How to improve NPS scores with candidates

To improve NPS scores with candidates, you need to stop treating the hiring process as a one-way extraction of information and start giving applicants immediate, tangible value for their time.

Key takeaways

• Map your exact hiring process to find where candidates experience silence or administrative friction.
• Communicate application updates within 48 hours to prevent candidate frustration and anxiety.
• Offer applicants tangible value like personality insights to make the process mutually beneficial.
• Personalise the interview approach based on how the candidate naturally prefers to work and communicate.
• Train interviewers to treat candidates with the same respect they give paying customers.

You know the feeling. You spend weeks building out a hiring process, sourcing talent, and conducting interviews. Then you send out a candidate experience survey and the Net Promoter Score (NPS) comes back looking grim.

Candidates are frustrated. They leave bad reviews on job boards. They tell their friends to avoid applying for your open roles.

Most companies treat recruitment as a simple transaction. You ask for a resume, a cover letter, a portfolio, and hours of interview time. In return, the candidate gets a generic rejection email or absolute silence. If you want to figure out how to improve NPS scores with candidates, you have to look at what you are actually asking them to do.

When people feel used, they give you a low score. It really is that simple. Fixing this requires a shift in how you view the people applying for your jobs.

Why candidate NPS actually impacts your bottom line

It is easy to dismiss candidate experience as an HR metric that does not affect the real business. That is a dangerous assumption to make.

Candidates are often your customers. If a person has a terrible experience interviewing with a retail brand, they stop shopping there. They tell their family to stop shopping there. Bad recruitment practices directly damage your revenue.

A poor candidate NPS also destroys your employer brand. When top talent reads reviews about disorganised interviews and rude hiring managers, they simply will not apply. You end up spending more money on recruitment marketing just to convince people to give you a chance.

Improving this score is about protecting your company's reputation and your bottom line.

Map the black holes in your application process

The first step to fixing your candidate NPS is looking at your own application form. Go ahead and apply for a job on your own website right now.

Did you have to upload a resume and then manually type out your entire work history in the very next step? Did the form crash halfway through? Did you have to create an account just to submit a PDF?

Friction at the very beginning of the relationship sets a negative tone. Candidates are already stressed. Making them jump through unnecessary administrative hoops tells them you do not value their time.

Simplify the initial application. Ask only for what you absolutely need to make a screening decision. You can gather more details later if they make it to the next round.

Communicate faster than you feel comfortable with

Silence is the enemy of a good candidate experience. When an applicant hits submit, a clock starts ticking in their head. Every day that passes without an update chips away at their goodwill.

You might be waiting on a hiring manager to review the shortlist. The candidate just thinks you are ignoring them.

Set a hard rule to communicate updates within 48 hours. Even if the update is just telling them you need more time, that touchpoint matters entirely. People can handle bad news. They cannot handle being ignored.

Automate these updates if you have to, but make sure the language sounds human. A quick message saying you are still reviewing applications goes a long way in keeping candidates engaged.

Personalise the interview experience

Standardised interviews are great for compliance, but they often make candidates feel like they are on an assembly line. People perform best when they feel understood.

Imagine interviewing someone who is naturally methodical and detail-oriented. If you fire rapid brainstorming questions at them, they will feel stressed and perform poorly. But if you know they lean towards being an Auditor, you can give them data and time to process your questions.

When you adapt your interview style to match a candidate's natural working preferences, they feel respected. They leave the interview feeling like they had a genuine conversation rather than an interrogation.

This level of personalisation makes a massive difference when they finally receive that NPS survey in their inbox.

Give candidates something valuable in return

This is where most companies fail completely. You ask candidates for hours of their time, but what do they get if they do not land the job? Usually nothing.

If you want to drastically change how people feel about your hiring process, give them something they can actually use. This changes the dynamic from extraction to a fair exchange.

Many forward-thinking teams use Hey Compono to give candidates a quick work personality assessment during the early stages of the process. The candidate gets a personalised profile showing their natural strengths and working style.

They walk away with a better understanding of themselves, even if they get rejected. When candidates feel they gained something tangible from interacting with you, your NPS scores will naturally go up.

Train your hiring managers on basic respect

Your recruitment team might be doing everything perfectly. But if a hiring manager shows up to an interview 15 minutes late and has not read the resume, your candidate NPS will drop instantly.

Interviewers are the face of your business. If they act distracted, ask inappropriate questions, or talk over the applicant, the damage is done. The candidate will remember that specific interaction above everything else.

Set clear expectations for anyone conducting an interview in your organisation. They need to review the candidate's profile beforehand. They need to leave time for questions. They need to treat the applicant like a human being.

A poor interview experience is the fastest way to earn a zero on your feedback survey. Hold your hiring managers accountable for how they treat people.

Ask for feedback at the right moments

Timing matters when you are trying to figure out how to improve NPS scores with candidates. If you only ask for feedback after you reject someone, your data will skew negative.

Send brief check-ins at different stages of the journey. Ask for feedback after the initial application. Ask again after the first interview is completed.

This gives you a complete picture of the candidate journey. You might find your application process is great, but your technical assessment is causing massive frustration.

You cannot fix what you do not accurately measure. Gathering data at multiple touchpoints helps you isolate the exact moments where candidates are losing faith in your company.

Write rejection emails that sound human

Nobody likes getting rejected. There is a massive difference between a cold, automated template and a thoughtful message.

Generic rejection emails make candidates feel like a number. Take the time to write templates that sound like they came from a real person. Acknowledge the time they spent applying.

If someone made it to the final round, pick up the phone. Sending an automated email to someone who spent four hours interviewing with your team is deeply disrespectful.

A respectful, honest rejection can actually turn an unsuccessful candidate into a brand advocate. They might not have been right for this role, but a good experience means they will apply again later or recommend the company to a friend.

Key insights

Improving candidate NPS requires a shift from extracting information to providing a mutually beneficial experience. When you respect an applicant's time, communicate clearly, and offer tangible value during the hiring process, candidates will rate your organisation highly regardless of the final hiring outcome.

FAQs

What is a good candidate NPS score?

A candidate Net Promoter Score above 0 is generally considered good, as it means you have more promoters than detractors. Anything above 30 is excellent and shows your recruitment process is a strong competitive advantage.

When should I send a candidate experience survey?

Send surveys at multiple touchpoints. The most common times are immediately after the initial application, following the interview stage, and after the final hiring decision is communicated to the applicant.

Why do rejected candidates leave bad reviews?

Rejected candidates usually leave bad reviews because they felt disrespected during the process. This often stems from poor communication, generic rejection emails, or feeling like their time was wasted during disorganised interviews.

How do personality assessments improve candidate experience?

When you share the results with the candidate, it gives them immediate value. Instead of just taking their time, you are giving them insights into their working style that they can use in their career development.

How quickly should I respond to applicants?

Aim to provide an initial update within 48 hours of an application or interview. Even if a final decision has not been made, keeping the candidate informed reduces anxiety and builds trust in your organisation.