Halloween has come and gone, and as we lead up to the big event, I’ve seen so many emails, articles, and blogs referencing “ghosting.” Most of them are work-related ghosting, referencing how applicants or new hires “ghost” a company.
I find that more often, it’s the company or recruiter that is “ghosting” candidates.
In this incredibly tight job market, one where we are working so hard to source and identify quality candidates, the candidate experience is super important. This experience applies to all candidates, even those who are unqualified or not the perfect fit for your position.
The candidate experience does matter and you should care. Here are the top reasons why this is important.
- Today’s “not the right fit” candidate could be tomorrow’s “perfect fit” candidate. Giving them a great experience regardless of if you hire them now is key. Don’t leave them hanging or wondering when they’ll hear back after that phone or in-person interview. Cut them loose. That “rejected” candidate may very well know someone who would be perfect for your role or become a potential customer, client, or partner.
- Having a good recruiting and hiring experience can often grant you forgiveness if other not so perfectly executed HR processes. Onboarding for a new hire, not having the proper access or equipment ready on their first day, or perhaps an issue with the first paycheck can set the tone for the entire employee relationship. If coming in the door, they feel great about how you’ve treated them in the hiring process, it’s easier for them to look past those bumps in the road early on. Important because once you hire them, you want to keep them!
It’s not hard to do this if you have the right system and processes in place. The key is having a system in place and having it set up correctly to make it easy for your team to communicate with candidates throughout the process. Even small companies can have a robust applicant tracking system for less than a job posting cost (check out our favorite system JazzHR). A correctly set up ATS can do so much to ensure a good candidate experience, including hiring stages and easy-to-use email templates that you can personalize, automate, and even schedule in advance (Batch recruiting made easy).
If you haven’t considered your candidate experience in some time, or perhaps ever, do it now! We are in the tightest job market our country has seen in over 30 years. Investing in a good candidate experience is a win/win for all.
With so much of life,
it’s the small things that make a difference.
If you need help defining and setting up your recruiting and hiring process, let us know!
