How Airbnb hires is closely tied to its brand. “Belong Anywhere” is the company tagline, representing its mission to build a trusted community of people and places to stay. So, imagine if a candidate applied to the community-based brand, only to hear nothing back? The contradiction would be a disappointment, and Airbnb would lose hundreds of its hosts or guests. So, Airbnb's Talent Acquisition team wanted to ensure that “Belong Anywhere” resonates throughout the entire recruiting process. 

At last week's Talent Acquisition Forum, Jill Riopelle, Head of Recruiting at Airbnb, shared the story of building a great candidate experience at the company. How they got there may surprise you.

Lately, there's been a movement to evolve the job description, typically a laundry list of skills and experiences needed to perform a job (example: "a degree in communications"). These descriptions are terrible predictors of future success, and can be so specific that they weed out great prospects. Instead, companies are using job descriptions as an opportunity to develop employer branding, provide a great candidate experience, and lure top talent. Here are 10 unique job description examples to inspire you.

Even after you’ve created your Scorecard and had several successful interviews with a candidate, sometimes he or she simply isn’t the best fit. Although rejecting candidates is probably your least favorite activity, it’s one of the most important steps of the hiring process. A thoughtful and timely rejection is the cornerstone of the candidate experience, and there’s a right and wrong way to approach it.

Today, HR and recruiting leaders are becoming more mindful of emerging technologies and how new resources and functionalities can enhance everyday habits. Mobile recruiting falls right in this category.

Now at nearly 400 employees, Pinterest has put a lot of thought into its people. A recruiter was one of the first hires that CEO Ben Silbermann made when building his team. From the beginning, the company sets a high culture bar for candidates, knowing that the people who make up the organization truly are its differentiating factor.

Pinterest has defined its four core values: Knit, Go, Put Pinners First, and Be Authentic. These values are woven into the culture and recruiting practices - from internal collaboration to a great candidate experience.

As a software company selling a recruiting platform, we better be good at recruiting, right? We have built a product that’s helping some of the most prolific brands on the planet build better companies. We’ve learned from a lot of our customers, and they’ve learned from us, but one thing is for sure, we practice what we preach.

In today’s competitive environment, recruiters need to find a way to stand out and make a lasting impression. A great candidate experience will land you top talent and is an important part of building a positive and effective work environment.

Four years ago, Talent Board started The Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards. At that time, there was little or no discussion around companies with a positive candidate experience, and certainly no data. Today the nonprofit has research, benchmark information, and insights collected from nearly 50,000 candidates who applied to 100 companies over the last year.