What is user experience (UX) and how does it impact recruitment?

User experience (UX): a recruitment definition

User experience (also known as UX) is a term from the marketing and design industries. It refers to all the experiences a user will have when interacting with a product, service, website or application.

User experience includes all the perceptions, emotions, impressions and reactions of a person during his or her interaction(s) with a career site, if we take the example of the world of Talent Acquisition.

A good UX means the user is immersed in a positive experience that takes his or her needs fully into account. It also offers easy-to-identify and easy-to-understand design and features, so that the user's interaction with the product, service, site, application, etc. is seamless.

Of course, UX isn't just about design; it's about the entire user experience, from first contact to the end of the “experience”. Ergonomics, accessibility, navigation quality, terms that are easy to understand, clarity of messages... All this (and much more besides) makes up UX.

Talent Acquisition: digital user experience is key

When developing a website or application, UX has become an indispensable criterion. This is of course also the case for career sites and job boards, which you can make available from these career areas.

UX design, Experience design and User Centered Design have become essential elements in the development of this type of tool. By focusing on the user in a digital ecosystem, you increase your chances of attracting candidates and not just visitors.

How do you combine user experience (UX) and recruitment?

The first thing to bear in mind is that we talk more about the candidate experience than the user experience. But after all, when a potential candidate arrives on a career site, he's still just a visitor/user. They will only become candidates if their user experience is of the highest quality.

User experience is essential in the world of recruitment, especially as you have to be increasingly convincing when it comes to the persistent candidate shortage.

Whether customers or candidates, these profiles are the users behind your contact points. The aim is always the same: to create a positive first contact with potential candidates and convince them to apply for the opportunities you offer.

Here are the different aspects that particularly influence the user experience of your potential candidates, whether this concerns their digital contact with you or your various verbal or written exchanges.

Career site and online application

A well-designed career site and the ability to apply online smoothly and easily are essential conditions for ensuring that candidates consider applying. A positive UX on the career site involves a clear structure, attractive and informative content, simple navigation and an intuitive user interface for the application process.

Ergonomics for candidates

To ensure a positive candidate experience, the entire application process needs to be as ergonomic and efficient as possible. Recruiters should put themselves in the candidate's shoes and adapt the process to their needs at every stage. This applies, for example, to

• interviews outside working hours,
• no change of contact person,
• answering candidates' questions,
• steps in the recruitment process defined from the start,
• etc.

Communication and feedback for a quality candidate experience

UX also depends on the quality of exchanges between candidates and their contacts in your company throughout the process. Prompt responses, regular updates about their application status, constructive feedback on their qualities and areas for improvement... All this shows how important candidates are to you, and helps to provide them with a positive experience. The same applies to the transparency you can show when talking about your company, its culture, values, benefits and opportunities. You're building a relationship of trust.

Employer branding: a foundation for the candidate experience

Employer brand and candidate experience influence each other. A strong employer brand, reflecting diversity, sustainability and a caring corporate culture, has a positive impact on the candidate experience. At the same time, the employer brand image improves thanks to the positive experience of candidates, who can then testify to the quality of the company as a potential employer.

The user experience, especially when transformed into the candidate experience, is essential to attracting talent, improving the quality of applications and ensuring that the company attracts the best profiles for open positions.

Recruitment: how can we measure user experience?

Yes, user experience can be measured using a range of tools and techniques.

For example, the conversion rate, as an indicator of success, shows how successful you are in converting potential applicants into candidates, and ultimately into new employees.

Find out more: Conversion & recruitment: what are we talking about?

Google Analytics and other web analytics tools can be used to evaluate the user experience on websites (in this case, career sites), using values such as :

• number of pages viewed
• visit duration,
• click-through or abandonment rates.

A/B testing enables you to test different variants of a web page (text, image, information layout, action button, etc.) in advance. The different variants are tested on a few test visitors, in order to gather enough comprehensive data to define which variant works best in relation to the target objective: number of clicks, number of forms filled in, etc. The variant with the best results is then used as the basis for the next test. The variant with the best results is then applied to all subsequent visitors.

On web pages, heat maps can show how potential candidates move around the page, and which elements generate the most (or least) interaction.

Then, of course, there are the classic polls. Candidates are asked to fill in a short list of questions about their individual user experience.

By analyzing these different values regularly and over the long term, it's easy to identify positive and negative changes in the potential candidate's user experience, and to improve it where necessary.

Why is UX so important, especially for a career site?

A successful user experience can have a lasting influence on a website's ranking in search results. Search engines like Google use website data and various signals triggered by user behavior, such as :

• time spent on site
• number of pages visited in a single session
• presence on the SERP (Search Engine Result Page), i.e. the search engine results page
• click-through rate...

Good visibility of their career site is extremely important for companies, as many potential candidates start their job search on Google or another search engine.

Top 10 UX tips for a good career site

An ergonomic career site is an essential step in attracting the best profiles. It often becomes the first contact point for potential candidates. The user experience of a career site is crucial to its success. Here are the top ten UX tips for a good career site.

But first, take a look at our article “Diagnosing your career site: 10 points to check”.

• Intuitive navigation: Use clear terms adapted to your visitors' vocabulary for: titles, menu headings, action buttons, etc.
• A career site optimized for mobiles: You'll often hear talk of a “responsive” career site, i.e. one that adapts to all screen types (computer, mobile and tablet). Make sure your different pages are adapted to these different devices, including your form pages.
• Filters for a better job search: Set up an ergonomic job exchange on your career site, with intelligent search and filter functions. Allow candidates to save their job searches or set up job alerts.
• Job ads with clear job titles: Make sure you write ads with clear job titles that are adapted to your target audience. In fact, this should be the case for the entire ad: each part should be useful and as explicit as possible.
• No-obligation applications: Don't make it compulsory to register on your job exchange, as this will discourage future applicants. Offer features that make applying quick and easy: 1-click application, automatic application by uploading a CV or LinkedIn profile, etc.
• Attractive content... but authentic: In addition to text, use images and videos, photographs or graphics that give a better idea of your working environment. Ideally, use photos of your employees and your premises. Don't forget to ask for their permission to distribute them!
• Employee ambassadors: Rely on your loyal and happy employees to become your ambassadors to potential candidates. Write portraits of them, showcase them in short videos, present their projects and how they carried them out... You'll make your company more real and more human.
• A real employer promise: highlight the advantages you have to offer as an employer. In this way, you begin to demonstrate your added value to future candidates. Your EVP (Employee Value Proposition) will enable you to communicate your values, culture and missions in clear, concise terms. Don't forget to make these elements concrete with real-life examples.
• Must-haves - FAQ, resources and contact: Potential candidates sometimes want to know more, to find out more. FAQ's (frequently asked questions) provide answers to the questions most frequently asked by the talents who come to meet you. Include a contact page for unanswered questions! And don't hesitate to create a blog and/or practical pages to help future candidates learn more about your sector, your professions, your projects, your products, etc.
• Regular optimization of your career site: Don't forget the technical quality of your site, and make sure your pages load as quickly as possible. Navigation should be smooth: easy links between pages, good-sized text, no error pages or broken links...

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