Over the last few posts, Darchelle Nass, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Administrative at Addison Group, has offered insight into the world of phone screening. In part one, she offered some tips on listening for body language. And in part two, she offered some best practices jobseekers can use to ace a phone interview.
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These tips and best practices are great, but they can’t be utilized if candidates aren’t taking your calls. With the number of robocalls being sent daily, many people are now screening phone calls and ignoring numbers they don’t recognize. We asked Nass what advice she would give to recruiters and hiring managers to ensure that their phone calls and texts get answered.
“Top talent, with or without an active job search, are being sought out via phone, e-mail and text,” says Nass. “Candidates have shared that they respond to inquiries that are specifically tailored to them and are engaging.”
Nass says that there are steps that a recruiter or hiring manager can do to increase their success rate in reaching top candidates, these include:
Initiating the Search
“A good first step is to consider who would be a fit in this role and why they would be interested,” says Nass. “To secure the best talent, it is not a time of offering a lateral move. Candidates are savvy and understand that it is a competitive job market.”
Nass says, “Consider telling candidates that the role would be a step in a positive direction in terms of total rewards, commute, title, or responsibility. Define the core non-negotiables to the role and where you might be able to compromise.”
Crafting Your Communication
“Before starting outreach, you should set aside time to bullet point out the key selling points for the role and organization. Make this specific and tailored to the audience that you are trying to reach,” advises Nass. “Candidates are excited to hear that a company is growing or that a position reports to a manager with a track record of developing top performers. If you are having a hard time finding the selling points to a role, a candidate will not be interested in pursuing that role either.”
Connecting
“HR professionals, hiring managers, and candidates are busy and inundated with contact through multiple mediums,” says Nass. “Make sure that your messaging is consistent and impactful to stand out.”
Nass also suggests setting aside time to reach out to candidates via phone, when you are not distracted and are able to focus on delivering a professional outreach. “Be warm and approachable in your message and don’t put barriers in place for a candidate to follow up,” she adds.
Be Flexible
“A working candidate may be more likely to speak during commute time or after hours rather than during the workday in early conversations,” says Nass. “Providing candidates the cue that you can be flexible will increase your chance to start the dialogue.”
By using the tips Nass has provided above, you’ll be able to connect with job candidates more quickly. And keep in mind the tips Nass shared for conducting a successful phone interview and for helping jobseekers ace the interview. When taking all these tips and best practices in, you’ll be better situated for offering a faster hiring process, as well as a greater candidate experience.