7 factors that influence people’s opinions of an employer

Published on March 10, 2020on Employer Branding

How do you get them to like you? Well, according to our survey, these are the top 7 things that influence a candidate’s opinion of you as an employer.

7. The corporate culture

Before anyone takes a leap into a new role they want to know what it’s actually like to work there. How does the company treat employees? What kind of work ethic does everyone have? Does this company have a mission and values they align with? Which is why showcasing your organisation’s culture and values is really important when attracting candidates.

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6. Online research

People will look you up. Linkedin stalking, scouring your company website, scrolling through reviews. They want to find out as much as they can about you as an employer and hear what people who work there really think too. Getting employees to talk about your company or creating content through blogs and articles can be a great way to connect the candidate with your organisation.

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5. Speed of application process

No one likes filling out a million forms just to get to round one of the interview. Making sure the application process is as simple as possible, especially in the early rounds, will help candidates to feel at ease early on. You’ll also have a lot less drop off of applications if there are less steps.

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4. The job is a good fit

The job has to be right for the candidate, and how you can make sure that happens is writing clear, concise and simple job descriptions. That way you won’t have lots of people applying who don’t fit the bill. You could also make sure you set out their role early on in the interview process, this could be directly from someone already doing the job or from the hiring manager to clearly set expectations.

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3. Post interview feedback

Everyone’s been there, you’ve had an interview and you’re waiting patiently to get something, anything, back from the employer. Even if the candidate you interviewed was unsuccessful, it’s so important to give prompt feedback so as not to put them off applying for other roles in the future.

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2. Organisation’s reputation

An obvious one, but how the rest of the world perceives your organisation is the second most important thing. Although reputation can be a hard thing to shift if it’s negative, there are lots of ways you can promote the positives. Glowing employee testimonials are a great way to showcase what your organisation is actually like as an employer. Or tackling the negatives head on with your solutions demonstrate awareness and proactivity.

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1. Impression left by the interviewer

This one may be a little surprising but, according to our survey, it’s the most important thing to candidates (almost 82%). Good body language, feedback and generally the flow of conversation are all factors that might influence this. Making sure you choose the right person to conduct the interview or providing hiring managers with training could be a good step towards improving your reputation as an organisation.