Three things that could be costing you great candidates - and what you can do about them before the end of the year.
One of the things I hear most from businesses is that candidates are hard work.
They don't turn up to interviews. They go quiet halfway through a recruitment process. They accept another offer just when everyone has agreed they're the one. Or they decide the job isn't for them after what felt like a really positive conversation.
Frustrating? Absolutely. But every now and again, I think it's worth us taking a little step back and asking ourselves a question.
Are candidates really hard work, or are we sometimes making it harder than it needs to be for them to say yes to us?
Now, I'm not suggesting candidates get everything right. Of course they don't. Recruitment is a two-way street, and everyone has a part to play. But the candidate experience matters. A lot more than we sometimes give it credit for. And as we skate ever closer to the end of the calendar year, I thought it was a useful conversation to have. Because let's face it, once we get past the second week of December, family time, Christmas shopping and trying to remember what day it is tend to take priority!
If you've got some all-important hires to make before we're putting our 2027 calendars on our desks (old school, I know 😂), now is a good time to look at how you're recruiting.
Here are three things I'd be paying attention to.
You've found someone brilliant. Their experience looks great. The first conversation goes well. The hiring manager is excited. You're excited. Everyone can see the potential. Then comes the second interview. And perhaps a third. Someone else needs to meet them. There's a presentation to prepare. And the person who needs to make the final decision is away until next Thursday.
Sound familiar?
Of course, getting recruitment decisions right matters. Nobody wants to rush into a hire they'll regret. But there's a difference between being thorough and making the process unnecessarily complicated. Good candidates have options. They're often speaking to other businesses, fitting interviews around their existing jobs and making decisions about their futures. They won't necessarily sit around waiting for us to get organised. And why should they?
What can you do differently?
Before you start recruiting, agree what the process needs to look like.
You don't need to sacrifice quality to improve speed. You need a clear plan, people who are committed to it and the confidence to make a decision when you've got the information you need. Because the perfect candidate won't necessarily still be available by the time you've finished arranging the fourth meeting.
You've interviewed someone. It went well. You've told them you'll come back to them by Friday.
Friday comes and goes. Then Monday. Then Tuesday.
Nobody is deliberately ignoring anyone. The business is busy, diaries are full, someone is on holiday and another priority has taken over. It happens. But your candidate doesn't know any of that.
They're left wondering whether you're still interested, whether the interview went as well as they thought, or whether they should concentrate on another opportunity instead. And whilst they're wondering, their enthusiasm can start to disappear. I think we sometimes underestimate how much a simple update can mean to someone who's considering making a career move. You don't need to have all the answers. You don't need to give them a decision before you're ready. Sometimes, all it takes is a quick message to say you're still interested, explain what's happening and let them know when they'll hear from you next. It's a small thing, but it shows respect for their time and the effort they've put into the process.
What can you do differently?
Set expectations at the start and keep candidates informed. If you've promised feedback by Friday and you haven't got it, tell them. If the process is going to take longer than expected, explain why. And if you've decided someone isn't right for the role, have the conversation rather than letting silence do the job for you. Treat people how you'd want someone to treat you if you were the one waiting for an answer.
It really isn't complicated, is it?
This is the one I think businesses can overlook. We spend so much time thinking about whether a candidate is right for us.
Have they got the right experience? Can they do the job? Will they fit into the team? Do they have the potential to grow with the business?
All important questions. But how much time do we spend thinking about whether we're giving them a compelling reason to choose us? What's genuinely good about working for your business? What kind of manager will they have? What opportunities will they get? What makes your culture special? And perhaps just as importantly, are we giving them a realistic picture of what the job is actually like?
An interview shouldn't be an interrogation where one person does all the answering. It should be a conversation.
Yes, you need to understand what someone can bring to your business. But they need to understand what joining your business could mean for them, too. Remember, you're asking someone to make a decision that could affect their career, their finances, their family life and their future.
That's a big decision.
What can you do differently?
Make time in the recruitment process to talk about the opportunity, not just the requirements. Be honest about the challenges as well as the positives. Explain what success looks like. Introduce candidates to the people they'll work with and give them the chance to ask questions that matter to them. And don't assume that because someone has applied for your job, they're already sold on the idea of working for you. They might be interested. They might even be excited. But they're still deciding.
So, what can we do about it?
I'm a big believer that recruitment works best when both sides feel they've had a good experience. That doesn't mean every candidate will be right for every role. Nor does it mean everyone who interviews should get an offer. It means having a process that respects people's time, communicates clearly and gives good candidates a genuine reason to want to join you. And with the end of the year approaching, I'd encourage any business with important vacancies to take a look at its recruitment process now.
Are your interview stages agreed? Are your hiring managers ready to make decisions? Are candidates being kept informed? Are you giving people a reason to choose you?
Because nobody wants to reach January with the same vacancy they've been trying to fill since September. And if there's a brilliant person out there who could make a real difference to your business, wouldn't it be a shame to lose them because your process made it too difficult to say yes?
A little question to leave you with…
If you were applying for a job in your own business, would you be impressed by the recruitment experience? Or would you be quietly wondering why nobody had called you back yet? 😂
Sometimes, a little perspective is all it takes to spot something we could do better. And those little changes might just make the difference between losing a great candidate and welcoming them into your team.
If you're reviewing your recruitment plans for the remainder of the year and want to talk about how to attract and secure the right people, the Talentheads team would love to hear from you.
hello@talentheads.co.uk | 0191 300 8688 | www.talentheads.co.uk