It’s happened again. You’ve gone through five rounds with a stellar candidate. They aced the screening interview, impressed the hiring manager, and made it all the way to lunch with the CEO. They seemed like the perfect hire. Until they went radio silent when you gave them an offer. How is this possible?
43% of HR professionals cite that the primary reason they’re losing out on talent is due to their competition. But in this candidate-centric job market, there’s more to it than that. It’s not always the competition. It’s your hiring process. In reality, candidates say the number one reason they decline a job offer is due to a negative experience during the interview process.
You consider your traditional recruitment practices to be second nature at this point. But the modern candidate can find them off-putting, unnecessary, and ultimately, a dealbreaker. Consider these four hiring habits that are holding you back from hiring top talent and find solutions to fix them.
Unrealistic Expectations
Of course, job descriptions are wish lists. It would be incredible to hire a candidate with SaaS experience and a Master of Science in statistics. But what about candidates who don’t check every single box, but still have potential? A recruiter may connect with a person who is self-taught with no degree. The ideal candidate may not look like what they originally had in mind.
While they may possess certain skills and experience in mind, does the salary match it? If you’re looking to fill a senior position with entry-level pay, it’s unrealistic to assume you’ll obtain top talent this way as well. If recruiters don’t have a conversation about the salary range early on with the candidate, they may find their salary expectations are grossly mismatched.
Vagueness About Role
If your candidate isn’t sure what they’re interviewing for, how can they be excited about it? Workers cite confusing or vague job descriptions as the second reason they don’t apply. The company must be upfront about the job during phone screenings and interviews during the entire process. It’s up to the recruiter to do their due diligence when creating the job description. Job descriptions should be specific about skills and experience, but not overwhelming with qualifications.
But vagueness isn’t just limited to a job description. The candidate shouldn’t have to ask about the benefits or why you’re looking to hire. It’s up to the recruiter to bring up all these talking points before candidates get too far along in the process.
Stalling Next Steps
Your talent acquisition team may be extremely busy with interviews and prospects, but your candidates shouldn’t catch wind of that. You don’t want to take too much time to get back to your candidate. Deliver on your promises, like you’ll reach out to them no matter what in a few weeks.
Even worse, you don’t want to string a person along for a fictional “better” candidate. Some HR professionals get stuck in this mindset and want to keep conducting interviews just in case. This ideal candidate may not even exist. Focus on the candidate in front of you.
Top talent will be swooped up quickly by a competitor in a candidate-driven market. In fact, recruiters typically only have 10 days to offer a job to top talent before they’ll take an offer somewhere else. Competitive candidates likely have a few other offers lined up. If you snooze, you will certainly lose out on talented professionals.
Ignoring Culture
You’ve found a great candidate with the right education and experience. But how would they add to your company? Interviewing is a two-way street. Don’t focus just on how the candidate may fit into the culture. But rather, ask questions to gauge their cultural “add” to the team. Ask several behavioural questions to get a better idea of their personality and how they’d react in certain professional situations.
At the end of the day, you are also likely the first point of contact at the company. It’s up to you to sell the culture. Consider the fact that 77% of candidates will consider company culture before even applying! Recruiters should offer perspective as to why your company is a great place to work. If it seems they’re not too keen on where they work, top talent will pick up on that.
Clearly, these dated habits are repelling talent away from your company. It’s time to hire smart. Consider these innovative hiring solutions to get top performers in your pipeline.
Solution 1 – Be Open to Change
Make sure your entire process is centred around the candidate’s experience with your company. From their first contact, the application process should be simple and easy. Don’t inundate candidates with duplicative questions about their work history. Employ an applicant tracking system to keep track of clients and confirm their application submission.
Revamp your interview process as well. Reconsider their structure. Ask meaningful interview questions that help you determine the candidate’s expertise. Ensure the candidate has time to meet enough people without going overboard with the number of interviews. Too many stakeholders will spoil the process.
Finally, if you haven’t been as responsive as you could’ve been with candidates, it’s time to start. Recruiters should follow up on the next steps or rejections when they said they would. Rewrite job expectations that are crystal clear and communicate your values as a company. Dedication to communication will help build a positive association with your company – whether or not the candidate gets the job.
Solution 2 – Bridge Gaps with Oomple
Some positions are better suited for on-demand professionals. Freelancers are highly skilled professionals ready to fill in any talent gaps on your existing team. Whether it’s a short-term or long-term project, you can hire freelancers for your company with Oomple.
Oomple allows companies like yours to connect with skilled and available on-demand professionals through our freelancing website. Complement your team with professionals in IT, finance, marketing, and more! Rest easy knowing you’re only staffing candidates who are qualified, vetted, and ready to work.
Ready to start hiring with Oomple? Book a call with one of our account managers to get started!