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Recruitment: Where frustrations meet. Food for thought...

05/06/2014

I noticed this article last week on Stuff. Some of you may have seen it as a discussion on HRINZ and LinkedIn. As HR and Recruitment professionals it gives us plenty of food for thought and is a good reminder of the importance of ensuring our processes are focussed on Candidate Care.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/share-your-news-and-views/10099414/After-115-job-rejections-do-you-give-up

It must be extremely disheartening to have 114 job rejections – I can understand this person being frustrated by the whole process.

Being constantly rejected, let down and ignored is not an easy path to walk along.

resume stack

As Recruiters working with candidates on a daily basis we’ve worked hard to create the best possible candidate experience and are constantly looking for new ways to continue to improve our Candidate Care.

If you’re managing your recruitment internally there are some simple, yet important things you can do to ensure that you protect your employment brand and reputation:

  •  Remember - every application is from a person just like you and me that deserves to be treated with decency, respect and honesty.
  •  Acknowledge the receipt of every application ASAP ideally set up an automated response so they know you’ve received it.
  •  Get back to all applicants and let them know the outcome of their application as soon as you can.
  •  Offer to provide feedback to those candidates who wish to receive it and give them feedback in a timely manner
  •  This can help candidates identify ways to improve the outcome of their next application
  •  If their CV needs updating or tweaking to suite the role they’ve applied for – give them some suggestions so they can improve it or refer them onto a specialist CV writer like our Careers Consultant  Shona Nelson
  •  Follow an objective selection process. It will assist you to identify the most suitable candidates for your short list and enable you to be clear about why you haven’t shortlisted other candidates. That way you can give meaningful feedback if needed.

Other benefits of using a well thought out selection process are that it helps you:

  1.  Understand the skills and competencies needed for success in the role.
  2.  Understand and articulate the culture and fit of the organisation you’re hiring into
  3.  Enables you to plan your advertising and Talent Attraction strategy to ensure it targets the criteria you’ve identified as being critical for success in the role.

resume screening

  •  When screening CV’s identify exactly what you’re screening for – remember to screen in rather that out – you can always screen again.
  •  Then if someone calls you after not making the first cut you can talk them through your screening criteria – e.g. not enough years’ experience, not worked in the industry etc.
  •  If you use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) then look up candidates if they do call – so at least you know who they are for a quick review of their CV and application details as you are talking to them. – If not, then perhaps call them back once you have reviewed their application.
  • Prepare the candidate so they understand the process and where they may fall out.
  • As you go through your process you gather more information you can use to help candidates understand the decisions you make

Yes it can mean more work but it’s important to remember that Candidate Care when recruiting is about maintaining a good reputation for your company in the employment market and brand to enable you to attract top candidates not just for this job but for future vacancies as they arise. This makes it even more important to treat candidates with a high level of respect and attention to the small details such as responding and communicating where each candidate is in the process.

As professional recruiters we have a high level of focus to Candidate Care and ensure that we have appropriate systems in place to manage candidate communication along the way even if the news is not positive. At least a candidate that has made the effort to apply for a position finds out that they were unsuccessful and can move on to other opportunities. At Intepeople we aim to have an edge by doing it right.

We strongly recommend that even if you only recruit for a few roles a year you also make this fast growing area of Candidate Care a priority and increase your focus on the overall Candidate Experience.

Coming soon I would like to blog about the impact on the HR side of this article and in particular hiring an ageing workforce. Understanding how that can fit into your “People Strategies”. See you then.

 

By Emma Worseldine 

 

Whakatū | Nelson

Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara | Wellington

Ōtautahi | Christchurch

Waiharakeke | Blenheim

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