Treat Candidates like Gold

by Andrea O’ Reily, Head of Human Resources, Abrivia Recruitment

As a recruiter, I want to be the best I can be, and I firmly believe the only way to do this is treating your candidates like gold. Moving jobs can be one of the most stressful situations of our lives. Candidates don’t need an added frustration of dealing with a recruiter that doesn’t respect this. Candidate experience needs to be one that will set you apart from your competitors and every time you deal with someone, you need to leave a good impression.

Candidates need to be given as much respect as you would give your clients. In such a competitive environment, recruiters need to care about their talent and work in partnership with their candidates.
What does this mean? respond punctually, be respectful, and help candidates grow through feedback even if you decide they are not quite right for your business/roles.
So why is this Important? Why should recruiters treat candidates like gold?

Brand Reputation
We are all trying to grow our business, brand reputation management is critical in this process. If we have a positive brand it means that we will build loyalty, drive sales and increase our bottom line.
In today’s cut-throat competitive environment, we need to safeguard our brand. If we have not treated a candidate fairly there is probably little chance of that candidate every using our services if they were to become clients or recommending us to others. Word of mouth is everything.

If the candidate is unhappy with the process, there is a good chance the candidates may take it online and open a conversation about their negative experience. A company’s brand should be positioned as market leaders, knowledgeable, industry-leading experts who provide solutions for their customers and not tarnished by negative publicity.

From the initial touch point, recruiters need to explain their recruitment strategy, act respectfully and professionally. This will set you apart from the recruiters that just don’t care and in turn, and much easier than trying to deal with damage control.

Increasing the Bottom Line
Recruiters are the face of the company, whether you place a candidate, individual recruiters are selling the overall business. Some recruiters lose interest if a candidate is not going to make them money.
It is important that recruiters realise that they are the first point of contact a candidate will make with your business. If recruiters represent the company well this could potentially lead to increasing the bottom line.

About a year ago a lady came to me and asked me for help. She was returning to work after 5 years of being at home raising her children. She had spent about 6 months of getting rejection after rejection. I sat with her helped her rewrite her CV. She had fantastic experience but her CV needed tweaking and her confidence was at an all-time low. She began doubting herself. I guided her and offered her support. Unfortunately, I had no roles at the time that were suitable for her.

About a month later I received an email from her thanking me for the time I had given her and how the support had boosted her confidence. She had landed a great job in a big multinational. In turn she became a customer of ours and increased our bottom line.

Recruitment Process and Candidate Experience
The recruitment process must be robust. Applications must not be put on the long finger. From the first touch point, a candidate must be responded to. If a candidate goes to the trouble of sending in an application and they get no response, they will waste no time and will go to the next person on the list. In this case, it probably is your competitor.

Candidates must not be missed in the process, candidates need to be responded to in a timely manner. The loss of good candidates due to unanswered applications is not acceptable and will make recruiters and the company look unprofessional.

Again, in such a competitive market you need to stand out as being prompt, timely, professional and courteous at all stages. Recruitment agencies and companies need to set themselves apart by ensuring that candidate experience is second to none. A negative candidate experience will impact on the candidate’s decision to accept the job. Candidates need to be guided and supported all the way and this will mean that you will have less of a chance of losing them in the process.

Simply being respectful
Effective recruitment means that you are respectful to every person you come in contact. Candidates and customers should be treated with the same respect. Choosing a simple mantra of treating everyone that walks into your service with respect will mean that you will become a market leader in your industry.
If you treat candidates like gold you will make them feel special, then in turn, they will spread the word of the high levels of service that you provide. These are invaluable relationships which can lead to more opportunities in the future as their career progresses.

So, in reflection respond punctually, be respectful, and help your candidates grow through feedback. If you decide you can’t use the candidate because they are not quite right for the role, it is still your brand that you are promoting and is damaging for your business if everyone that you meet is not given due respect.