I've been struggling lately with finding a balance between candidate care and efficiency (my time). In the ideal world, I would be able to respond to each inquiry I receive about career opportunities with my company. However, based on the economy, the number of inquiries I'm receiving exceeds the time I have to respond. I'm in a Manager/Generalist role, so recruiting is just one of the many areas I'm involved in. I'd love to give more time to it, but I simply can't.
With my spouse recently joining the ranks of the unemployed, and becoming an active job seeker, it's disheartening for me to see the way she is being treated as a job candidate. But then I think to myself, is this so much different than how I treat candidates? Maybe not.
I'm a huge proponent of utilizing my application tracking system to it's fullest, including sending system generated e-mails to those candidates that are not selected for a job opening. Yet, I sometimes hear feedback from candidates stating that the content of the messages leaves them with an unfavorable impression of our staffing process, and ultimately the company. I've made strides to tailor the messages to be more sensitive, yet the negative feedback continues. And although the candidate may have not been selected for a particular position, they may very be a great candidate for future positions. If their experience is negative, will they remain interested?
I recently had a candidate mail me a copy of the system generated e-mail, along with his resume and a detailed letter as to how he felt he met every requirement of the job. I assure you he did not meet the qualifications, yet I still felt horrible that this candidate was so incensed that he took the time to respond in this manner. Perhaps it's a sign of the economic times, or this candidate had finally "hit the wall" with the number of rejections he received. Regardless, I'm struggling to come up with the best approach to maintain the integrity of our hiring process, while not becoming consumed with making everyone feel good about themselves (unrealistic, I know).
I'd be interested to find out what others are doing to create a positive candidate experience, specifically for those candidates that are not selected for a position.
With my spouse recently joining the ranks of the unemployed, and becoming an active job seeker, it's disheartening for me to see the way she is being treated as a job candidate. But then I think to myself, is this so much different than how I treat candidates? Maybe not.
I'm a huge proponent of utilizing my application tracking system to it's fullest, including sending system generated e-mails to those candidates that are not selected for a job opening. Yet, I sometimes hear feedback from candidates stating that the content of the messages leaves them with an unfavorable impression of our staffing process, and ultimately the company. I've made strides to tailor the messages to be more sensitive, yet the negative feedback continues. And although the candidate may have not been selected for a particular position, they may very be a great candidate for future positions. If their experience is negative, will they remain interested?
I recently had a candidate mail me a copy of the system generated e-mail, along with his resume and a detailed letter as to how he felt he met every requirement of the job. I assure you he did not meet the qualifications, yet I still felt horrible that this candidate was so incensed that he took the time to respond in this manner. Perhaps it's a sign of the economic times, or this candidate had finally "hit the wall" with the number of rejections he received. Regardless, I'm struggling to come up with the best approach to maintain the integrity of our hiring process, while not becoming consumed with making everyone feel good about themselves (unrealistic, I know).
I'd be interested to find out what others are doing to create a positive candidate experience, specifically for those candidates that are not selected for a position.
Matt and Kathyrn:
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we worry about the impression our candidate vetting leaves with those who send resumes and the public at large is an indicator of why we're good at our chosen profession. The balancing act between what's good for the company and good for the candidate is a tough one. Throw in compliance with federal and state laws, regulations, hot topic legislation... we certainly didn't choose boring professions.
For every position I advertise, I receive hundreds of resumes. Generating a response to each resume would consume hours of time already stretched thin. And yet on a very human level, I wish I had the time to respond. I wish I could stretch my availability to explain why I elected to not further consider a hopeful responder, to offer insight into why their resume or credentials didn't fit the criteria of the available position. I often look back to the advertising and wonder if I could have done a better job describing exactly what type of candidate I was looking for.
In the end, I try to find the balance between my sensitivity towards a candidate's feelings and the time management my position demands. Everyone contacted receives an explanation regarding how the selection process works. Everyone interviewed receives a personal follow-up even if they weren't chosen for the position.
But I still have a tug of conscious for the hundreds who send their resumes and wonder why they weren't selected for the next step. It would take hours upon hours to contact them all and explain... but I still wish I had the time.
~ Sheryl
What a powerful post! It's so helpful to remember that behind every application there is a hopeful human being....and after ever hire there is a person with bills to pay. I think that is why it is so vital to keep our employees satisfied once they have made it through all the hoops that the hiring process puts them through! I saw a great white paper about this called 5 Strategies for Improving Employee Satisfaction in Healthcare that you might like to peek at! :o)
ReplyDeleteFirst - let me say you have an outstanding blog Matt. From my years of experience as a recruiter and hiring manager I think the best thing you can do when "letting a candidate down" is make one or two specific recommendations on how they might improve their skill set or resume, and encourage them to re-apply for a more appropriate role in the future.
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