Do you ignore your candidates?

Posted by Victoria Williams 

The feeling of being ignored or mistreated during the application process can produce lasting resentment in candidates who may otherwise have held your organization in high regard even after a rejection. With the advent of social media, these experiences are not only unpleasant for the applicant but can potentially harm your company’s reputation. Have you heard that before?

It's a fact that no one likes to be ignored. So why is it that as businesses fight for talent, they still ignore the need for a better recruitment process.

I've spent 16 years in the recruitment sector and to this day it shocks me when I see businesses spend so much money on their marketing collateral yet fail to spend it in the most important area of their business - RECRUITMENT.  In order for a business to survive you need talent – you need good talent and how do you think you can attract that talent if you fail to spend the time in perfecting your recruitment process.

You don’t have to spend the big bucks to have an effective recruitment process - as I have mentioned many times before you can even do it on a shoestring budget! So, if you are in HR and have difficulty in securing budget or resource to help streamline and simplify your recruitment process here are a few simple steps you can put in place now.

1.  Create clear, reasonable expectations from the very beginning.  This is not just for the candidate but for your team as well. If you know you can’t respond to candidates in a week then don’t say you will – instead ensure you highlight to candidates they will receive a response in 2-3 weeks. It’s then up to your team to make that happen.
2.  RESPOND, RESPOND, RESPOND. Yes this is hard when you don’t have a system that allows you to send out bulk responses – but as a minimum set up an automated response via outlook. You should be respectful in your response to ensure the candidate doesn't feel like they have wasted their time. Spending time on rejected applications may seem a waste of time, but you never know when that same job seeker might be a perfect fit for the next opening!
3. Step outside the box. When rejecting a candidate instead of sending out a generic email why not put together a Youtube video. A short message which encourages them to check back with you for future opportunities.  A great of engaging with your candidate and all you need is an iPhone 5 and away you go!
4. Online presence. Good candidates always research the companies they want to work for, so it is imperative that you have a good careers site in place that allows the candidate to come in and learn how you work and what it is like to work for you. This is different to having a corporate site – careers sites are very specific as they should detail the benefits  of working with you and the future developments your business has to offer.
5.  Mystery shopping- no I’m not suggesting a career change. Why not have one of your own employees apply for a position and follow the experience to see what can be improved. Remember when we have a bad experience we make sure to tell everyone – so your objective is to ensure that each candidate that applies to your organisation walks away with a good experience.

I work with Talent Propeller – my expertise is in educating businesses on how to improve their recruitment process and implementing the necessary technology that allows them to do so. If you would like some assistance in improving your recruitment process then you can reach me here