Appreciating the candidates’ effort
Recruiters face many inadequate or poorly prepared applications daily. They would like to receive documents adapted to the requirements. However, such preparation of the application can be time-consuming. It is also natural that this time is longer than what the recruiter devotes to reviewing a CV or cover letter. This particularly regards the first phase of application selection. 69% of recruiters spend a maximum of 5 minutes on the CV analysis during the initial selection.
So what do candidates expect in exchange for their time? First of all, information that their application has reached the company and is included in the whole process. Regardless of whether they will be invited to the next stage. This is the usual form of showing respect and thanking the candidate for his commitment.
At Aspire Systems, reviewing each profile as good practice because each of them has something valuable. Even if we are unable to invite the candidate to the current process, there is a very good chance that we will contact him or her in the future. Besides, we always thank the candidate for applying via e-mail. Then the candidate knows that his CV has reached us and is being processed, not falling into the recruitment vacuum.
Feedback
Employers often forget that the quality of the recruitment process is vital for the company’s image. And that feedback should be an indispensable element of this process. Employer branding is not limited to large-scale image campaigns. It’s also an efficient process of providing feedback after each stage of recruitment.
At Aspire we provide feedback in two ways. The first is standard feedback given after the end of the recruitment meeting. A phone call or an e-mail with feedback and the decision. The second way is instant feedback. During the recruitment for technical positions, one of the stages is live coding. Technical recruiters provide feedback during and after completing the task. In the end, they summarize what went well and what could go better.
Candidates appreciate the feedback (even if it is negative) because they know what to improve. It often happens that they come back to us after a few months, prepared much better. We hire them and then stay with us for many years.
The impressions of recruitment have a great impact on the perception of the company’s products and services. A well-conducted process guarantees that, despite the negative answer, the candidate will come back to us as a customer. Communication at every stage of recruitment plays an important role here.
Lack of communication and feedback creates a threat that the candidate will perceive the company as unreliable.
What are the consequences of neglecting “candidate experience”?
One-third of candidates declare that they won’t apply again for a job in a company where they didn’t like the recruitment process. In industries where every application is priceless (this is particularly about IT), this situation can be a big loss for the company. The negative impressions are hard to forget. Even with innovative recruitment techniques or exceptional treatment. One in four candidates shares their negative opinion about the company. And in particular with friends from the industry. Positive opinion about the employer is one of the most important issues when deciding to apply to a given company.
Building positive relationships with job candidates is more than good recruitment practice. It’s a part of the company’s strategy and culture.