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With a quick Google search or a casual flip through a business magazine, today’s recruiter gains immediate access to any number of quick tips or advice columns that might aid in his/her practice.
Headlines like How to Get More InMail Responses or Where to Find Talent fill the screen as the recruiter eagerly learns how to fill job requisitions as quickly as possible. In the midst of these self-improvement and career-advancing techniques, however, many recruiters fail to consider an important aspect of the job: the candidate. Qualigence conducted a survey asking recruiters and hiring managers about their primary focus and not a single respondent said making sure the candidate is satisfied. Um, what?
In other words, as recruiters strive to improve their skill set, candidates still suffer at their hands. A recruiter will never be successful unless candidates become their number one priority. Consider the following 3 tips for candidate experience.
Do your homework
Before you approach a candidate, candidates expect recruiters to complete some background research. One Forbes article notes that half of all candidates want recruiters to do more research before calling.
Basic phone calls, along with LinkedIn searches, can reveal the candidates’ position, experience, location, education, and various other qualifications. Once the recruiter makes initial contact, he or she has to continue to round up information through phone calls or in-person communication. Learn about their strengths, weaknesses, passions, likes, dislikes, and everything in between.
Keep their attention
With the average attention span being 8 seconds, recruiters and hiring managers have a tiny window to grab and maintain candidates’ attention. This means that long, tedious job descriptions are likely to do more harm than good. Most folks won’t sift through a long list of qualifications; they’ll skim, at best. They want to see what the company is all about, that they’re a part of a company and its culture that’s engaging and satisfying.
Invest in culture
Although health benefits and flexibility are among the biggest factors folks consider in a new role, culture is still a big influencer. Eighty-three percent of HR leaders say that employee experience, or culture, is either important or very important to the overall success of their organization. A company’s culture could be the cream of the crop, but if they don’t share it with the world, they could deter their next great hire. Highlight culture in job descriptions and social media, for starters.
