Candidate feedback is an important element to improving the hiring process of any company. It gives insight on which parts are working and which ones need improvement.
The truth is, applicants have a lot to say about a company’s hiring process, especially when it comes to their own recruitment experience. They just don’t tell you because they’re afraid it may affect their chances of being hired, or there’s no platform to give anonymous feedback, or simply because you never bothered to ask.
Given the chance however, here are four things they wish they could tell recruiters (but never do):
1. You should improve your communication.
A lot of applicants complain about generic and cold emails they receive from recruiters. It’s not a very engaging way to get them to respond to you, especially when they get dozens of messages from other recruiters like you every day.
It’s also irksome when you send generic recruitment messages to potential candidates, posting positions that aren’t even close to being relevant to anything they’ve ever done or will do. They expect you to, at least, find about about the industry they currently work in and send relevant job ads. Otherwise, your next email blast is going straight to spam.
2. You are too aggressive.
Potential candidates understand that you are looking to fill a post quickly, but that doesn’t mean you can hound them incessantly with calls, emails and text messages.
When you keep bombarding people with unsolicited messages, emails and text messages, they might not only refuse to work with you, but also warn their colleagues against working with you. Candidates are aware that there is an open market waiting for them, and that your job is to hold their hand and guide them through that, not forcefully drag them to it.
Keep your phone calls and messages to a minimum. If a person is interested in your job, they will contact you. No need to antagonize people with your constant pushing.
3. You have no idea about what your potential applicants do.
When you contact candidates and offer a job, they assume that you have done some research on what they do for a living. After all, you are trying to get them to be a part of your company.
The applicant would know if you didn’t bother to look at their resume or profile online, because if you did, then you’d be aware that their experience and your job description are loosely matched.
Don’t waste the candidates’ time by offering opportunities that are either too junior or too senior for them. Do an extra bit of research to understand their current professional standing.
4. You don’t communicate recruitment results on time.
When people apply for a job ad you posted, they expect you to tell them whether they made the cut or not. Most recruiters ignore the ones who didn’t make the long list and never bother to tell the applicants that they were not chosen.
It’s only respectful to send a message to these applicants, even a general message would do, and tell them about the results. Otherwise, they might be hoping and praying to get the job that they won’t likely get in the end.
Also, if a person took the time to respond to your job ad, the professional thing to do would be to acknowledge it with a reply on the application status.
Candidates and recruiters have a complementary relation, where one cannot survive without the other. Recruiters must remember that they are as dispensable as they treat the candidates they come into contact with. Human resources are the most valuable commodity on the job market today, so it makes sense that you treat them right.
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Do you have other tips on how to recruiters can improve their relationship with candidates? Share them in the comments below.
This feedback was really helpful for me because the recent retention struggles I have had. Communicating hiring results on time is difficult for our program and after reading this article I think that candidates may be frustrated with our process. This article could serve as evidence in our next recruiting meeting, thank you!