Candidate experience covers how a candidate feels about the hiring process they went through - communication, speed, fairness and clarity - regardless of whether they were ultimately hired.
What it means
A poor candidate experience affects more than the individual candidate: unsuccessful candidates talk about their experience publicly and can become customers or future applicants, making candidate experience part of employer branding even after a process ends in rejection.
Where it fits in
Drop-off at any stage of the recruitment funnel is often a candidate experience problem - slow responses or unclear communication causing strong candidates to withdraw - which is why funnel metrics and candidate experience are usually reviewed together.
Key rules
- A candidate's overall perception of the hiring process, win or lose.
- Affects employer branding even for candidates who are not hired.
- Poor experience is a common cause of drop-off in the recruitment funnel.
- Reviewed alongside funnel metrics, not as a separate, soft-only measure.
