the essential talent acquisition toolkit

THE ESSENTIAL

TALENT ACQUISITIONTOOLKIT

3 Candidate Persona Canvas Template

9 Candidate Journey Map

14 7 Must-Have Email Templates for Recruiters

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 The Essential Talent Acquisition Toolkit ©2021

ESTABLISHING EVP

Some candidates may be sold on the company just because they have a ping pong table in the office. But not every candidate is going to care about having a ping pong table at work.

Today’s candidates need and want more than a fun work environment alone. Their interests often extend beyond that, including things like:

EMPLOYEE VALUE

PROPOSITION

INDUSTRY » What is it about your industry that is interesting to a candidate?

» Is it a stable or booming industry?

BENEFITS» What health and work benefits does the company provide?

FLEXIBILITY» Can employees design their own work schedule?

» Is taking time off frowned upon?

INNOVATION » Is the product/service the company provides unique, cutting-edge, changing lives?

DEPARTMENT & TEAM » What’s the structure of the department?

» What’s their supervisor like and how do they manage?

COMPENSATION» What is the salary range?

» Is there bonus potential or other financial incentives?

CAREER» Is there opportunity for career advancement?

SKILLS » What skills are needed from day one?

» What new skills will I learn?


The next step is to effectively communicate your EVP to individual candidates in a manner that speaks to their unique interests, needs, and wants. The best way to do this is by developing candidate personas. What’s a candidate persona? Short and sweet, a candidate persona is a representation of what the ideal candidate for a particular role at your company looks like.

Your candidate personas should be a healthy balance between the aspects of your company that a rock star candidate would be attracted to and the skills, personality, and background you’re looking for in that candidate. The number of personas you design will depend on a number of factors:

» How many different roles are you trying to fill within the company?» Do you need different levels of experience? (i.e. Junior Sales Rep vs. Senior Sales Rep)» How many different locations do you have?» Do you have highly specialized or hard-to-fill positions?

Once you know how many candidate personas you need, you don’t need to create a candidate persona for every position you are trying to fill within your company. Begin by focusing on the highest priority ones right away.

To get started, focus on those positions that either require high volume hiring or highly specialized positions that are identified as hard-to-fill.

CANDIDATE PERSONA CANVAS


When developing candidate personas, it’s important to consider the following information:

SKILLSET » Does the candidate need to have specialized skills?» What skills are must-have and nice-to-have?

LOCATION» Do you need a local candidate or is remote work possible?» Is relocation or sponsorship an option for the right candidate?

WORK EXPERIENCE» How many years of experience?» What type of experience is needed? (i.e. industry)

EDUCATION » What level of education should be achieved by the candidate?» Is GPA or university important?

CULTURE» Do you want a candidate coming from a corporate or start-up environment?» What qualities would make them an excellent culture fit?» Does the candidate mirror company’s core values?

PROJECTS» Do they need experience working on special projects?» Should they have experience leading projects or working as an individual contributor?

PERSONALITY» What type of personality should they have? (i.e. outgoing, reserved, etc.)» What type of personality truly fits with the existing department or team dynamic?

CANDIDATE PERSONA CANVAS


What’s the age range?

What’s their current job title?

Where do they live?

How much do they earn?

What’s their educational background?

What’s their work experience?

What’s their family composition?

DEMOGRAPHICS

VALUES & GOALS

1. What challenges do they face in their current

role?

2. What makes them open to new opportunities?

THE PROBLEMS

1. Who do they report to?

2. Do they have management responsibilities?

3. If so, what are they?

ROLE AND LEVEL SENIORITY

1. What does their day-to-day look like?

2. What projects are they involved in?

3. How much responsibility do they have?

4. Are they a part of a team or an individual

contributor?

DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. What are their pain points in job searching?

2. What do they want their experience to look

like?

3. What’s holding them back from moving on to

a new opportunity?

COMMON OBJECTIONS

1. Where do they turn to for industry

information?

2. What thought leaders matter?

3. What information does the candidate rely on?

4. What type of content do they prefer?

INFO SOURCES & RESOURCES

1. What are their areas of focus?

2. What areas interest them (both inside &

outside of their current role)?

AREAS OF FOCUS

1. What are their individual core values?

2. What are their personal goals?

3. What are their professional goals?

Extrovert Introvert

Sensing Intuition

Thinking Feeling

Judging Perceiving

PERSONALITY

CANDIDATE PERSONA CANVAS EXAMPLE

7Phenom | The Essential Talent Acquisition Toolkit ©2021

DEMOGRAPHICS

VALUES & GOALS

THE PROBLEMS

ROLE AND LEVEL SENIORITY

DAILY RESPONSIBILITIES COMMON OBJECTIONS

INFO SOURCES & RESOURCES AREAS OF FOCUS

Extrovert Introvert

Sensing Intuition

Thinking Feeling

Judging Perceiving

PERSONALITY

CANDIDATE PERSONA CANVAS TEMPLATE

8Phenom | The Essential Talent Acquisition Toolkit ©2021

The candidate journey is the process an individual goes through during their job search. It’s not a reflection of a single journey by a candidate, but rather an aggregation of the many unique journeys taken by your candidates.

A candidate journey map allows you to see the collective thoughts, feelings, and actions of various candidates as they go about discovering new opportunities, researching companies, and deciding whether or not to apply to certain companies.

No two candidates will take the exact same journey.

Even if they take the exact same actions to discover, research, and apply for a job - their motivators will differ.

Therefore, those same two candidates will not have the exact same candidate experience. Mapping the candidate journey is an important part of building a candidate-centric experience with your company.

But how do you figure out which thoughts, feelings, and actions go into the candidate journey?

updatelinkedin

talk to friends & family

research glassdoor

reviews

job offer

networkwith hiringmanagers

interview

apply attarget

company

updateresume

search career

sites

interview

apply attarget

company

CANDIDATE JOURNEY


1

2

3

4

A candidate journey map defines all of the interactions a candidate may go through when applying to jobs – and even as they become an employee.

The map provides a way to visualize and effectively analyze how a candidate reacts to and engages with your EVP through the recruiting process.

It should be developed completely from the candidate’s perspective and capture their needs, wants, and interests. This includes the steps they take to navigate your process, and their perceptions of your EVP and process.

This visualization allows you to consider each and every touchpoint, identify gaps,and determine how to optimize the overall candidate experience to not only attract phenomenal talent to your company – but to create unique experiences for the candidates you ultimately want to hire and onboard now and in the future.

In order to create the candidate journey map, you need to outline the stages of thecandidate job search process from beginning to the time they apply.

As an example, these stages could broadly look like:

OFFER & ONBOARDING

INTERVIEW SELECTION

APPLICATION

AWARENESS


EXPERIENCE

TRIGGERS

THINKING

FEELING

ACTIONS

ExitPlanning

Research &Exploration

JobDiscovery

CompanyNavigation

ApplyProcess Waiting Interview

ProcessWork Pressure, LeadershipChange, Better Opportunity,Waiting on Promotion

Talk to Friends & Family, Researching, News Articles, Blogs

Value Proposition, Learning, Bene-fits & Perks, Culture

Website Look & Feel, Ease of Search, User Experience

Ease of Applying, Number of Steps, Resume Upload, User Experience

Follow-Up on App Status, Follow Company on Social Media, Research Hiring Manager

Interviewer, Team Collaboration, Hiring Manager, Type of Work

UpdateResume

AcquireNew Skills

InformFriends

UpdateLinkedIn

Subscribe toJob Alerts

Upload Resume on Job Portals

Look for Compensation & Market Value

Looking forPromotions

Find Local Companies

Search Job Market & Economy

Search for Job via Google& Land on

Company pageSearch for Jobs

by Location

Search in Job Boards

& Aggregators

Search Professional& Social Networks

Check OutCompany

Culture

Research Company,Projects, Clients, etc.

Search Job& Apply

Ask forReferral

Try to ReadCompany

Culture

Visit Careers Page

Direct Apply on Company Career Site

Apply throughReferrals

UnderstandUpload Resume

AnswerQuestionnaire

CloudApply

Wait for Updates

View CompanyReviews

View CompanySpecific Process

Reach out toHiring Manager

Research Interview Questions

via Glassdoor

Contact throughStaffing Agencies

Try to UnderstandJob Role

Look atInterviewers

Try to Match theJob Responsibilities

Gather RelevantDocuments

Try to Read Review

Research Salary

FindTestimonials

Ease of ApplyVia Social Sites

- Should I change jobs?- What are the easiest ways to find a job?- Is the job market good enough to make a change?

- What do friends and family think?- What’s the industry and market look like?- Do I want to make a move?

- What open positions are commutable?- Any new opportunities?- Is the company website and culture attractive?

- Where is the career search section?- Are there positions related to my specialty?- What’s the company culture?

- Do I meet the requirements?- Is my resume good enough to land an interview?- How do I impress them?

- Did my application get seen?- Who should I contact for an update?- Should I reapply?

- How do I get ready for the interview?- What questions should I be prepared for?- Is there anything I should study?

- Will I find the right job?- Will it further my career path?- Is it the right decision?

- Which jobs fit my background?- Is this the time I change my career path?- Will moving make a difference?

- Will I be able to make an impact with my talent?- The employee reviews are excellent.- This job may be perfect for me.

- Wow! The company website looks great.- Will my resume reach the right person?- I would fit in at this company.

- Will my application get seen?- When should I hear from someone?- Should I reach out to the HR team?

- Am I not selected?- I have to keep applying.- I hate waiting so long.

- Will I do well at the interview?- I’m nervous.- When will I hear back?

Updating resume

Updating LinkedIn

Subscribing to Job Alerts

Glassdoor Reviews

Salary Research

Searching for Companies

Google Job Search

Career Site Navigation

Searching Job Boards

Intuitive Career Site

Easy Job Search Process

Personalized Content

Ease of Application Process

Process Expectations

Communication from Company

Interview Research on Glassdoor

Scheduling Interview

Reviewing Job Description

Reviewing Interviewers

CANDIDATE JOURNEY EXAMPLE

EXPERIENCE

TRIGGERS

THINKING

FEELING

ACTIONS

ExitPlanning

Research &Exploration

JobDiscovery

CompanyNavigation

ApplyProcess Waiting Interview

Process

Updating resume

Updating LinkedIn

Subscribing to Job Alerts

Glassdoor Reviews

Salary Research

Searching for Companies

Google Job Search

Career Site Navigation

Searching Job Boards

Intuitive Career Site

Easy Job Search Process

Personalized Content

Ease of Application Process

Process Expectations

Communication from Company

Interview Research on Glassdoor

Scheduling Interview

Reviewing Job Description

Reviewing Interviewers

CANDIDATE JOURNEY TEMPLATE

7 Must-Have EMAIL TEMPLATES FOR RECRUITERS


Introduction

THE POWER OF EMAIL

How to Use These Templates

To help you craft emails that engage, delight, and inspire candidates to take action, we created these templates to take the guesswork out of what to write. Just like a game of Mab Libs®, all you have to do is fill in the blanks, copy the content, and paste it into a new email message. Feel free to tweak the content as you see fit—you’ll be an email rockstar in no time!

Building and growing your talent pipeline is key to a healthy and successful recruiting strategy. So where do you start?

Look no further than one of the most effective tried-and-true communication methods: Email.

Email continues to be a top source of communication—more than 85% 1 of adults send or read email in the US—and engagement skyrockets when companies embrace personalization. Organizations that tailored content to specific subscriber segments saw click-through rates improve by 14% and conversion rates improve 10%.

For recruiters interacting with job seekers, email allows you to stay connected, nurture relationships, and communicate during key stages of the talent life-cycle. And when you set up these emails in advance to automatically send to your candidates, you’re able to increase personalization and save time—which means you can focus on more strategic tasks like building quality relationships with talent.

1 www.pewinternet.org/2011/08/09/search-and-email-still-top-the-list-of-most-popular-online-activities/


Email Template #1

THANK YOUPurpose

As soon as a job seeker signs up to join your talent community, you have a chance to create a memorable impression. The “Thank You” email is one of the most effective in the world of email marketing. Why? Because it immediately engages your audience after they take an action, setting a positive tone for your new relationship while allowing you to communicate your brand personality. This is the time to thank candidates, make them feel good, and share information about your company, culture, and open jobs.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: Welcome to our Talent Community!PREVIEW TEXT: Here’s what you can expect

Hi [first name],

Thanks for signing up to the [insert your company’s name] Talent Community! Whether you’re searching for that next career move or interested in learning a little bit more about us, we’re thrilled to have you here.

What you can expect:We’ll send you [insert number] emails a [insert week, month, every other week] to keep you up to date on the latest at [insert company name], including new job opportunities, upcoming events, and behind-the-scenes stories of our culture.

What you can do now:In the meantime, here’s quick access to our most popular content:Open Jobs [add link to webpage]About Us [add link to webpage]Benefits & Perks [add link to webpage][Insert links to any other pages you want to direct candidates to, such as social media profiles]

Have any questions? Contact us at [insert email address or link to contact us page] today!

Cheers,

[Insert signature]


Email Template #2

NEW JOB OPPORTUNITIESPurpose

One of the biggest benefits of an active Talent Community? You can nurture and stay connected with passive job seekers who weren’t ready to apply to a job the first time they visited your career site. To leverage this talent pool and keep them engaged, be sure to send regular emails communicating new and relevant job openings. Either send them manually to a targeted list of candidates, or set up email campaigns to automatically send based on specific candidate criteria. Including relevant content is the best way to create a personalized experience, which boosts engagement and keeps job seekers interested in the long run.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: New Job Openings [insert 1-2 departments or 1-2 job titles]PREVIEW TEXT: Join the [insert company name] family

Hi [first name],

Jobs you might be interested in just opened up! Check them out below and click to learn more.[Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page]

These jobs are still available!

[Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page]

View All Open Jobs [insert link to job results page]

Cheers,

[Insert signature]

PRO TIPAs you set the frequency for these automated emails, consider the volume of open jobs at your company. To avoid spamming job seekers, start with sending bi-weekly or once a month—keep an eye out on unsubscribes and open rates to gauge whether or not you need to adjust the cadence. Also consider your audience: Candidates actively looking for a job will want to hear from you more frequently, while passive job seekers will appreciate less communication.

PHENOM USER PRO TIPUsing the Phenom platform to send email campaigns to candidates? When crafting your emails, be sure to use the “Jobs” widget to pull in job descriptions and links to your career site.


Email Template #3

INTERNAL JOB OPPORTUNITIESPurpose

As organizations struggle to maintain an edge in the war for talent, many overlook their greatest candidate pool: existing employees. To keep your top talent engaged and reduce turnover rates, you need a strategy that focuses on encouraging growth from within. Sending email updates with open internal job opportunities is an effective way to keep your team informed. In addition to providing links to job descriptions, encourage a conversation by including contact information if they want to learn more.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: New Job Opportunity: [Insert Position or Department]PREVIEW TEXT: Are you the right fit?

Hi [first name],

New job opportunities opened up that we think you might be interested in! Are you the right person for the job? Know someone who might be a good fit? Check out the new positions below to find out![Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page][Insert Job Title & Location with link to job description page]

View All Open Jobs [insert link to job results page]

Have any questions? Contact [insert the name of the recruiter in charge] for more details!

Cheers, [Insert signature]


Email Template #4

CANDIDATE STATUS UPDATEPurpose

There’s nothing candidates hate more than submitting a resume to a company, only to never hear from them again. That’s not a pleasant experience, and it leaves a bad impression on the very talent you hope to capture. Even if a candidate isn’t the right fit, they might know someone else who is—and word of mouth can have a big impact. To keep candidates informed, prepare an email for every touchpoint in the application and interview process. Below is one example of an email recruiters can send to candidates who just applied for a job. Consider other emails you’ll want to send, such as: if their resume has not been selected, if a recruiter wants to schedule a phone call or in-person interview, and extending a job offer.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: We received your application!PREVIEW TEXT: Thank you for applying

Hi [first name],

Thank you for applying to the [insert job title] position at [insert your company’s name]!

Your resume will be reviewed by one of our team members in the next [insert time frame]. Have any questions? Feel free to reach out to our team by sending an email to [insert email address].

Thank you for your interest, and we look forward to speaking with you about the opportunities at [insert company name]!


PRO TIPHave fun videos or blog posts that convey more about your company culture? Share them in this email to get candidates pumped about your brand!


Email Template #5

FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEW CONFIRMATIONPurpose

The interview confirmation email is one of the most common you’ll send to candidates, and it’s helpful to have it saved as a template to improve efficiency. In this message, be sure to include details around the interview date and time, location, and schedule details to help them prepare.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: Your upcoming interviewPREVIEW TEXT: We look forward to meeting you!

Hi [first name],

We’re excited to see you on [insert date] at [insert time]! You’ll meet with [insert names of team member(s)] from the [insert department(s)]. Here is the schedule:

[Insert interview details]

Our address is [insert office location]. As a reminder, please park [insert parking information].

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out!


PRO TIPS1. Another great way to confirm interview details?

Send it via SMS!

2. If you work on a large campus, attach a photo of a map to the email to provide candidates with detailed instructions on how to find you!


Email Template #6

NETWORKING EVENT INVITATIONPurpose

Events are great opportunities to meet face-to-face with job seekers, raise brand awareness, and expand your talent pool. Inviting your Talent Community to upcoming events you’re hosting or attending gives you another opportunity to turn passive job seekers into active candidates. The template below applies specifically to networking events, but you can apply similar content principles to other event emails you send.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: You’re Invited: [insert event name]PREVIEW TEXT: Join us on [insert date]

Hi [first name],

Join us on [insert date] at [insert time] for a chance to hang out with the team, take part in on-the-spot interviews, tour our facilities, and enjoy a night of networking fun.

Throughout the event, you’ll have a chance to:[Insert benefit #1][Insert benefit #2][Insert benefit #3]

And if you want to bring a friend, the more the merrier! To learn more and reserve your spot,

Can’t wait to see you there!


RSVP NOW

PRO TIPIf possible, encourage talent community members to bring friends to your events. More attendees = more potential talent.


Email Template #7

NETWORKING EVENT FOLLOW UPPurpose

The party doesn’t stop when the event is over—and neither should your communication with the job seekers you’ve met. To keep the dialogue going, send a follow up email the day after to thank candidates for stopping by. This is a great opportunity to provide additional resources about your company, culture, and open jobs.


EMAIL

SUBJECT LINE: Nice meeting you at [insert event name]PREVIEW TEXT: Let’s keep in touch

Hi [insert first name],

It was great meeting you at [insert event name]! We hope you enjoyed the [insert unique networking event detail]—I know we did!

You mentioned you’d like to learn more about opportunities here at [insert company name]. Here are some resources I thought you’d find helpful. I’ll be following up shortly to set up time for us to chat more in-depth!

• About Us [insert link to your company’s website]• Career Opportunities [insert link to job results page]• Discover Our Culture [insert link to information about your company’s culture, such

as a blog post]

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Cheers, [insert signature]


Summary

MAINTAINING THE CANDIDATE CONNECTION WITH EMAIL

While these are only a few of the many emails you can send to keep your talent pool active and thriving, it’s a great place to start. Feel free to add more automated emails as you see fit. Soon, your team will feel like it’s operating at double the size.


SENDING EMAIL CAMPAIGNS WITH PHENOMPhenom Campaigns empower recruiters and talent recruitment marketers to improve communication and engagement with candidates. Build emails in minutes, automate campaign workflows, and analyze performance to boost ROI. Easily drag and drop your content into beautiful, modern email templates. Set up and schedule one-time emails, autoresponders, or drip campaigns — then sit back and watch your pipeline grow! Plus, leverage Campaigns to send SMS messages and 1:1 messaging to instantly connect with candidates!

AUTORESPONDERS DRIP CAMPAIGNS TEXT-TO-APPLY

CUSTOM SPOTLIGHTS DYNAMIC LISTS ANALYTICS

See Phenom Campaigns in Action


https://www.phenom.com/request-demo

ABOUT PHENOMPhenom is a global HR technology company with a purpose to help a billion people find the right job. The Phenom Talent Experience Management (TXM) platform personalizes and automates the talent journey for candidates, recruiters, employees, and managers. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the Phenom platform drives personalization, automation, and accuracy at every stage in the talent lifecycle. As a result, employers improve their talent acquisition and talent management efforts by helping candidates find the right job, employees learn and evolve, recruiters fill roles faster, and managers get the insights they need to build their teams.

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