Seriously? People talk about ghosting in the dating world; how is it relevant in the Recruiting world?
It has become a nightmare for recruiters, HR Directors and Business Leaders equally. Candidates just drop off the pipeline without any communication. Recruiters try hard to pick cues during their conversations with candidates and work on these early warnings. Sometimes, they get outsmarted and deceived. One needs to be experienced and skilled in candidate engagement to be able to keep these ghosts away. How can you deal with this?
What goes around comes around
I started my recruiter life twenty years ago. One of the big challenges I faced in the early part of my life was to get feedback from the interviewers after they have reviewed a profile; sometimes, even after they have met the candidate. My team and I could not offer a feedback to the candidate. We tried our best to keep their hopes alive and hoped for the best. It was an employers’ market!
As we speak now, all employers are looking to hire the best in the market. Thanks to social media and smart phones, every person open for a job opportunity is listed in some platform or the other. All job opportunities are listed somewhere or the other. It’s a lot more open and free market. Top performers are being chased by potential employers and head-hunters. There is a heightened sense of accomplishment in them. Some of them would like to put a price!
There was a time when candidates chased jobs and employers; now, employers are chasing candidates. As the old adage says, “what goes around comes around”.
Employer brand is a critical cog in the wheel and it has to be strengthened continuously. Candidates won’t mess around with you easily. They will think twice before becoming ghosts!
Do you have a clear message?
Recruiters struggle when the unique value proposition is not clear to them. They should be clear in their heads, “Why should someone take up this job?” Only then, they can think of conveying this to the potential candidate. If you read 10 job advertisements of various organizations, you will understand how inadequate they are in attracting the right talent.
Hiring managers, interviewers are sometimes unclear about the job they are trying to fill. Ideally, they should be able to describe a set of things that the new-hire must do in a certain timeframe to be considered successful in the role. This will help the recruiter target the right talent pool and convey the right message.
Do you enable a frank conversation?
Many a time, candidates discover unexpected challenges associated with the job even if it offers many attractions such as salary and other benefits. They do not gather the courage to say ‘NO’ and stay away from the opportunity. Moreover, the environment around them does not deter them in any way from being a ghost and hence, they fear no consequences in taking that path.
Candidates confide in recruiters if they are independent and knowledgeable. Recruiters internal to an employer organization are expected to know about their own organization, however do not come across as unbiased. It is crucial for the candidate to be free from anxiety and lack of clarity about the choice that he or she makes about the career ahead. However, he or she does not find it comfortable discussing the issues openly.
There are a myriad of issues that lead to candidates not showing up for pre-scheduled meetings. Let’s address them by presenting a strong employer brand, conveying a clear message and enabling honest conversation.
You may also like to read: Cost of a bad hire
