Remember the Candidate

Everyone you meet is a potential candidate or a lead to a potential candidate.  Thus, being gracious to everyone you encounter is critical, particularly when you are a new player in the market.  While that may seem patronizing or trivial, it is the truth and we can never forget it.  Larger companies have the ability to survive and grow despite a few "bad apples".  Smaller company's do not usually have that luxury.   

In recruiting talent, newer companies or divisions often have some additional challenges than the more established companies.  The biggest challenge is that most do not have a formal recruitment process in place.  If you plan to grow rapidly, a recruitment process is essential.  Whether you build it internally or outsource it, you need to have a reliable process in place.  In a leanly staffed, rapidly growing company, everyone is stretched and wearing many hats.  Without a methodology for managing people growth, your company is likely to lose its most promising talent to the competition. First impressions are important and very telling to a potential employee.  People take their careers very seriously and expect to be treated as such when applying for or interviewing for a position. 

A candidate that had a great experience during the recruitment process will tell three friends.  The candidate that had a negative experience will tell ten friends. No matter what the outcome, every candidate should have a positive experience with your company.  I have known some very talented people who turned down lucrative positions with start-ups because of the experience they had during the recruitment process.  Your ideal is to have candidates who did not get offers say to their friends,  "I interviewed with  XYZ Inc. and did not get a position, however, my experience was great.  They are a smart, organized, friendly group of people.  I would recommend that company to anyone."

Here are a few tips on how to get that response from everyone.

Acknowledge EVERYONE that expresses an interest in your company.  This is why a process is important.  Whether it is via e-mail, snail mail or telephone, everyone that formally expresses interest needs acknowledgment.  It is very common for someone to say, "I e-mailed them a resume about a month ago and never heard a word.  I don't know if anyone even saw it."  I have also heard, "I interviewed there a month ago and have not heard a word.  I left a few voicemails but never got a return phone call."    Remember, to the job candidate every day is like a week; to the busy professional, every week is like a day.  Keep the candidate's perspective in mind at all times.  Send an acknowledgment to everyone within one week of receipt of their resume (sooner would be better) whether they are applying for CFO or mailroom assistant.

Keep the Candidate Warm.  This is one of the most productive things you can do during the recruitment cycle and beyond.  Once a candidate is contacted and in your recruitment process it is critical to maintain constant contact.  We can never assume that candidates are not being interviewed and courted by other companies.  The Internet provides global access to positions and companies, which means that good candidates literally have a world of opportunity.  Building a relationship early on in the recruitment process will keep them interested and will keep you up-to-date on the candidate's thoughts, concerns, likes and dislikes ----  all tidbits of information that become extremely important in the process of closing the offer. 

Send E-mail to candidates regularly to keep them updated on the process.  It takes just a few moments to send off a quick e-mail.  This e-mail contact can truly make the difference between a hire by you and a hire by your competition.  For example, you may have spoken with a candidate and presented the information to your colleagues and are waiting for a response.  If it takes more than 48 hours for a response from co-workers (possibly they are traveling or on vacation) you should e-mail the candidate with a brief note saying, "We are still very interested.  The specific manager that needs to review your credentials has been out of the office and will be back next week.  I will keep you posted on status. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me with any questions or updates on your career search."  This simple e-mail projects an image of an organized company and will help maintain the candidate's interest.  Remember in today's tight marketplace, particularly for technical talent, "here today, gone today" is the norm.  Move quickly and stay in contact with all candidates.

I know of one that had scheduled an interview with a candidate for a sales position.  The individual arrived at the company at the appointed time and was kept waiting in the lobby for quite awhile.  Finally, the receptionist came out and said that the company had just reorganized their sales department and that the interview was no longer necessary.  She then sent the person home.  Wrong approach.  Out of respect for the candidate's time, the candidate should have received some sort of interview or brief meeting by someone from the sales organization.  Even with reorganization, this person's talents may fit within the company.  If the interview was not possible then someone should have attempted to contact that person prior to the interview to cancel.  Finally, if that was not possible, someone from the sales team should have come to the lobby to speak to the candidate.  Being in the recruitment business, I hear stories like this all the time.  The negative impression it leaves with a candidate who could ultimately be a client far outlasts the few minutes it would have taken out of someone's day to appropriately acknowledge the situation.

Contact candidates before and after the interview.  Once you have set up an interview with a candidate it is important to do more than just give them the date and where to show up.  A few days before the interview call the candidate to see if they have any questions prior to the interview.  If you have an interview schedule set up for the day, give them a brief review of the people with whom they will meet.  This goes a long way in presenting your company as an organization that cares about its potential new employees. It is extremely important to keep good candidates warm and interested after the interview.  If you work for a company that takes longer than 48 hours to make an offer decision you NEED to be on the phone with the candidate and communicating via e-mail.  Now is the critical time to keep them informed.  Even if the only thing you have to say is that the managers will meet to discuss candidates in a few days - this phone call is important.  Again, candidates need the reinforcement that you are interested in them and that you care.

After the offer is made, get more people involved to "court" the candidate.  The hiring manager should contact the candidate to make him/her feel welcome to the group and wanted on the team.  The manager should build a strong relationship so that the candidate feels compelled to accept the position. A peer, preferably someone the candidate has met during the interview process should call or e-mail the candidate to address any peer to peer questions and to let the candidate know that the team really wants him/her to join the company. The peer should reinforce all the great things the company has to offer and why they like working there.

We are all very busy and get so caught up in the process of moving the new business forward that we forget that the potential new hires are just as important as potential new clients. These will be the people that will grow the business and move it toward success. They will be your company evangelists - contributing most of their waking hours to your business. 

With a recruitment process in place that emphasizes regular candidate follow-up, your cycle time to hire will be reduced, your offer acceptance rate will increase and your reputation as a company that cares about its employees will grow.