Beyond 'Thank You': Rethinking the Post-Apply Experience

As the founder of CollabWORK, I spend half my time with HR and TA teams working to reach the right talent, and the other half talking directly to that talent inside the “Hidden Job Market” — the niche communities, newsletters, Slack groups, and Discord servers where career conversations really happen.

One thing I hear from both sides? The hiring experience still feels transactional. That’s not just a branding problem: it’s a missed opportunity.

The post-apply moment is one of the most overlooked touchpoints in the hiring journey. It’s often a dead end, when it could be a bridge. In an age where applicants are often left in the dark, especially as AI accelerates the volume of applications, we saw an opportunity to bring humanity back into the process, while offering real value to candidates, whether or not they land the role.

That’s why we’re introducing a new Post-Apply Experience. It’s a completely free way for companies to turn their application flow into a moment of delight, brand-building, and advocacy.

We believe small moments can carry big impact. This is one of them.

More below. If you're interested in learning more, please reply to this email.

Best,
Summer Delaney
CollabWORK Founder and CEO

CollabWORK is the first community-powered hiring platform connecting companies to the "Hidden Job Market" — niche newsletters, Slack communities, Discord servers, Facebook Groups, etc. — to automate recruitment marketing at scale. CollabWORK currently reaches over 12 million targeted, passive and diverse talent with 200+ vetted communities and newsletters, including Morning Brew, and has an average 33% conversion rate.

Our precision marketing matches job postings to hyper specific talent pools organically in the online spaces they frequent. Now, with our new Post-Apply Experience offering, we help companies extend that impact by transforming the application confirmation page into a branded moment of value and support for every candidate. Find time to learn more.

The Post-Apply Experience is one of the most overlooked in the hiring process—but it doesn’t have to be. What if the confirmation page was more than a polite “thank you”? What if it became a branded, strategic interaction that offered real value to candidates—especially the ones who don’t get the job?

That’s the idea behind CollabWORK’s new Post-Apply Experience. Instead of a dead end, candidates are offered curated, opt-in content tailored to their profession—like the best newsletters for product managers, cybersecurity professionals, or healthcare workers.

It’s a win-win: newsletter publishers fund the placements, and companies reinforce their employer brand while supporting candidates in their career journey.

🧠 Reinforce EVP with real value
💡 Generate new revenue through publisher-funded placements
🔌 Zero heavy lifting to implement

👉 Curious how this could work for your platform? Book time to chat with our Head of Partnerships.

📅 Wednesday, June 25 | 2-3 PM ET
Hosted by: CollabWORK and HR.com

What exactly happens after someone applies to your job? In this session, we’ll explore how TA teams are using the Post-Apply Experience to:

• Drive employer branding (without spending more)

• Offer free resources that actually help candidates

• Improve candidate experience scores

• Tap into new revenue with no added work

👉 Register Now

If you’re exploring new ways to connect with passive, diverse, and qualified talent, our award-winning core job distribution product is built for you. CollabWORK helps companies distribute open roles directly into trusted communities and newsletters where top talent actually spends time online.

Whether you're hiring for one role or launching a full campaign, we make it easy to scale recruitment marketing. Learn more from our recent White Paper and find time to learn more.

We’d love to continue the conversation with both partners and customers to share more about how CollabWORK can improve your company’s hiring process.

Book a demo here.

You can also find us on LinkedIn and X.