Here are a few tips on how to create a real relationship with candidates, present job opportunities and follow up candidates in the best possible way.
What exactly is a positive candidate experience?
Before we get into the HOW, let's take a look at the WHAT. In an ideal world where every recruitment process is optimized, a positive candidate experience might look something like this:
A transparent experience
Candidates are looking for clear, precise information, with no surprises. You must be able to provide the following information:
- What are the steps involved?
- Who will the candidate contact?
- How long will the process last?
- The interview process?
You can find this information in the "Context" section of the mission.
A seamless experience
Candidates are looking for a seamless experience, with no technical or human failures, and no need to chase after you for information. It's useful to retrace the candidate's journey, just as a company would do for its customers. The questions you can ask yourself are:
- How many people will the candidate be talking to?
- Are technical or personality tests relevant for a given candidate?
No tests are required before a candidate can be submitted to the platform.
A fast experience
Candidates don't want to waste time and energy on lengthy or inappropriate recruitment processes, which can discourage them. You need to be able to reduce time upstream and downstream of the process, and provide them with a high level of responsiveness.
How do I get in touch with a candidate?
According to LinkedIn, 70% of our users are passive candidates. This implies that by trying to establish contact with them, you accept that they may not be candidates, nor ready to become one. Start from the premise that the person may not be interested in hearing from you. So what are the keys to creating effective contact with a candidate?
Show genuine interest in your candidates
Empathy is a skill that goes hand in hand with being a recruiter. By taking an interest in your candidates' career paths and personalities, you show them that they're not just another CV. Check out their "hobbies" section, look at their side projects, check out the posts or articles they publish on social networks such as LinkedIn. In short, gather information that can serve as a starting point for a 1st contact.
Personalize your communications
There's nothing worse for a candidate than receiving standard messages from recruiters. Avoid using impersonal emails or using the wrong first name. Access to information is a very important element in the recruitment process. Candidates want to know whether you've really considered them, whether you've read their profile, whether you're addressing them personally or en masse. Don't hesitate to create several message templates for yourself, which you can personalize according to the approach scenario.
Choosing the right channel
Which medium should you use to contact a particular candidate? Private messaging on LinkedIn, e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp or a phone call? Your target inevitably has a preferred communication channel. Knowing this will give you a head start. For example, telephone calls have the advantage of being more direct, but they are not necessarily made at the right time and are not systematically accepted (considered as canvassing or spam). We know, for example, that IT profiles prefer to be contacted by e-mail. They receive so many solicitations that they can filter them out themselves.
How do you present opportunities to candidates?
The best way to present opportunities to candidates is to give them context. In other words, explain the role of the position, the possible developments and the stakes involved, the elements that make the company and you as a consultant so strong. But to achieve this, you need to go step by step:
Arousing the candidate's curiosity
The aim of your contact is not to obtain an immediate and definitive answer from the candidate, but rather to arouse his or her curiosity. Initiate contact and see if the candidate is receptive. This will be followed by questions about a genuine interest in a possible position and a willingness to pursue a recruitment process.
Contextualize the job offer
Candidates don't look for a job by chance; they're looking for a meaning to give to their professional lives. If you can get them to see what's at stake, a project that mobilizes them, it will be easier to get them to apply. Use the EVP (Employee Value Proposition) to present the whole picture: position, development and career prospects, salary conditions, life in the company, internal culture, and so on.
Don't hesitate to follow up
When an opportunity doesn't find a candidate, recruiters can become discouraged and think that there's no one to match their requirements. Sometimes this is true - the ideal candidate just doesn't exist. Sometimes it's something else. The job description may not have been precise enough. In this case, you need to go back to the Hunteed referent for the assignment to get more details, and then go back to the candidates to clarify or reiterate the job's specifics. Following up is not a bad thing in itself. However, as soon as someone expresses an explicit "no", don't insist any longer - you know that the process stops here.
To optimize your messages, don't hesitate to practice what's known as "A/B testing", i.e. testing several versions of the same content to find out which version offers the best results.
How do I track my candidate?
Keeping track of your candidates contributes to a good overall experience. According to a Yaggo study carried out in 2021, 1 in 3 candidates would rank no response as the number 1 bad experience. That's why maintaining the link throughout the process is the key to an optimal candidate experience. Here are 3 ways to achieve this.
Don't hesitate to consult the"Candidate follow-up" document on Hunteed Academy for further details.
Regular communication
It's important to communicate regularly with candidates: this gives them information about the progress of their application, but also about your professionalism. It's also important to bear in mind that a candidate may be involved in several recruitment processes at the same time. Keeping in touch means making sure you're always in the running. It's up to you to define the frequency (once a week, for example) and the best way to keep in touch (by SMS or a 5-minute call).
Giving feedback and visibility
Remember to give constant feedback to the candidate. Even if it's negative. After all, you can't leave the candidate in the dark. In any case, he or she will be aware of the situation and will be able to understand the reasons for your or the company's refusal to continue the process. At best, they'll be satisfied with the way the situation was communicated to them. When it comes to feedback, 75% of candidates think that companies should ask them for theirs too. Include this "feedback harvesting" section to positively differentiate yourself from other consultants and companies, and help your processes evolve effectively.
Tools to facilitate application management
It's important to have an efficient application management tool, such as ATS (see"Hunteed Talents" on the Hunteed platform). This facilitates the recruitment process and reduces the risk of error. It also enables you to segment your pool, so that you can handle the follow-ups and content proposals for your candidates with greater precision.