03/29/2016  //  By deanna kane //  Candidate Experience
[socialwrap][socialicon name=”linkedin”][socialicon name=”twitter”][/socialwrap]While the daily responsibilities of a recruiting department and a client success department seem drastically different, there are many more similarities than what meets the eye. Below are six lessons recruiting teams can take away from client success team, and apply to recruiting efforts.

Lesson 1. Customer service is at the heart of every transaction.Strong customer service skills are vital in recruiting and sealing the deal with top talent. From the first point of contact to the offer stage, each candidate should walk away from your company as a brand ambassador, whether they accepted the offer or not.

Lesson 2. The art of influence is really an art, and you can learn it, too. Influence isn’t only important in client success; it transitions into every stage of the recruitment process. When candidates are searching for their next position, make insight into your company’s culture easy to find. Use your website’s career page to feature employee spotlights that link to their LinkedIn profiles, share photos that convey the culture and create employee testimonial videos to offer a more personal view into your brand.

Nurture future candidates using a talent community to provide a venue for future applicants to remain engaged with your organization until a relevant position becomes available. Your talent community should include company updates, newsletters and customized job alerts.

Lesson 3. You’re a direct reflection of the company. For many candidates, you are their first point of contact and for some, their only point of contact. Create an excellent candidate experience by being transparent about your culture and hiring process, preparing candidates for interviews with the rest of the team, being a gracious host if they have an on-site interview, over-communicating during the interview process and if necessary, delivering bad news over the phone.

Lesson 4. Small talk is bigger than you think. Something as simple as writing down personal anecdotes at the time a passive candidate shares it with you can help develop a relationship and establish a rapport. This type of relationship is especially helpful when you need to tap into your talent pipeline to fill a position quickly.

Lesson 5. The delivery is as important as the message. Client success teams are used to delivering both good and bad news. Whether you’re letting a candidate know they won’t be advancing in the process, or you’re giving a candidate her dream offer, make sure your delivery leaves all candidates with a positive experience with your company.

Lesson 6. Know your value prop. Your client success team is often the first place to go to learn what sets your company apart from competitors, and potential candidates are just as curious about your strengths as clients. Know what your company does well and how it compares to your competition.

To learn more about measuring the candidate’s experience during the recruitment period, read 5-Step Checklist to Measure the Candidate Experience.