Ready for an eye-opener?
A whopping 74 percent of people who already have a job are open to something new and better. That’s according to the 2016 Jobvite Job Seeker Nation study. But there’s a caveat: the skills you have as a talent acquisition pro can make or break your chances of landing the candidates you want now and into the future.
Job candidates talk and peers listen. Your skills and professionalism speak to your personal reputation and that of your employer brand. Here’s what people say and some of the steps you can take to polish your image.
Happy Candidates are Loyal Candidates
A positive candidate experience is like talent in the pipeline bank. According to the 2016 Talent Board North American Candidate Experience Awards (CandE) Research Report, nearly two-thirds of people would strengthen relationship bonds if they had a positive experience. Even better, 78 percent would make referrals and 62 percent would apply with the same company again.
What makes a good experience? It’s not as complicated as you might think.
- Communication at every step, even if the job is filled. If you contacted them, it’s polite to keep them informed.
- Keeping promises (and not making promises you can’t keep)
- Valuing the time of all candidates, including passive ones
These statistics speak to candidate loyalty as well as keeping the employees you’ve got. If you source inside the company, employees are candidates, too. Just because many of them, especially Millennials, tend to job hop doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it.
Candidates go social when they’re happy and when they’re not.
When Candidates Aren’t Happy, Word Gets Around
People talk. When job candidates aren’t happy, your talent acquisition reputation could take a hit. According to the CandE report, one-third of job candidates who had a negative experience shared it on social media. Not only that, but they shared it publicly. Ouch. Forty-one percent of candidates who weren’t happy chose to go elsewhere without looking back.
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What makes a poor experience?
- Not receiving confirmation after applying for a job
- No communication of any kind after applying
- Haphazard communication at any stage
SmartRecruiters says candidates should be treated like customers whose business you want to earn. The best way to do that is to treat each candidate like a potential relationship since that’s what they are. Whatever you do, don’t upset candidates. The cost of not communicating, they explain, is the loss of not just one customer, but possibly numerous others.
Better Technology is a Brand Builder
Technology is, practically by definition, a tool that makes something better. As it applies to talent acquisition, technology helps you provide the level of customer service that gets positive attention.
Consider the way that poor communication after applying for a job tops nearly every list of job candidate pain points. Then think about how something as basic as automated email and text messages could knock that problem and the likelihood of bad press down to zero.
What about contacting candidates about a job that they’re not interested in or not qualified for? That’s frustrating for both of you, and technology can help you avoid it.
Candidate matching automatically pairs candidates with jobs on numerous levels and adjusts as candidate skills change or job requirements evolve. Programmatic advertising puts those job ads where the right people will see them and the wrong people won’t be bothered. And circling back, communication can help you keep more of the people who don’t make the cut in your talent pipeline until a more appropriate job comes along.
RELATED: Can Hiring Tech Automation Make You a Better Human?
Social media has given job candidates a voice. And considering that candidates are virtually every qualified person in your business’s industry, they can command a lot of attention. Your talent acquisition skills help define your reputation and that of the employer brand. Polish the way you interact with candidates and you’ll open new doors to a better range of talent.