such a move is unlikely to succeed, except perhaps when a candidate is currently out of work.
4. Use AI to Save Time for the More Human Elements
There is a time and a place for AI in recruitment, reinforces Mark: “I use it regularly to write quicker, more professional emails to clients.” In fact, on a broader scale, it can establish automated updates for the candidate throughout the process, so that they’re not left waiting.
“Imagine a candidate receiving a timely, personalised update giving them visibility and predicting where they are in the process”, says Mark. The ‘black hole’ effect of candidates not hearing a response for weeks is one of their biggest frustrations, explains Mark.
And it needn’t be complicated: “Even using AI simply to acknowledge receipt of an application, or to confirm whether someone is progressing or isn’t quite the right fit, can make a significant difference.”.
5. Minimise Risk by Focusing on Alignment Over Capability
In a tight market, minimising the potential of a ‘bad hire’ is crucial. For this, Mark advises to focus on data linked to performance and retention. In his experience, hiring mistakes don’t tend to be about capability but a lack of alignment on the role, or selecting someone who may be completely siloed in one area and not want to learn new skills or try new things.
He suggests asking candidates about qualitative performance indicators, such as what they achieved within their first three to six months in a previous role, and which skills or behaviours drove immediate success. “It can also be worth comparing who you’re looking to hire with someone you’ve hired in the past who has been very successful and what they were able to deliver in a certain time frame.”
6. Utilise AI to Prioritise Skills Rather Than ‘Schools’
Another brilliant use case for AI to create a better candidate experience for new hires is to reduce the unconscious bias associated with particular names of schools, colleges or employers – something that traditional screening sometimes fails to do.
“For example, they may not have worked in your exact sector, but they may have operated in a similarly regulated or difficult, complex environment in a similar sized organisation”, says Mark. AI can help recruiters map these transferable skills and experiences, scanning talent pools to identify candidates who are well-suited for niche or challenging roles.
7. Future-Proof for the Next Market Pivot
UK businesses may technically have the upper hand right now, but this won’t always be the case. We need to be aware that candidate preferences are changing to be more value-driven: “They’re not just looking for a job or a particular salary, they’re looking for stability, flexibility, good cultural fit and that the organisation’s values are aligned to their own.”
This is especially the case for younger candidates for whom flexibility, genuine hybrid working and understanding around childcare and caring responsibilities are an expectation: “They want a trust and performance-based culture, rather than presenteeism,” explains Mark.
“If you can get your job done to a really good standard and you work from home two or three days a week, then that’s what’s important to them, rather than being in the office for 10 hours a day or turning up at a certain time like it used to be 15-20 years ago when it was five days in-office”.
His parting words? It’s all about creating a positive candidate experience: “Remember you’re not just interviewing the candidate. Each candidate is also interviewing you to see if your organisation is a place that they want to work. So it’s up to the recruiter to sell it from the offset and as they go through the process together.”
After all, markets are cyclical and the UK job market conditions will eventually shift back to a candidate-driven environment at some point over the next few years.
“Organisations who maintain high standards, clarity and speed will be in the best position to compete later. Good hiring discipline even in difficult times will protect your long-term competitive advantage.”
Want to learn more about the trends defining the UK jobs market? Download our new salary guide – or speak to one of our consultants about your hiring.
