Welcome to our haunted hiring process! Keeping candidates engaged during a lengthy recruitment process can be quite the trick-or-treat. Sometimes it’s difficult to coordinate diaries, hiring managers and decision makers, holidays pop up, deadlines get pushed and so it cannot be helped.
This can have a huge impact on candidate engagement.
According to CareerPlug: 58% of job seekers had declined a job offer due to poor experience.
If you think about the time and effort, put into your recruitment process, only to have more than half of offers made turned down it would give you nightmares!
However, with the right processes, you can ensure it’s more of a treat than a spooky trick.
So, here are some “fang-tastic” tips (bear with me, a few more puns to come, apologies!) to keep your candidates engaged in your company and enthused about the vacancy at hand.
1. Pumpkin Spice Progress Updates
According to Talentegy: 63% of candidates are dissatisfied with the communication from employers after applying.
Candidates appreciate knowing where they stand. Send them progress updates to give them a sneak peek of their journey through the recruitment process. These updates can include details on their current status and what to expect next. It’s like offering them a warm, comforting cup of pumpkin spice latte…. if you’re into that sort of thing!
2. Sugar Coated Communication
Nothing beats good communication. Make sure your messages are “Sugar-Coated” with a personalised touch.
A simple tip is to use mail merge tools to address candidates by their name, rather than an automated generic response, and create messages that are fun and engaging.
This will help candidates feel valued and motivated to continue on the journey. Especially when the common issue occurs – an end of week feedback deadline is pushed back to next week.
3. Boo-tiful Job Descriptions
In 10+ years of recruitment experience I’ve seen many variations of job descriptions. I can confidently say job descriptions that give insight into the team/ department around the vacancy attract a far larger pool of the right candidates.
Think of a menu at a restaurant – the more descriptive the ingredients are, the more attractive the dish sounds.
Give candidates a clear understanding of their potential future with your organisation. Where does the company plan to be in 5 years? What company vision and values tie into the duties of this post?
Having an idea of these answers while in between stages of interview is the difference between a good candidate staying engaged in your company and wandering off to your competitor.
4. Vampire’s Social Bites
According to LinkedIn: 70% of candidates do their research before applying to a company.
According to Glassdoor: 1 in 3 (32%) job seekers would not apply for a company that lacks diversity.
According to Glassdoor: 93% of job seekers would like to be informed about the company culture, values, mission, and plans before accepting a job offer.
In 2023, staying active on social media is a must. LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook etc. are all important platforms to promote reasons why a good candidate should come work for your company.
Employee spotlights, office glimpses, sharing information about company benefits, Diversity & Inclusion communities or CSR activities are all super ideas to help keep a candidate’s attention focused solely on your company and not somebody else’s.
What does your company’s online presence look like? Is it an inclusive environment?
5. The Cold Trap Door
According to CareerArc: Only 42% of employers reach out to declined candidates with information on future job opportunities.
According to LinkedIn: Candidates are 4x more likely to consider a company for future opportunities if provided thoughtful feedback.
It’s often heavily time consuming to start a recruitment process from scratch and end in a new employee induction. If your company is likely to hire for similar skills sets down the line why not stay engaged with rejected candidates for future opportunities?
Maybe they were 6-12 months off being at the right level, and in time could become a perfect fit. Maybe they could be an ideal fit for another function of the company.
If candidates have a positive experience of your company, despite being rejected, it’s likely they’ll welcome future communication about future opportunities.
6. Ghostly Follow-ups
According to Talent Board: 52% of candidates have to wait for 3 months or more on a response.
The above stat is shocking, but surprisingly very believable. After interviews or assessments, send candidates follow-up emails. Show human gratitude for their time and let them know you remain interested in their candidacy. This can help maintain a positive rapport and keep the lines of communication open.
Remember, telling a candidate there isn’t any updates is still a form of an update. Any form of touch point with a candidate during a process is better than radio silence.
7. Monster Mash Community
According to Glassdoor: 65% of Millennials value company culture compared to 52% of people 45 and older.
Creating online communities or groups and encouraging candidates to join is a great way to have open communication with your future potential talent. This allows candidates to connect, share experiences, and ask questions. You could include employee journey stories and showcase the most important skills and experience that is needed to be successful at your company.
This, in turn, educates your candidate audience on whether they are a good fit for your company or not, culturally, and professionally.
8. Coffin Coffee Breaks
If a process is lingering on due to a delay on getting to speak to a senior member of staff, or a decision maker, why not set up a ‘get to know you’ video call with a team member that will work alongside the potential employee. This gives the candidate the chance to chat with a member of the team, ask questions, and feel more connected to your organisation.
After all, we spend nearly as much time with our colleagues as we do with our friends and family, so get to know the human aspect of the candidate’s make up.
My Final Thoughts
With these Halloween-inspired tips, you can make your lengthy recruitment process a smoother, more enjoyable experience for your candidates. Remember to keep things fun, engaging, and informative, striking the right balance between professionalism and unique company personality.
When it comes to attracting the right talent to your company, less frights more delights are what I say! Happy Halloween!
If you would like help with attracting and engaging top talent for your company, please reach out to Abrivia Recruitment.
We are a team of expert recruitment consultants, specialising in Commercial, Technical and Professional Services.
The below article was super useful in helping me write this blog. If you enjoyed the stats mentioned above, you’ll find a bit more information on each here – https://shorturl.at/djRX7
