Don’t Be Rude to Job Applicants

In yesterday’s Advisor, we discussed the fact that many job applicants walk away from the process frustrated, often because of a perceived lack of information or follow through from employers. There are many ways the process can be improved. Here are a few more ways to treat applicants better:

Ensure the application process works well and be reasonable with applicant requests.

Be aware of how the entire process comes across from the applicant perspective. First, review your application process and ensure it’s not overly arduous. Of course you need to get all of the information required to make a good decision, but that should be balanced with not making applicants jump through unnecessary hoops or endure application processes that are complicated or overly time-consuming, especially during the earliest stages.
Next, confirm all aspects of the application process work well across multiple devices and browsers. Not only will candidates appreciate a straightforward process without errors, you’ll also have the benefit of losing fewer candidates to frustration along the way.

If you get a “no,” take it gracefully.

This advice can be applicable at any stage of the process. For example:

• When trying to recruit passive candidates and they’re not applying for the job, don’t be overly pushy in getting them to apply. This won’t result in goodwill toward the organization—no matter how good the job fit appears to be on paper.
• When offering someone a job and they’ve indicated they need a better pay or benefit package, talk with them professionally about it, regardless of whether you can meet their needs or not. If you can reach an agreement, don’t derail it here with your own frustrations. If not, it still pays to be graceful in the conversations, even if you think their requests are unrealistic. You never know when this individual may apply again later for something that is a better fit, or perhaps they know of someone who would be a good candidate for you. Don’t risk harming the organization’s reputation over a candidate that won’t work out.

Speed up the recruiting process.

Regardless of your internal timeline, the job applicant is likely looking to get started quickly. When you drag out the process, it makes it more difficult for that person to make other life decisions that may hinge on your next moves. This is relevant at all stages of the recruiting process, but perhaps especially so after the interviews. Help them out by making the process efficient, giving timelines and sticking with them.

Be wary of eliminating candidates for poor reasons.

It may seem reasonable to have a set list of “must haves” for applications, such as x years of industry-specific experience or x degree attained. But be careful about this because you may be overlooking a perfectly good applicant who has slightly different – but still applicable – experience. This can sour an applicant on your entire process because you’ll be seen as too rigid. You can lose good applicants not only for this role but for future ones.