Crafting the candidate experience

I read this neat article on MSN titled "15 ways stores trick you into spending". I just wanted to share a few of the highlights of the tricks they listed. Some of them are obvious but their all interesting. One of these tricks was that the desirable departments are placed far away from the entrance. Another one of the tricks mentioned was that impulse-oriented items are placed near the checkouts. Another one commonly known one was that the most expensive versions of a product are the ones at eye level. Staple items are placed in the middle of aisles, nonessential and overpriced items near the end.

The list goes on and on but what seemed interesting to me is how the whole shopping experience is planned strategically to maximize the impact to the bottom line during the short time the shopper will walk the aisle.

What occurred to me was, if the stores like Kroger’s, Walmart, and Eckerd’s who sell .59 cent items invest so much thought into developing strategies for selling us those items, shouldn’t we as sourcers and recruiters invest more thought into developing strategies to maximize the experience of the candidate we are courting?

Every step of the experience should be well calculated to give them reasons to choose to stop and pick me over every other sourcer and recruiter. Remember the grocery store shopping experience is not littered with “PICK ME, PICK ME” signs or messages. It is littered with temping reasons to stop. If one strategy didn’t work to temp you as you walk then the next one surely will.
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