Why is it important to respond to every candidate?

Recruitment of an employee is a complex process, and each of its stages is worth thinking about carefully – not only to find the ideal candidate for a particular position, but also for the sake of a better perception of the company on the market. Unfortunately, numerous entrepreneurs, usually in the heat of their duties, forget about what is part and parcel of it – proper communication with potential employees. This should also include the last and often the least pleasant stage of the recruitment process for both parties, i.e. informing the candidates that their CV application has been rejected.

No response – one of the worst practices employers follow

According to the 2019 Recruitment Process Quality Survey, more than half of job applicants do not receive an employer response after an interview. This shows that not all companies in Poland follow good recruitment practices – no response from an employer after an interview is a grave mistake that can adversely affect the perception of a company. This is crucial since most candidates expect feedback – even if it is negative. It often happens that an employee who is waiting for a reply from his dream company resigns from other offers. When the feedback doesn't come to the inbox, it makes his situation on the job market much more difficult, causes disappointment and can be perceived as disrespectful. And all the negative emotions accumulated by the candidates can also affect the perception of the company – e.g. as a result of their reviews on social networks or Google. Such a negative review can effectively discourage future candidates from submitting a CV, which will result in later problems during employee selection. In addition, even a negative response after an interview can lay the foundation for future collaboration with a candidate. It allows you to part on good terms and at the same time enables you to make contact at a later stage. It may turn out, for example, that an employee selected in the recruitment process unexpectedly resigns after a month of work and it will be necessary to find an alternative candidate immediately. This, in turn, forces another analysis of the collected CVs and selection of the best candidate from among those rejected. The lack of any feedback closes this possibility – potential employees, disappointed by poor communication during the recruitment process, will probably not want to have further contact with the company. Start free 3 months trial It is good practice to let the candidates know who the project supervisor is and to give them the contact details. This way they will be able to contact the recruiter themselves in case of impatience or doubts.

How to give feedback?

Since it is already known that feedback at the final stage of employee selection (also the negative one) is absolutely essential, it is also worth learning how to provide it. It turns out that many recruiters give up on feedback for fear of a negative reaction from the candidate or because they don't know how to communicate a decision to reject. In reality, it is not that difficult. There are just a few things to bear in mind.

  • A precise justification of the decision – the candidates need to know what mistakes they made or which of their competencies were insufficient, which will not only positively influence the perception of the information but also help them during their future job search.
  • Customize the content of the message to the specific candidates – this is plausible even in the case of a significant number of applications because you can use the automatic response system offered by LightApply, which allows you to select one of many templates with the content most adapted to the situation of the candidate.
  • Tact and professionalism – the decision of the company is not always received calmly by the candidates, therefore a tactful, empathetic approach and not getting into any verbal clashes with the interviewees are essential.
  • Timeliness – all candidates prefer to know how long they have to wait for a response after an interview, so it's a good idea to set a feedback deadline with them and follow it.
  • Timely – the rejection does not have to be communicated at the last stage of the selection process and it is advisable to do it earlier (e.g. after reviewing the cv) in order not to waste the employee's time.
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Candidate experience – take care of good practices during the employee recruitment

Inextricably linked to this issue is one of the concepts that operates in the field of recruitment management. It is the Candidate Experience (CX), which means the sum of all the candidate's experiences with the company during the recruitment process. It concerns not only the employer's response to the CV but also the quality of the job advertisement, the interview and all other aspects related to communication in recruitment. What, apart from the employer's response to the CV, do candidates expect after an interview? Among other things, accurate job descriptions and requirements, transparent terms and conditions of employment (salary ranges, not "fruit Thursdays") and professional communication before and during the interview. Building the right candidate experience while recruiting employees will have a positive impact on trust in the company and its good perception on the market. And this will undoubtedly improve its functioning in the future.

How to improve communication with the candidate?

A common reason for employers not responding after an interview is lack of time, resulting, for example, from too many candidates. The fervour of the recruiter's duties may also negatively affect other stages of employee recruitment and communication with potential employees. Fortunately, it is possible to automate the recruitment process, with the help of, for example, ATS (applicant tracking system). It's a solution that will allow you to streamline employee selection and ensure good selection practices. If you want to know more, contact us! Start free 3 months trial