A few weeks ago, I posted a job ad
on LinkedIn. To my surprise, I received over 200 applications. Flooded mailbox
of course and back-to-back interviews of some really great candidates but let’s
face, the majority of the candidates ended up in the ‘not the right fit’ pile.
One night, I decided to get to it
and send e-mails informing candidates that they were not withheld for the
position. To my surprise, I had another flooded inbox the next morning. Almost
half of the candidates had sent me an e-mail, simply thanking me for the time
that I had taken to send them a personal message.
How did it come this far that
people start thanking headhunters for a simple e-mail! Did we, in the rush for
the perfect candidate, forget that there is an actual human being behind a cv,
who is eager to know whether it could be a match?
Every business professional knows
that delivering a great customer experience is crucial for success. And the
consequences of a bad experience are equally well known.
For a recruiter, talent is the
equivalent of customers for a company. And the marketing message has arrived
with ‘candidate experience’ being one of the top trends in talent acquisition
the last few years. Research has shown that 91,4% of all HR professionals
believe that a positive candidate experience has a direct impact on the quality
of the new employees. Yet we seem to
have forgotten that it also entails clear and personal communication about not
being the right fit.
Admitted, I also sometimes forget
to send a message letting people know that they are not withheld. Never on purpose,
but it happens. And yes, I have a separate mailbox with candidates who have
spontaneously applied to whom I still need to respond. There is a good reason
for that, I want them to benefit from the video-pitching we will be launching.
But that is no reason to keep them in the dark.
So my good resolution is to send
those e-mails right now. Once that is done, I'll start writing my next blog on creating a winning candidate experience.
After all, the day that we forget that there is a human being behind a cv, will be the day that robots and AI can take over recruitment.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and
tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in attracting
the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
Follow me on Twitter
@IngeniumSearch
