What the FTE? is a podcast by Certn, where we explore the tough questions surrounding the future of work, risk management, and employee experience. Whether you’re an HR leader, a TA newbie, or simply curious about the changing nature of work, this podcast provides you with practical insights to help you secure your seat at the table.
In this episode, Corey Shaw, the Founder of North Star Talent, joins Certnâs global People & Culture Advisor, Maya Bellay, in a conversation about rethinking recruitment to make the candidate experience actually worth talking about.
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Coreyâs all about flipping the script on how companies attract and develop talent. Before North Star Talent, he was building recruitment programs from the ground up, whether that meant breathing life back into a stagnant program or scaling it during a period of hyper growth.
One thing that stands out from all his experience, and part of what he loves about heading up North Star, is creating hiring processes that make candidates feel valued from start to finish. It’s the whole “treat people like people” philosophy, and it’s a huge win for companies who truly invest in their hiring experience.
Corey knows that when you treat candidates well, itâs not just about filling a position, it builds your employer brand and sets the stage for long-term success. Plus, it helps build a pipeline of candidates whoâll remember your company for the right reasons. Pretty simple, right? Treat people with respect, and the payoff goes way beyond just filling a role.
The Benefits of a Positive Candidate Experience
When companies focus on delivering an amazing candidate experience, theyâre not just building a stronger brand and attracting the right talent. Theyâre setting themselves up for long-term success, both in bringing in top-notch people and keeping them around for the long haul.
More specifically, an amazing candidate experience is linked to:
Shorter Time-to-Hire
A great candidate experience means faster decisions. When candidates are treated well, theyâre not running off to other offers before youâve had a chance to make up your mind. And when the process is clear, smooth, and quick, your hiring team can act fast, so no more dragging your feet through endless interviews and back-and-forths.
Higher Candidate Engagement and Retention Rates
Letâs be real, when candidates feel like you actually value them, even if they donât land the gig, theyâre still likely to stay engaged. They might not be your new hire today, but they could recommend others or come back for a future opportunity. Thatâs how you build a network of advocates who keep your talent pool fresh and engaged, even when they’re not in the process.
Lower Recruitment Costs
Now, a great candidate experience doesnât just help you land the right people, it can actually save you money. When your process is smooth, people stick around, reducing the chances that youâll need to backtrack and replace candidates. And when youâve got a reputation for treating candidates right, your employer branding takes care of itself. Less money spent chasing after talent, and more flowing naturally to you.
Greater Candidate Quality
As Maya and Corey discuss, great talent wants to work for companies that get it. When candidates see that youâve got a professional, respectful, and well-structured hiring process, theyâre way more likely to take you seriously. This means the top-quality candidates who are actively seeking companies that take care of their people will be knocking on your door, and theyâre going to commit because they can see you take that extra step.
Stronger Employer Brand
When candidates have a solid experience, theyâre way more likely to talk about it, even if they donât get the job. A smooth, respectful, and engaging hiring process will have people spreading the word for you. And when your brand is the one theyâre hyping up, guess who shows up at your door? Top-tier talent. Because they know you value your people, and thatâs magnetic.
Better Long-Term Relationships
Even if a candidate doesnât get the job, thatâs not the end of the road. A positive experience leaves the door wide open for them to become long-term ambassadors for your company. Theyâll speak highly of you, stay interested in future roles, and potentially even refer top candidates your way. Thatâs how you build a network of engaged people that reduces the time and effort needed to source talent down the line.
Positive Impact on Employee Experience
Building a positive candidate experience doesnât just pay off in the hiring phase, it sets the tone for everything that follows. When your hiring process reflects the way you treat your employees, it creates a unified, supportive culture. Candidates get a taste of your values, and so do your future hires, meaning they walk in the door knowing theyâre joining a company that truly practices what it preaches.
Building an Effective Recruitment Program
How do you integrate these elements into your recruitment program? Hereâs Coreyâs recipe for building a successful recruitment program:
- Identity the current reality
- Name the aspirational state
These are the two goal posts. Easy enough, right?
Obviously HR leaders know this involves a lot of hard work.
Step one: you have to get the facts straight. Dig into the numbers. How many applicants are we talking? How many actually make it through the process? Add a little qualitative flavor with surveys or chats with the senior team to get a real sense of how the candidate experience is actually playing out.
Now that youâve got your baseline, itâs time to get creative. Coreyâs approach? Start with a simple but powerful question: âWhat do you want to change? And why?â
Each brand has its own vibe, its own employee value proposition. If you align any changes with that, youâve got a roadmap. But Corey isnât just about surface-level tweaks. Itâs about making sure those changes feed into the bigger picture. When it clicks with the companyâs overall goals, thatâs when youâre moving the needle. And honestly? When youâre aligned with the companyâs strategy, buy-in becomes a lot easier. Itâs still a grind, but itâs a grind that moves you forward.
Not to say itâs not a lot of work!
Cross-Functional Stakeholder Engagement
Even in the best case scenario, getting stakeholder buy-in is challenging for HR because everyone has a different perspective.
On speaking to the metrics that matter:
Corey has some solid advice when it comes to getting stakeholders on board, and itâs all about being real and strategic.
- First things first, understand what drives your companyâs culture and make sure your strategy aligns with that. Donât skip this step; itâs foundational.
- Next, get in early with the senior leadership team. Donât wait for them to come to you. Tailor your approach to their goals so it feels like youâre working towards the same big picture.
- Then, make sure youâre crystal clear on the processes and expectations for collaboration. If things need to change, propose a solid solution to any potential roadblocks, and donât just leave it at the problem.
- For the hiring managers? Speak their language. Understand their roles, adjust your messaging, and show them how your program helps them do what they do even better.
- Finally, donât just present the talent acquisition program as a nice-to-have. Frame it in terms of the metrics that actually move the business forward because at the end of the day, thatâs whatâs gonna get you the real buy-in.
Candidate Experience
The companies that are winning? Theyâre treating candidates like customers. It’s not just about handing out jobs, itâs about giving people an experience that actually means something. Candidates are picky now, just filling a role doesnât cut it anymore. From that first job post to the offer letter, it all has to feel like a seamless, thoughtful interaction. If you can make that happen? Youâre already miles ahead in the talent race.
In this vein, Maya and Corey discuss, âWhat does it look like when an organization is doing candidate experience well?â
âI think the organizations that do it well are the ones that really focus on understanding the critical stages of the candidate experience, all the way from people that are surfing their career site to application to going through the front-end screening process, the interview process, right through to shortlist and onboarding.â
Corey shares that as you contemplate all the stages of the recruitment and hiring process separately and as a whole, what you want to focus on is engaging and attractingâcreating that awareness and excitement about the organization’s culture, brand, and opportunitiesâwhile at the same time getting to know the candidates, their passions, skill sets, and guiding candidates through a meaningful interaction. There are many amazing technologies that can help, too.
âWhat Iâm really excited about with today’s technology stack is that there are technologies that give candidates a very authentic sneak peek and insights into the culture of the organization. Many organizations have an incredible employee brand and employee value proposition, and it’s authentic, it’s meaningful. But let’s be honest, you know, sometimes candidates are still rightfully a little bit skeptical.â
Candidate Experience Tools
Recruitment is changing, and technology is at the center of it all. Itâs not just about posting job openings anymore, itâs about giving candidates a glimpse into your culture and automating the boring stuff so you can focus on what matters. HR leaders, itâs time to treat your recruitment process like a marketing campaign. Your message, your content, your interactions, all of it should speak directly to the people you’re trying to engage. Make it authentic, make it resonate.
A few of the tools that Corey likes are:
Maya: Youâve worked with so many different organizations. Whoâs absolutely nailing the candidate experience? Do you have any examples of a few organizations that you’ve seen or some examples of a knock-it-out-of-the-park kind of candidate experience?
Corey: I would call out Canada Life. It’s just an incredible organization thatâs built an authentic, impactful employee promise. They walked the talk in terms of how their employees are engaged. It’s all about leadership. The leaders are the talent champions.
The Future of Recruitment
In Five Years, Recruitment Will Be About Building Relationships, Not Just Filling Jobs
As the job market continues to evolve, organizations will need to focus on long-term relationship building with candidates, rather than viewing recruitment as a transactional process.
Delivering an exceptional candidate experience isnât just a matter of improving processes, it’s about shifting mindsets. Companies will need to foster a community of talent that feels connected to the organizationâs mission, even before a job opening arises. This shift will help organizations maintain a competitive edge in the ever-tightening labor market.
Coreyâs Perspective on the Future of Recruitment
Corey thinks five years from now, strong leaders and talent champions are going to be the ones running the show in recruitment. The companies that win? Theyâll get it. Theyâll treat their candidates like customers, giving them an experience thatâs not just transactional but something that reflects the brandâs values.
Leadership is everything in recruitment. The right leaders set the tone, shape the culture, and are the ones advocating for top talent. HR leaders need to make sure the C-suite is invested in the process because when theyâre on board, it creates that wave of momentum to bring in the best.
Candidates donât just want to feel like theyâre another application in a pile. They want to know that their passion, their curiosity, and their expertise matter. Delivering an exceptional candidate experience isnât just about checking boxes, itâs about treating them like humans. Even if they donât get the job, they can walk away feeling positive, ready to spread the word, and act as brand ambassadors for your company. Thatâs how you build a loyal network that champions your culture long after the interview is over.
Recruitment Programs Need to Align with Business Strategy for Long-Term Success
Recruitment programs can’t just exist in their own little bubble. They’ve got to be in sync with the bigger picture, your company’s goals and business strategies. Itâs like trying to bake a cake without the right ingredients; if itâs not aligned, itâs just not going to work.
When recruitment is tied into the broader business strategy, and you’re actually engaging with stakeholders the right way, things start to click. Throw in some tech to give candidates an authentic peek into your culture, and bam, youâve got stronger connections and the right talent knocking on your door.
Looking ahead, itâs crystal clear: HR leaders who think like marketers, treat candidates like customers, and create a smooth, transparent process? They’re the ones whoâll stand out in the crowded talent market. They’re the ones who will make a real impact.
Tune into the full podcast: https://certn.co/podcast/
