The reality is that sometimes being the applicant is not a great experience. You apply for a job and then you never hear any more about it. Or you go on the interview and don’t get the job wondering what went wrong. These things can lead to a frustrating applicant experience. Fearless job seeker, remember it takes up to twenty-seven interviews before you get hired. Think about how many times you will have to apply before you get an interview! While this can be frustrating, know that good talent teams will work hard to make your experience better. These talent teams are the ones that create a vibe about the type of place you want to join. Currently, I lead the Talent Acquisition team at North Carolina Department of Revenue where we have over 30,000 applicants apply each year. Only about five percent of those 30,000 get the job. Not knowing where you stand in the crowd can be really discouraging. Everyday we are working hard to bring a better experience to those that apply.
Over the last three days our Talent Team delivered two workshops about the applicant experience. The first workshop gave insights and tools for the job seeker to create their best application, learn and search about opportunities in our agency, and highlight their significant accomplishments on their application. One key insight we taught to our employees when thinking about their significant accomplishments is to ask two questions: “What problem did I solve and what talents/skills did I use?” Then we showed how using action words to creatively make your resume will make you stand out from the crowd. Your resume is the first step into the door that thousands are trying to enter.
In our second workshop, we discussed how to interview, created our 90-second career story, and practiced how to best answer behavioral interview questions. We helped our employees focus on creating engaging conversation in their interviews so that they have an opportunity to understand the real job details and be one of the top candidates to be considered for the job.
Our Talent Team delivered first-class workshops engaging our employees through group exercises, discussion, and even acting! Developing workshops like these helps build a diverse talent community, attracts higher quality applicants to apply, and lets our workforce know that we really do care about their experience. And the best part, if you come work with us, you get to spend two days having fun with the Talent Team! If you would like to learn more about jobs at the Department of Revenue or with the State of NC visit, www.workfornc.gov.
Is your organization, agency, or business focused on the applicant experience? Are you a job seeker knocking at the door only to experience silence? Leave a comment!
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