Feedback during the recruitment process
As an IT recruitment expert for over 4 years, it surprises me how little feedback the majority of candidates get from companies they have applied to. When you bear in mind that it is a candidates market in IT and will be so for the foreseeable future, I’ve drawn up a few pointers on the benefits of providing feedback.
Create Brand Ambassadors
Candidates who interview with you can be ambassadors for the company just as well as your employees – they have spent the time learning about the organisation and meeting your hiring managers, so give them a positive experience. Even if they are unsuccessful, they will talk about a fair recruitment process and the constructive feedback that they received. This happens in all markets but particularly in Ireland where we have smaller cities and word of mouth can be very powerful. The last thing you want is an unsuccessful applicant putting off a potential ideal candidate.
Facilitate Future Hiring
Think about the candidates you interview – where do you source them? Employee referrals, careers fairs or through recruitment partners? If a candidate goes through a rigorous interview process and receives poor communication throughout or vague reasoning for the final decision, news of their negative experience will quickly spread through the recruitment channel you have just used. They could feedback to existing employees who referred them; speak to college peers who will also be graduates from courses and universities that you are trying to target; or even your recruitment partners who are trying to source the very best candidates for your job. A positive experience by the candidate could help maintain a pipeline for the future.
Acknowledge the Harsh Economy
Many candidates who are in full time employment are cautious about exploring the market in turbulent times. It takes a lot of effort for a person in a job to look for a job and there is potentially an acute nervousness that their current employers might hear they are looking on the market. Constructive and specific feedback to an unsuccessful candidate reassures them that they were under genuine consideration and engaged in a confidential and professional process.
Jobseekers who are currently unemployed and active on the market are focusing all their energy on their job search, which can be a frustrating and time-consuming process for most. At worst, a lack of feedback can be psychologically damaging for that candidate. Appreciation for the time they have taken to prepare for and attend the interview can be conveyed through useful interview feedback that is no cost to you as an employer but can be invaluable to the individual as they progress with their search.
Tips for Hiring Managers
At Hays we believe the right job can change a candidate’s life. But equally the right candidate can change a company. Considering you are already putting so much time and energy into the recruitment process here are a few tips that can take you from getting good candidates, to getting great candidates and prevent the likelihood of the scenarios we presented above.
1 – Spend time drafting and perfecting your job description, listen to feedback from your HR team and your recruitment partners, they know how to market the role in order to attract candidates at the right level and skill set. Most candidates will want to review a written document before progressing their application (see paranoia reference above) so allow your job description to clearly communicate your requirements.
2 – Agree timeframes at the outset of the process. Discuss deadlines for short-listing CVs, first and subsequent interviews. The more structured your process – the more candidates are willing to be flexible and to engage as they can see that there is a definite timeframe and commitment to hire. Recruitment is taking you away from your core job – make sure you are doing it as efficiently and effectively as possible.
3 – Be specific with feedback at each stage – it allows candidates to take on board the reasons why they have been unsuccessful, provides useful feedback to your recruiters and also helps you to focus on the core requirements for the role. Ask yourself – can they do the job? If not, why not - are they lacking in specific competencies for the role?
4 - Narrow your focus at each stage of the process. Work with your recruiters to ensure that only the best candidates are being progressed – your recruitment process should be a funnel – not a trawler net!
Based in Limerick, Clara is a Business Manager with Hays IT, specialising in recruitment for development roles. Her clients are based across the Munster and Connaught regions and range from small indigenous technology firms to MNCs in the gaming, pharmaceutical, telecommunications and manufacturing industries.
Jobs she recruits for include Software Design Engineers, Developers (Java, C, .Net), and Multimedia and Web Developers from graduate level through to leadership roles.
Labels: Hays Recruitment, IT Recruitment, Recruitment in Ireland
posted by Clara Gough
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