No matter what size your organization, how you manage your hiring process plays an important role filling open positions. Included in this should be how your organization handles communication and follow up with job candidates. With low unemployment and lots of open positions, one would think that the keeping job candidates in the loop on the hiring process would be high on recruiter’s to-do list.
Yet, after working closely with many job candidates over the last couple of months, I am not hearing this. Instead, I am hearing about how some employers fail to follow up, seem to not care about the candidates, or even worse, do a “bait and switch” when it comes to a job offer. (Offer one job and then change the job when the person is hired.)
I have not heard so much negativity from job candidates in my career. Or heard back from job candidates when I simply follow up. Here are two of the comments that I have received recently from job candidates.
“Thank you for actually contacting me back that means a lot to me . . .”
“Thank you for being true to your word to keep me updated, it is rare for any recruiter to maintain any level of confidence with their selectees.”
By not following up, employers are missing future opportunities.
There is a lot of power in following up with job candidates. The organization’s brand and potential future job candidates are at stake (including the current one who may be a better fit down the road).
In a job market where candidates are to find, why any organization (with or without and Applicant Tracking System, ATS) would not follow up with job candidates is truly beyond me. In recruiting, our customer is the job candidate. They demand and deserve the same level of customer service as paying customers.
Take our short survey on how your organization is providing follow up to job candidates.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate your time.
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