Step Into The Candidate Experience

The candidate experience is a series of moments. Overlook one, miscalculate another, and the experience turns into an opportunity lost, a brand diminished, a product boycotted.

But if you pay attention, stay thoughtful, and listen intently, what a team, what a company, what a career you can shape!

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You're buried in a rapidly evolving — and exponentially intensifying — digital world. From overwhelming talent acquisition technology to buzzwords like AI in HR and programmatic media.

Then there's a moving target of the ever-changing candidate expectations that even consumer marketers can’t keep up with (let alone talent marketers). But, as Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman recently advised, let's not overlook the obvious fact that ultimately

We are all physical and social creatures.

It's why we still go to theaters to see a film, ballparks to watch a game, and restaurants to grab a bite – because the experience saturates all our senses in a way that purely online experiences can never fully replicate.

As Talent Leaders, you are both the architects and curators of the candidate experience. It’s up to you to create a journey that captivates at every touch point in both the physical and digital world.

So take a step into the Moments That Matter, the moments where experience is everything.

recruitment marketing conference Transform

Clean & Elegant

Fully Responsive

In 2020, Symphony Talent and SmashFly join forces to host the boldest event yet. Are you in? We know you are.

About the Moments That Matter Exhibit

Symphony Talent's innovative subject matter experts in employer branding and candidate experience solutions came together to build the exhibit that debuted this past January at Talent Acquisition Week in San Francisco. The exhibit featured over 100 data points and quotes from experts, research on Fortune 500 brands, plus direct access to eight free eBooks and reports. Our seven featured subject matter experts were live at the exhibit.

Moments That Matter exhibit in San Francisco that debuted at Talent Acquisition Week

Confessions of a candidate payphone at the Moments That Matter exhibit in San Francisco

Recruitment marketing relics at the Moments That Matter exhibit in San Francisco

Book shelf at the Moments That Matter exhibit in San Francisco

Conversational Talent Marketing at the Moments That Matter exhibit

Clean & Elegant

Fully Responsive

Job advertisements newspaper in the Moments That Matter exhibit in San Francisco

Start the journey at the Moments That matter exhibit in San Francisco

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Quotes from exhibit visitors:

"I wish I could walk my hiring managers through this whole exhibit!”

Talent Acquisition Leader

“I love that it's interactive, all of the content is super relevant and are things that I'm doing in my day-to-day.”

Recruitment Marketing Leader

“I am just amazed by what I am seeing here.”

Talent Leader (25 years in the industry)

“This, by far, has to be one of the coolest set-ups at a conference in terms of experience.”

Industry Representative

“It's very simple, it's very clear and there's so much to learn and I think they did an exceptional job.”

Industry Representative

A journey through today’s
candidate experience

Moments That Matter is the first-ever experiential exhibit for talent acquisition leaders to walk through the candidate experience.

Do you know what your candidates experience? What are you proud of? Where do you see opportunity for innovation?

Employer Brand

According to LinkedIn, 72% of recruitment marketing leaders globally agree that a strong and differentiating employer brand significantly impacts hiring. Is your current employer brand doing all it can to deliver results?

Awareness

How do candidates first become aware of your organization, what it offers and whether it’s a good fit for them? What do your candidates know about you? What would you like them to know?

Career Website

No matter how they eventually get there, your career website is the candidate’s central hub for your employer brand message. But does it “speak” to them?

An Enhanced Apply Experience

About 36% of those who express interest in a career opportunity decide to move forward, but nearly 75% drop off during the apply experience entirely. Is your application helping – or hindering – the journey?

Conversational Talent Marketing

Texts, chatbots, messenger apps, Alexa... Particularly to engage millennial and Gen-Z talent, is your employer brand meeting candidates when they want and by the means they prefer?

Hiring Process

There's often a gap in what has, up to this point, been a consistent and nurturing candidate journey. Are candidates aware of how your hiring process works – and how long it takes?

Assessments

Let’s be honest: unless and until we can actually see a candidate in action, we're not 100% certain that they're the best candidate. How are you leveraging assessment tools to enrich the talent you hire – and their experience?

The Employee Experience

A third of new hires quit their jobs within 90 days. Do you continue to deliver on the promise of your employer brand from Day One and beyond? And are you turning your new employees into advocates?

Talent Mobility

Your current employees are the single greatest resource for filling hard-to-fill roles in your organization. Are you losing great employees to the competition? How do you make them aware of opportunities within your organization?

Meet the Curators

Both on-site and behind-the scenes, our subject matter experts wielded their creativity and passion to bring this exhibit to life.

Transformation Strategy
Technology
Content
Experience

Shannon Seery

Shannon drives growth and measurable value for clients by enabling Symphony Talent’s account teams to develop and deliver omni-channel employer brand strategy, marketing, creative, and technology services that connect companies to talent.

Mike Drayer

Mike excels at collaborating with clients, strengthening longstanding partnerships and learning from the best. He delivers proven strategy and program management solutions through his creativity, innovation leadership and passion.

Nicole Thomas

Nicole is an anthropologist turned Senior Manager, Employer Branding Research & Insights. She believes there is magic in uncovering the true personality of an employer brand and unleashing it through design and storytelling.

Tracy Clark

Tracy provides strategy and insights for virtually every aspect of global employer and higher education branding, including brand strategy and identity, talent marketing, client partnership, integrated marketing, digital media and more.

Sean Quigley

Sean the builder, artist, and technologist, is excited about the power of talent marketing automation. He leads product management for Symphony Talent and is (bizarrely) always daydreaming about new ways to put recruitment data to good use. Sean was recently named Innovator of The Year by the TA Tech.

Chris Gasparro

General Manager of Symphony Talent’s Marketing Technology for Employers, Chris has worked in virtually every aspect of the digital universe, from sales to development, with start-ups and established companies. He is a skilled communicator, problem-solver and relationship-builder.

Mike Hargrove

A key contributor to this exhibit, Mike shared his experience in Candidate Relationship Management, Applicant Tracking Systems, SaaS architecture and other aspects of technology. He manages Symphony Talent’s Global Engineering - User Experience and Machine Learning teams.

John Farelli

John, an expert in the ever-changing programmatic ecosystem, was instrumental in the development of Symphony Talent's programmatic advertising solution. He is frequently involved in helping organizations move their advertising strategies into the programmatic age.

Bob Rosswaag

A Creative Director, film buff, sailor and writer, Bob has a passion for discovering the connections that link audiences with what they desire From concept to content, Bob had a hand in bringing the exhibit to life - and loved contributing to the research that went into it, too.

Elyse Mayer

A journalism major turned marketer, Elyse leads the marketing efforts behind the SmashFly brand. She is constantly talking with HR practitioners and investigating the industry landscape to educate internal and external teams about marketing strategies and techniques for the future of work.

Lake Ashlee

A graphic designer with an extensive background in the recruitment marketing and customer service industries, Lake is passionate about (in no particular order) illustration, dogs, branding, hats, and fine art. He's also a proud graduate of Atlanta's acclaimed Creative Circus portfolio school.

Santi Saucedo

Santi is a Creative Director with extensive experience in marketing and advertising. A horror movie buff and ceramics enthusiast, he has a knack for making logos bigger (without compromising the concept, of course) and is a textbook pantomath (someone who wants to know and knows everything).

Gina Alioto

The heart, soul and visionary behind our exhibit, Gina has been evolving Moments That Matter over the past few years and is thrilled to be working alongside Symphony Talent’s brilliant SME’s. Her background in experiential marketing includes work for brands such as Heineken, USA Network, iHeartMedia, and the Tribeca Film Festival.

photo of Tim Sackett on stage at the SmashFly part of Symphony Talent Transform Recruitment Marketing Conference

What moments matter enough for you to transform them?

As Talent Leaders, it is incumbent upon you to create a journey that captivates best-fit candidates through every channel, from website to on-site, from social media to social gatherings. You must approach the candidate experience not as something exclusively digital, but as an endlessly inventive, constantly evolving series of personalized Moments That Matter.

Our Candidate Experience Library

We’ve only touched upon some the many different aspects that can impact the journey from Awareness to Advocacy. Here are a few more links to information you can use right now to make the journey more pleasant and productive for everyone involved.

About Symphony Talent

The global leader in Employer Brand and Candidate Experience Solutions, Symphony Talent helps some of the world's leading brands transform their employer brand through award-winning creative and marketing technology that delivers world-class experiences for candidates, employees and recruiters.