It goes without saying that in the present times means of communication aren’t lacking. Communication means such as text messages, e-mails, telephone, videoconferencing (SKYPE etc.), and of course various social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram blended with a mix of applications such as WhatsApp are all great facilitators of everyday communications. But what about the importance of communication in the recruitment cycle? Will it support and facilitate a great candidate and/or client experience? Is it always favorable for parties to communicate their expectations realistically? This article will explore various communication-related perspectives throughout the 3.0 recruitment era process.
A candidate’s perspective
Whether you are an actively seeking candidate or you are simply exploring to the market, you will quickly realize that communication and transparency when you contact a recruiter or a hiring manager is crucial for you to obtain the desired position! By ensuring a regular and ideally weekly follow-up (this is a strict minimum!), you will be able to put all the chances on your side. This could even allow you to have more than one offer to choose from. Isn’t that the dream of all candidates? By advising your talent hunter that you’ve moved on to the next step with another company, this will allow him to have certain leverage and will, at best, encourage his client to speed up the process. Keep in mind this is part of the “game” and if your recruiter seems irritated by your choices of initiating a second (or third!) hiring process, maybe you should rethink your decision of working with this individual. The same rule of communication applies if you decide to withdraw from a hiring process after meeting a company. Whether it’s du to a of lack of interest or it’s because you have a more attractive offer elsewhere, communicating your intentions allow your recruiter to terminate the process by notifying his client and thus avoiding any waste of time. If you are ever willing to reconsider this company in the future, you’ll be sure to have left a positive impression, and within the Canadian IT market, it’s always a guarantee of professionalism. Don’t forget that communicating your expectations (salaries, desires of professional evolutions etc.) with your Talent Hunter in a transparent way will increase his chances of finding you the “perfect match”! With all the digital platforms available, do you really have an excuse?
A client’s perspective
It’s true that an organisation’s reality can greatly affect the recruitment cycle (vacations, illnesses, changes in organizational structure, etc.). On the other hand, any company should keep candidate experience in mind when a position is opened. Ensuring a constant follow-up with the firm that you have decided to mandate promotes a transparent partnership and leads to a successful candidate experience. Without elaborating on the importance of the candidate experience in the IT market, don’t forget that with the emergence of sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed, candidate experience feedback is shared with thousands of potential employees and competitors. Finally, giving a reason for refusal to a candidate is the least you could do, especially after initiating the process with the latter. On a long-term perspective, even if the “fit” did not seem ideal for the current job, your future needs are hard to predict. Who knows, he or she could be the ideal candidate for your next opening!
Kamil Eladas, CRHA/CHRP
