1. Stop Recruiting - Start Engaging: 5 opportunities
for better candidate engagement in 2016.
I believe that technology, coupled with an ever-increasing volume of applicants,
and little to no training given to inexperienced recruiters has led us down the
garden path - that is, the path of least resistance!
Social networks and email have made it very easy for recruiters to ‘connect' with
candidates quickly and effortlessly, but every recruiter should ask the question ‘am
I engaging with candidates in a meaningful way?'
One of my previous roles involved working with a recruiter who was very good at
sourcing candidates and making placements…this was in spite of the fact that I
NEVER heard this person on the phone speaking with candidates, not once, not
EVER! All contact, up to the actual interview was made over social media and
email.
I was truly perplexed at this approach as it just didn't make sense to me and I
struggled to see how it could be effective or rewarding as a recruiter. It was at this
point in time where I really started to think about the difference
betweenrecruiting vs truly engaging with candidates.
As mentioned, this recruiter was great at bringing candidates to the table, but it had
the feel of a sanitised production line. I compare this type of recruiting to
commercial fishing - cast the net wide enough and you'll catch something, but what
about the damage caused along the way?
This type of broad sourcing approach may be effective to some degree, however, I
can't help but question the quality of placement for the organisation and the actual
experience this approach gives candidates. I strongly believe that true candidate

2. engagement yields far superior results than simply recruiting by the numbers and
hoping for the best.
Below I have listed 5 opportunities where you can really engage with candidates
throughout the recruitment process. Embrace one, or all of these opportunities for
engagement and you will no longer be a ‘bums on seats' recruiter – you will be
creating meaningful experiences for yourself and the candidates you interact with,
and it's a relatively easy way to set yourself apart as a true professional in the ever
growing sea of ‘recruiters'.
Advertising
Candidate engagement starts the moment you post a job ad. I often think of job
ads as the recruiters ‘elevator pitch'. It's your 30-second opportunity to tell
candidates why your organisation and vacancy is one they should consider
applying for. Describe the organisation and be specific about the position's
requirements (so that It's easy for candidates to self-deselect, or for you to make an
assessment easily regarding suitability), but not so specific that you turn potentially
great applicants off. It's a fine line, but one that most experienced recruiters can
manage with ease.
Over the last 5 years, I've seen an increasing number of job ads that state "only
shortlisted applicants will be contacted". Think about it, why would good
applicants bother taking the time and effort to submit an application when you're
saying straight off the bat ‘you probably won't hear from us'. It smacks of ‘my
time is more important than yours' and as a recruiter I find this practice
embarrassing for the industry as a whole.
If a candidate takes the time and effort to apply to your organisation, they deserve
a response acknowledging receipt of their application, followed by an email

3. advising them of the status of their application indicating that someone has actually
taken the time to read it and form an assessment of their suitability for the vacancy.
Remember, just because the volume of applicants has increased considerably over
the last few years, it shouldn't change your approach to recruitment, after all, you're
still looking for the best, right? The best candidates are still out there - you just
have to look a little deeper and work a little harder to get there!
Long list
This is an excellent stage to start personally engaging with candidates. Pick up the
phone, introduce yourself and simply start a conversation. Tell the candidate about
the culture and values of the organisation you are recruiting for, discuss at length,
the position's requirements and how the role fits into the organisations structure.
Through this conversation, you will start to form an assessment of the candidate's
suitability for the role. You have an opportunity at this stage to really delve into
the candidates' history, skill and experience – ask questions, challenge
(respectfully) and discuss at length and in great detail to gather all of the
information required to make an informed decision regarding suitability.
At the end of the conversation, if the candidate is clearly not suitable for the role –
tell them! If they have been an active participant in the conversation, it will
unlikely be a surprise to them and they may even self-deselect based on the
information that has been discussed and choose to withdraw from the
process. Either way, I can guarantee that he or she will appreciate your honesty
and the time you have taken to have the conversation.
On the other side of the coin, if your initial assessment is that the candidate is
suitable for the role, tell them that they will be shortlisted and explain what the

4. next steps in the process are including time frames and when they can expect to
hear from you again.
Shortlist
Having established your final long list, you will now progress those candidates
deemed suitable to the shortlist. The shortlist usually includes only a handful of
candidates that meet or exceed the requirements of the role and is typically used by
the hiring manager/decision maker to determine who to interview.
This stage provides another great opportunity to engage with shortlisted
candidates. Once you have sent the final shortlist to the hiring manager/decision
maker, call the candidate to tell them that their details have been forwarded to the
decision maker for review and give them an indication of when they can expect
feedback.
Again, when providing shortlisted candidates with feedback, make sure it's direct,
honest and constructive.
Interview
The face to face interview is often the one and only opportunity you may have to
meet a candidate throughout the entire recruitment process.
Picture a scenario where the candidate has had no verbal interaction at all, all
communication, up to this point has been received by email. Now, picture another
scenario where the candidate has had multiple conversations about the role,
organisation and their experience relative to the vacancy. Both scenarios will
ultimately result in the outcome of a placement being made, but which scenario do
you think left the candidates feeling like the experience was worthwhile –
successful or not?

5. Engaging a candidate and establishing a relationship prior to an interview
demonstrates to the candidate that you are willing to invest your time and energy
into finding the right person for the role, it also provides you with much more
information to base your assessment on than a CV alone. If this is done correctly,
then no matter the outcome the candidate should not walk away feeling like they
have wasted their time or been duped in any way.
Post Interview
Provide constructive, honest and direct feedback after an interview. Make sure it's
relevant to the role and provide suggestions where they may be able to make
improvements. Although you may be delivering ‘bad' news, I can guarantee that
any candidate, although disappointed with the outcome, will walk away feeling
that they have been treated fairly and equitably having received honest,
constructive feedback. Don't let your interviewed candidates walk away feeling
like you have wasted their time or that they have been lied to or treated unfairly.
I'm a big believer in inviting the successful candidate, post interview, into the
office to meet with the team he or she will be working with. This is another point
of engagement that makes the candidate feel as though they are wanted, needed
and already seen as one of the team.
In closing, true engagement starts with how you, the recruiter, make a
candidatefeel. Because how you make a candidate feel (about you, the vacancy,
and the organisation you represent), will ultimately factor into the candidate's
decision-making process.
There is no way to extricate ourselves from the technology associated with
recruitment and we have no control over the volume of applicants we receive for
each vacancy. What we do have control over is the feeling or experience a
candidate has after interacting with us.

6. Start engaging more meaningfully with your candidates. Through engagement,
you will meet your recruiting targets in a much more meaningful and enjoyable
way. Recruitment shouldn't be a production line. You, the recruiter has control
over the process and ultimately the candidate experience – do your best to make it
a good one!