When you seek someone for a job opening, it is easy to focus on the needs of your company. Reserve some time to think about your brand, however, and how that is reflected by your interview process.

Social media is powerful and universal. It provides your candidates with an opportunity to complain, praise, or share information about your company. The experience your candidates have when they interview with you has the potential to be very far-reaching.

If someone has a bad experience with you, they don’t complain to a few friends anymore. They tell the world.

So, do your potential hires enjoy or endure interviews with your firm?

You can do several things to ensure a positive experience for potential employees:

  • Be clear – Be upfront about the position in question. If you post that you are hiring for a sales executive, for example, you are likely to receive applications from those with experience and a maybe degree. If they get to your office and find out that you need someone to get coffee for the current sales executive, they are going to be disappointed, frustrated, or angry, which can lead to bad publicity for your firm.
  • Be polite and respectful – If a candidate finds a group of people in your office who are crude, cracking racist jokes, or are just plain rude, she may not only be put off, but she may share her experience with the world. This is how a candidate’s bad hiring and interview experience can hurt your brand/business.
  • Hire the person that deserves the job – A company that only hires people from a certain college or neighborhood, foregoing the most qualified candidate, is likely to be outed. This is rarely less damning than when it happens via social media. A shareable post from a disgruntled candidate can fuel fires that burn online longer than you would like.
  • The last thing that is important to remember is to end the process clearly. Don’t let the hiring process fizzle out. Let all applicants know what happened, not only those who were successful. It is not fair to applicants to leave them hanging. Getting in touch with unsuccessful candidates can boost goodwill regarding your firm. Plus, you won’t be fielding calls from people checking on their hiring status.

A positive applicant experience is more than courtesy. It’s beneficial to your brand and your bottom line. Be upfront, be respectful, be fair, and offer closure to ensure the best experience potential employees can have.