Most candidate experience solutions promise things like better engagement, smoother processes, and happier applicants. But here’s what they don’t tell you: not every solution is built to scale with your hiring needs or to serve your kind of team. 

Some are great on paper and clunky in practice. Some look sleek but lack depth. Others try to be everything to everyone and ultimately wind up doing nothing well.

If you’re in the market for a candidate experience solution, there’s no shortage of options. The real challenge is knowing how to choose the right one. There are five important criteria to look for when evaluating solutions designed to improve your hiring experience, both for candidates and for your larger team.

5 Criteria to Evaluate Candidate Experience Solutions 

If you’re evaluating candidate experience solutions, you’re not just picking a platform; you’re choosing how your brand shows up to every potential hire. 

The right tool should streamline operations, strengthen your employer brand, and help you win top talent in a competitive market. Below, we’ve broken down five key criteria to help you cut through the noise and make a confident, informed decision on your next hires.

1. Cost

Cost matters, but we’re not just talking about the number on the contract. Good tools should return value, and do so — fast. 

That might look like time saved on scheduling, fewer candidate drop-offs, or better interview attendance. If the software can’t clearly show you how it’ll save your team time or resources or, better yet, improve conversions, it’s probably not worth the spend.

Another way to mitigate cost is to watch for usage-based pricing that scales up quickly. “Premium features” you’ll need right away but weren’t included in the initial quote can also add up.

2. Ease of Use

Your recruiters are busy. Your candidates are busy, if not even more so. If a candidate experience solution takes more than a few clicks to figure out, you’re going to lose team buy-in quickly.

Look for something intuitive for both sides. Your team should be able to build workflows and send reminders without excessive hand-holding. Candidates should get clear, helpful touchpoints without needing to download multiple apps, create a SSO, or check their spam folder.

If the demo feels confusing, real-world use won’t be any better.

3. Efficacy

A lot of tools get stuck delivering surface-level upgrades. Yet another candidate experience solution that just sends a generic thank-you email isn’t worth investing in — you need something that actually makes the process better for candidates, as obvious as it may seem.

Look for something with:

• Personalization features
• Candidate feedback tools
• Metrics on engagement, time-in-stage, and drop-off
• Clear, visual dashboards on KPIs

The right candidate experience solution doesn’t just make the process manageable; it makes it truly measurable.

4. Flexibility

Today, you’re hiring for three roles a month. Tomorrow, it could be 30. Or you might start hiring globally. Or you could open an entire new department. Or your entire candidate experience might evolve entirely. 

Candidate experience solutions should flex with your changing needs, whether that means segmenting candidate comms by region, customizing for executive vs. high-volume roles, or integrating new DEI priorities.

You want tools that bend, not break, when you ask them to do more. In other words, you want a tool that grows as your organization inevitably grows, too, and is capable of managing your needs now and in the future.

5. Integration

Your candidate experience solution shouldn’t be another silo. If it doesn’t sync with your ATS, calendar, email, or Slack, you’ll spend more time wrangling tech than improving experience.

During the demo, in an RFP, or on your next sales call, ask

• Does it offer native integrations with your ATS?
• Can it pull data in real-time (not in delayed exports)?
• Will it centralize — not scatter — candidate communications?

The right tool should make your life easier by integrating with your existing tech stack, not dictating everything else to follow.

💡 We got advice from 10 experts on how to be a good, people-first recruiter. Dive into their answers here.

Why the Best Candidate Experience Solutions Feel Seamless (and Why Puck Delivers)

If you’re shopping for candidate experience solutions, it’s easy to get distracted by bells and whistles. But the best tools aren’t always the flashiest; they’re the ones that fit seamlessly into how your team actually works.

At Puck, we’ve built our platform around that very philosophy. With the flexible, integrated easy-to-use solution at the right price for every organization, we make it easy to build a hiring experience that’s human and high-performing.

👉 Curious what that looks like in action? Book a demo with Puck and see how simple exceptional hiring can feel.

‍