Increase candidate satisfaction and protect brand integrity by reducing the friction tax in the candidate journey
Last year, I got off one of my first sales calls for ACMC. The prospect had submitted an inquiry through my website looking for social media strategic support. Once we got on the phone, I realized pretty quickly that while I had a strong corporate resume, I didn't yet have a formalized portfolio of "proof" showing the specific outcomes I’ve accomplished. Referrals are great, but nothing beats cold, hard data :).
I paused and considered getting a marketing certification to help accelerate my credibility with prospects who didn't know me yet. As a stay-at-the-home mom running a business, I had a strict budget, but I felt a certification would be the easiest path to establishing trust while I built out a formal portfolio.
“Operationally speaking, candidates shouldn't have to jump hurdles just to find basic information, log into a profile, or launch an exam.”
Like most people do, I went to Google, searched for a few exams that held weight marketing, and clicked through to their websites.
Almost immediately, I hit wall after wall of information, none of which was particularly helpful. I couldn't find answers to simple questions, like how much does this certification cost? or what are the maintenance requirements? Frustrated, this got me thinking: Why isn't the candidate journey prioritized in this process? Operationally speaking, candidates shouldn't have to jump hurdles just to find basic information, log into a profile, or launch an exam.
I eventually did take an exam. During the remote proctoring readiness check, the proctor asked me to pull out a mirror and show them the four corners of my monitor. I understood why they were asking, but why would they expect me to have a mirror on hand? It was nowhere in the pre-testing communications or the candidate handbook.
While these situations might feel highly specific, my continued work with organizations has shown me a glaring pattern: many leadership teams rarely pause to actually look at the end-to-end journey a candidate experiences before, during, and after testing. Many pause to look at test design, advanced security measure, etc. So why is this left unconsidered?
An exercise that results in an operational roadmap for a more satisfied candidate experience
User journey mapping isn’t new. It’s an exercise used to understand how a user experiences a product or service as they move from phase to phase, and it applies across B2B and B2C ecosystems alike. Now, I’ll caveat this by saying I’m not a designer, developer, or UI/UX expert. I’m a marketer who has learned a thing or two along the way about what good practices look like.
At its core, journey mapping takes feedback from data and people, combining them to tell a heuristic story. You look at quantitative data, like website drop-off points or unfinished applications, alongside qualitative inputs like survey results. Then, you bring the right people into the room. To do this effectively, you need a diverse group of internal staff from different departments and seniority levels, and you should even consider bringing in actual examinees who have lived the process.
The value of this exercise is: by reducing friction points, more candidates move through your lifecycle with ease. You lose fewer people to the competition. Furthermore, a seamless journey reflects positively on your reputation and brand authority (and keeps you free of bad Reddit reviews!).
I recently lent my expertise and advice on this topic, both the why and the how, to the I.C.E. Credentialing Insights online journal. Those articles are featured below.
