Not from Where I’m Sitting: Humanising the Recruitment Process on Both Sides of the Table

There isn’t much fun to be had in job hunting. The amount of time spent typing up cover letters and tweaking your CV, a jobseeker will basically pull in a 9-5 without getting paid. Then there’s the whole rigmarole of getting through interviews once they’re eventually selected, having had about 90% of their applications rejected or flatout ignored.

Interviews, meanwhile, are at a whole new level of unpaid labour. A candidate is required to learn the job description, wrap their head around every facet of the company’s services and brand mission, and then find creative ways to loop all of that into their prior experience and blow the recruiter’s socks off.

This might land a job offer or a brief ‘sorry to inform you’ email a couple of weeks later. Or, worse yet, they may not even get any response at all.

Taking this kind of ‘thank you, next’ attitude isn’t just a detriment to the candidate: it can also harm your own business in more ways than you would think

Reputational Risks When You Burn Your Candidates

Job interviews go both ways. When a candidate seat themselves across from you in the meeting room, they’re not the only ones being assessed and evaluated. That person is also thinking about what the interviewer would be like to work with – and if they actually practice any of the work-culture mantras touted on the company website.

So be considerate not to burn your candidates.

It may be just another interview for you as the recruiter, but for the person sitting on the other side of the table, it’s a nerve-wracking experience. They are basically sharing their life story and trying to convince you as to why that story matters.

If a candidate feels as though they are simply another name in a list, that is the first step toward harming your brand. Making a bad impression on someone who applied for a job at your company is a great way to ensure they won’t buy your products in the future.

Brushing off your candidates is bad for business.

And, again, it makes it your job harder. According to research conducted by LinkedIn, 83% of candidates reported that a negative interview experience could change their minds on a job opening they previously found attractive.

Conversely, 87% said that a positive interview experience can lead a candidate to shift their opinion on a role for which they initially had reservations.

That’s why it pays to be receptive to your candidates and make them feel heard. The current job market is massively outweighed by candidates compared to roles available, directing them toward the easiest avenues possible to get a chance of being selected. In a competitive candidate space, in which they can choose to apply directly for a role, why would they redirect their finite time and energy by building links with a recruiter?

If you want a candidate to go the extra mile for you, you’ll need to do the same for them. Small changes make a big difference.

How to Humanise Your Recruitment Process

Every candidate that applies for a vacant role not only puts themselves forward as a prospective employee, but also as a person. It’s important to remember this at every stage on the interview process.

• Clarity from the get-go

In the first screening call, offer a roadmap for next steps. Tell the candidate how many rounds of interviews they can expect in the weeks ahead, and advise on any application tasks or assignments. If they’re required to file an 800-word piece of demo content for your copywriter role, make sure to factor that into their job-hunting timetable.

• Open the doors for questions

The job description only says so much. Leaving the door open to provide more granular information can help a candidate make the most informed choice at the start of the recruitment process. This saves time on both sides, in case the candidate decides the role may not be for them after the first round of interviews.

Remember Your Applicants Are People

The recruitment process is a meeting of needs on both sides. The recruiter needs to fill their candidate quotas, and the applicant needs a job. But the reality of the situation is never quite so black and white.

Job interviews are an emotionally draining undertaking for candidates; it takes a lot out of people to put themselves out there. Jobseekers really do bare their soul when laying out why they are the right person for the job. Humanising the interview process by being receptive to these fears is what allows recruiters to foster trust and even protect their reputation in the process.