You’ve just finished saying goodbye to an employee. The goodbye cake is nothing but crumbs. The “I’ll miss you” selfies have all been posted and maybe even a few tears were shed. Now the reality sets in. “It’s time for you to dive head-first into the HR process to find your next ‘superstar’ employee!
Surely, technology has made this process easier, especially getting the word out about your new opening. Just a few clicks and bam, hundreds, even thousands are reached about your open position. However, it also means that possibly hundreds will respond, and now you’re inundated with resumes, most of which are not at all qualified.
But, you have to go through them because in that pile is your next employee.
As someone who has been on both sides of this table, I encourage anyone hiring, whether you do it daily as an HR professional, or you have to deal with just the occasional hire…PLEASE communicate with your candidates as if they are already on your team. Let me explain.
It is completely unrealistic to think you should send a personal note to every single applicant. I’m not talking about the big pile that will never make the cut…your HR folks will hopefully take care of them with the generic ‘thanks but no thanks’ email.
I’m talking about those that DO make the cut…the select few you want to learn more about. THIS is the group I’m referring to.
Once you make that initial contact with a potential candidate, you’ve crossed that line…it’s the line that requires you to do the right thing and communicate with this person from here on out, regardless of the outcome.
Here’s a real word scenario: You apply for a job and a few weeks later receive a phone call from the hiring manager for the initial phone interview. They like what you have to offer so they arrange the “in-person” interview. If you’ve made it this far, it’s safe to say you are one of their top candidates. As you walk away and head to the airport after your interview, you assume you will hear from them again, after all, they just said to you, “I’ll be in touch in a week or two.”
You arrive home and immediately send the “Thanks for your Time” note back to the hiring manager…and then you wait, and weeks go by. You send the “I’m still here” email, and nothing. Then there it is…a post on your favorite industry blog that someone else was hired for this job.
WOW!... You liked them enough to go through the time and expense to fly them in, but you don’t care enough to call afterwards to say you decided to go with another candidate? Come on folks…its common courtesy and you owe it to every finalist to let them know what is going on.
If you think I’m exaggerating, I assure you this scenario is a true story. Sadly, a lack of communication during the HR process has become the norm…an acceptable byproduct in today’s workplace.
Do this…put yourself on the other side of the table. At some point, YOU were the one waiting, wondering what was going on. Wouldn’t YOU have appreciated a simple call or email? How hard is it to send that person that you talked to on the phone a follow up email? How hard is it to give a quick phone call to a candidate you met in person and spent the better part of a day with? If you answer truthfully, you know what you should do. It is in our best interest to make the extra effort…do the right thing and communicate with them.
Getting back to my initial statement about communicating with candidates as if they are already on your team…would you leave one of your current employees in the dark about the next project they are responsible for? Of course not. You communicate with them…tell them what is going on, what is expected of them. The same level of communication should be applied with potential job candidates. This person that you interviewed but didn’t hire will get a job somewhere else. And if your industry is like mine, you may find them in a position of influence the next time YOU are searching for a job…don’t laugh, it could happen.
So my simple advise is to treat ANY candidate as if you will run into them again…as if they are already on your team. Communicate with them and take the extra effort to let them know what is going on. Don’t leave them in the dark. Because one thing is for sure…if you don’t communicate with them, they WILL remember you!