Recruitment Matters Summer 2010
The Black Hole
The "candidate experience" is a frequently used phrase that's rarely a priority in practise. The consequences are damaged reputation, reduced referrals and time taken up with dissatisfied customers. Here are some simple, respectful ways to give candidates a positive experience of you, your business and the clients you represent.
Most recruitment companies will tell you somewhere on their website that they are committed to best practice. And of course they are – no one is committed to doing something in a half-hearted way. They're all chasing the same pool of elusive hiring managers and passive job seekers. Web 2:0 seems to have made life harder, not easier – there are more demands on your time and attention and not enough hours in the day. Somehow, despite your best intentions, there are always candidates who slip through the net and don't get looked after as well as you would like to. And the longer you ignore them, the guiltier you feel about contacting them, the more you put it off and the unhappier they feel. It's a vicious circle.
I'm an ex Recruiter, now working as a Career Coach, helping people and organisations to connect – or disconnect – more effectively. I have spoken to my career coaching clients about their experiences of being recruited. Usually these are mid-career professionals, earning between £50,000 and £150,000 with decent skills-sets and verifiable past histories. On the basis of their feedback, common sense and my own recruitment experience (and I did my best but certainly didn't always please everyone all the time myself…) here are some suggested ways to improve the contact you have with your candidates throughout the recruitment process.
1. Don't be frightened about giving honest feedback. The biggest complaint seems to be that candidates spend time with recruiters, their CVs are sent to roles or they have interviews but if they are unsuccessful at some stage in the process they don't find out why. It sounds really obvious but they want to know why so next time they do better – amend their CV or improve their presentation skills etc. It is not your role to hold on to information that would benefit the candidate. Give them constructive rather than brutal feedback. Don't do the sandwich technique – good bit, bad bit, good bit… that's a bit outdated. Just tell them the truth (mindful of any confidential feedback from your client) and let them decide what they do about it.
2. Know your stuff. Tell them how they need to present themselves in order for you to place them. Be frank about it, otherwise everyone is wasting their time. If you are sending them on an interview allow twice as much time to brief them on it as you would think is necessary. So often I get feedback from smart people that "if only they'd known X in advance" they'd have prepared better. Don't underestimate how much guidance even seemingly senior people need.
3. Manage their expectations. If you meet them, or phone screen them, tell them how often you will communicate with them and how likely it is you will be able to help them. They won't expect constant communication from you but if you say "we'll be in touch …" then you are committing yourself to getting in touch. If you say "I like the look of your CV however this isn't our specialist area. If I do get anything that may be of interest I will let you know, but I have to say that is quite unlikely. In the meantime, have you tried X firm …?" then you are letting them down helpfully. Make clear whether or not you will move them to the next stage in the process and give clear reasons why.
4. Tell them the skills/experience/type of people you can place at the moment. You are giving them direct feedback from the market (don't worry about giving bad news, no news is much worse than bad news). They might also refer more suitable candidates to you.
5. If candidates have submitted their CV to your firm in a blanket way (online, unsolicited etc) then an auto-generated message in response is fine. "Thank you for your CV, if your skills match the position you will be in touch within the next 7 working days." Then they at least know their CV has been received.
6. Candidates who have been referred to you should be acknowledged with a quick phone call at the least. Again, explain whether or not you can move them to the next stage in the process and why. Always thank the referrer, even if just by quick email.
7. Don't assume the candidates know what you are doing on their behalf. Leave a quick voicemail message giving them an update, it takes two minutes: "don't worry about calling me back, but I just wanted to let you know where we are at…" That's quicker than email (especially if you ring at a time when you know it will go to voicemail), but emails have their place in effective communication too. Getting back via email is better than nothing.
8. Structure your interviews properly. Don't start with "so, tell me about yourself." Candidates are bored with this and you risk a long-winded answer. Give them the courtesy of framing your interviews intelligently. "We specialise in this, my background is that, the purpose of this meeting is X." Then they will tell you what you need to know to evaluate them against the job description.
9. Get support. If you really are too busy to return calls, be organised enough to get a colleague to ring and say something along the lines of "just wanted to let you know that David got your message. He's with a client all afternoon but wanted to tell you X. Have you any news for him?"
10. Check the attitude of everyone in the business. The candidate's experience at every step of the process should at least be pleasant, if not personal. How long are they on hold for, how grumpy is the receptionist, how helpful are people taking messages? It's a top-down attitude and if the leadership of your firm isn't bothered about candidate perception, it shows.
It's not the role of the recruitment consultant to support job-seekers through their transition and the psychological effects this may have. I do that! However, whether you are dealing with head-hunted candidates or an unsolicited CV, there are basic courtesies. It seems that no matter how impressive your webinars, blogs and technical processes are, candidates judge you (and your clients) on the quality of your communication with them. Try not to make them feel like just a commodity.
Zena Everett is an Executive Career Coach and Mentor.