Want to hire the best? Candidate experience is critical

As a start-up / scale-up leader in cleantech, growing your team will be one of your biggest priorities. You need A players that will bring experience and credibility and enhance your culture. 

Well guess what, what you're not alone! The battle to attract the best talent is fierce right now so you'll need to find an edge over your competitors if you're going to be successful. One critical area to give you that edge is the Candidate Experience, which is often overlooked by companies. 

Great people are in demand and will often have the luxury of choosing where they want to move next. Of course, it's important that candidates are motivated for your company but you've also got to see this as a two-way street - you need to sell your brand and culture to them because ultimately how you make them feel throughout the hiring process, could make or break whether they join you. (If I had £100 for every candidate experience horror story I've heard over my 11 year recruitment career, then I'd be sat somewhere sunny with a frozen margarita right now!)

This Forbes article summarises the benefits well but it is also important for you, as a business leader, to consider this as a key criteria when selecting your recruitment approach. So many companies choose a recruitment agency (very different to a Executive Search firm!) as they charge lower fees, but have you ever stopped the think why are their rates lower? The old adage, you get what you pay for, right?

One of the key benefits of an Executive Search partner, amongst many (visit more insights here), is the time dedicated to coaching and guiding candidates through your hiring process. The emphasis is on quality. It's not a case of a short call, send their CV and leave the rest to the client, but in fact candidates are managed through each step of the journey - the tailored approach made to each candidate, the way your company's mission is sold to them, the in-depth alignment interviews, the interview preparations and feedback calls (underestimated), and finally the offer management stage.

Transparent communication and constant feedback loops are critical - something we're very proud of here at Hyperion (as you can see in the testimonials below). Ultimately it comes down to our care for both the candidates and for our clients. Nobody wants to be “ghosted” or kept in the dark for weeks at a time - if it was me, I'd certainly remember that for the future. It's one of the reasons many of our candidates have become clients, because they experienced a high quality candidate experience first hand.

As a company leader, I advise you to consider this crucial area when next selecting your recruitment partner. The experience you offer to candidates reflects on your business brand, and in a market like cleantech / climate tech, word travels fast! 

If you are looking for support on your next hiring mission, please get in touch. We help hundreds of cleantech / climate tech startups and scaleups to grow their teams across Europe. 

                           “Transparent communication and constant feedback loops are critical ”