5 Ways Recruiters Fail When Communicating With Candidates
“Communication works for those who work at it.” – John Powell
Communication isn’t as easy as we’re programmed to believe. We are in the digital age so it should be right? We’ve got a million ways to send messages and we can reach people instantly. The problem recruiters face is communicating to thousands of candidates, at different stages in the hiring process.
This is where the “work” comes into play.
Recruiters must continuously think about the process, technology, and systems to make communication smooth for their candidates. It’s not easy, but with effort and thought around the interview process, it can be improved. We have listed some communication failures below in hopes that you avoid them moving forward.
Here are 5 ways recruiters fail when communicating with candidates:
- Poor Careers Website: The careers site counts as communication, right? This is where recruiters can get a head start with candidates and offer some clues to the process and insight into the company. When links are broken and there’s a lack of information candidates get turned away.
- Lack of Follow-up: You can’t expect a recruiter to message back every single candidate, but an ATS system will keep all candidates informed about their status. The worst thing that can happen is when thousands of candidates don’t hear back from a company at all. This can leave a negative reputation for the recruiter and most importantly the employer brand.
- Lack of Transparency: Letting candidates know exactly how long the interview process will take and when they should hear back after interviews are critical. Giving candidates this kind of insight keeps them from worrying when it has been a few days, but also keeps them from annoying the recruiter with follow-up messages on their end. While your company may not be able to give candidates a complete look into everything at the company, be transparent about the hiring process where possible.
- Failure to Communicate Company Culture, Perks, and Job Details: It’s the recruiter and interviewing team’s job to entice candidates to want to join the company. If you fail to communicate or give the wrong impression of the company culture, then can go wrong. For starters, your candidate may just not want the job, or worse, they may accept a position expecting one thing, but experiencing another. Having them quit from the position within 90-180 days is costly and time-consuming, and adds work to everyone’s plate.
- Failure to Communicate With Rejected Candidates: After interviewing a candidate 2 or 3 times, they do deserve some level of unique response from the company. Failing to do this just seems a bit impersonal and can leave a bad taste in their month. Recruiters may not need to explain all of the details, but give them a hint as to why you went in another direction. You want them to remain interested in your company for future openings, and a lack of communication at the end of the process could cost you that opportunity.
What are some other ways you’ve witnessed recruiters fail to communicate? How have you taken steps to improve your own communication? Tweet us your answer at @goWePow .