Life is sweet for the job seeker in today’s market – a record number of jobs are being created and companies are struggling to fill their open roles. That means the pressure is on for employers. How can you stand out among all the competition and convince candidates that your company is the perfect place for them?

The employers that are succeeding in this tough talent market understand that it all comes down to candidate experience. It’s no longer enough to simply shuffle candidates from one stage to the next – being thoughtful and intentional about every interaction they have with your company is critical.

Here are seven inspiring companies that are taking candidate experience to the next level.

1. Airbnb: Storyboarding the entire candidate experience

When looking to revamp its candidate experience, the recruiting team at Airbnb turned to a design practice that had worked well for other departments at the company: using storyboards to visualize every step of the candidate journey. According to Airbnb’s Recruiting Blog, “Our Core Value ‘Every Frame Matters’ is a testament to storyboards. Our founders enlisted an artist to help us visualize both the host and guest experience on Airbnb, and we use these frames to think about how we can simplify, streamline, and improve the experience. We’ve applied this method to the interview process and we share these frames because they represent how we think about recruiting: each frame is meaningful and unique as a standalone, and yet when we consider them as a whole, they comprise a holistic picture that’s greater than the sum of its parts.”

Through this process of radically empathizing with candidates, the team identified several areas they wanted to focus on and improve, including how to gracefully pass on candidates, set expectations about timing, and celebrate the company’s culture and branding through communication and the onsite experience. Learn more in “How Airbnb Used Storyboarding to Revamp Its Candidate Experience.”

2. DigitalOcean: Prioritizing transparency at every stage

In a recent webinar, “Driving a Positive Candidate Experience with Scale at the Wheel,” DigitalOcean’s Recruiting Operations Manager Olivia Melman shared how her team prioritizes transparency at every stage of the candidate experience. This establishes trust and builds a strong relationship between the recruiting team and the candidates they’re in contact with.