Many interviewers seem to forget that following up with every candidate who applies for a position in your company whether you decide to hire them or not is an important part of the job recruitment process. According to a candidate experience survey carried out by Talent Board, 53% do not receive feedback after the screening stage while 69.7% receive no feedback after being rejected. The worst feeling one can experience when job hunting is being ghosted by a company or hiring manager after an interview.
With the advent of technology, such negative behavior may portray the company involved as impolite; if two or more people begin to give reviews about their recruitment experience on social media, review sites, and so on.
Most times, many companies refuse to follow up because it is a hassle to contact unsuccessful candidates and break down the bad news. I mean, no one wants to be the bad guy here. However, it is necessary and polite to send that rejection mail or call such a candidate.
Let’s dive into the ways you can you can follow up with candidates after an interview;
Appreciate them: It would be nice to appreciate the efforts of candidates that took their time to prepare and attend the interview. Thank them for taking the time to apply for the job and continue with the interview.
Break the news in a succinct manner: Break the news in relation to how they failed without sounding disrespectful . Go straight to the point but do that in a personalized message as form mails do not provide substantive information. It is advisable to also use their name when addressing them.
Ask if they want feedback: Some people would love to hear what they did wrong and how they can improve. Only do this if they expressly consent to this because not everyone appreciates criticisms.
Offer objective advice: Do not give subjective advice and opinions. Give feedback based on real evidence and things that can be improved in relation to the position applied for.
Use data: It can be helpful if you let the candidate know how many people were interviewed and the way they were all evaluated.
It is important to keep all candidates in the loop whether successful or unsuccessful throughout the recruitment process. Keep them informed about how the recruitment would take place, whether the interviews would still be conducted and your final verdict. A quick mail or call letting them know about major updates would do more good than harm.
If you do find a successful candidate, let them know about it as soon as possible as it gives you a chance
to know how they feel and how to negotiate the terms of contract. Your follow up mail for successful candidates should include the job title, pay details, benefits, working hours, terms of employment, commencement date and other relevant information along with a request for them to acknowledge and
accept the job offer.
Follow ups not only provide closure for candidates but they also improve your company brand. A company’s recruitment process can also be improved by outsourcing to job recruitment agencies to make the hiring process smooth and keep all the candidates in the loop.
PS; Before any job hiring process, think about previous candidate experience and feedback to see how to improve your company’s recruitment process.