I’ve got some questions for some of you IT Recruiters in DFW. Had any great candidates disappear on you lately? Take other jobs? Decline an interview? It’s not anything magical, the market in DFW has picked up to the point where candidates have numerous options and opportunities. It is inevitable that you will lose a candidate to other offers, but good recruiters can see it coming and will at least know what the candidate’s options are and where they are at in the process.
Don’t get caught off guard or surprised by candidates taking other positions. Instead, communicate with your candidates throughout the recruiting process. Notice I didn’t say control your candidates, because that’s a myth and I find people that use the term “candidate control” laughable.
Pre-screen and Submittal
During the prescreening process and before you submit the candidate’s resume to your client, ask the candidate where they are at in the job search. How many companies are they submitted to? Have they interviewed? Are they in the final stages with anyone? Do they have an offer in hand? These questions are the same for contractors or direct hire candidates.
Interview Process
Prep you candidate for any and all interviews. This will help your candidate with the client interview, but more importantly, it is yet another time to find out where the candidate is in their job search. Ask the questions from the Pre-Screen and Submittal process once again and add a few additional questions such as “Where does this opportunity stand in comparison to the others?” (I know that they haven’t interviewed yet but you will want to know). “What is your timeline for deciding?” “If the interview goes well, how soon can you start?”
Post Interview Feedback
Every company and recruiter in staffing should utilize an Interview Feedback Questionnaire and it should be a required step in the process. After the interview, ask the candidate the same question from the Interview Prep “Where does this opportunity stand in comparison to the others?” (Look for changes from the earlier answer). Ask the candidate if they would like to see an offer from the client. An optional line of questions for your candidate could be “Out of all of your opportunities, where does this rank?” “Who are you in the process of interviewing with and how does my opportunity differ?
This article may seem VERY basic and is covering the “Blocking and Tackling” aspect of recruiting but you would be surprised at how many companies and recruiters that I speak to that get away from the basics. Two of the biggest complaints that I hear lately are “Our start to interview ratio is skewed.” (AKA Too many interviews to starts) and “Candidates have more options and are taking jobs quickly.”
The quickest way to resolve these issues is to communicate with your candidates during the entire recruiting process and getting back to the basics of recruiting: Screening, Interview Preps, Interview Feedback Questionnaires, etc.
Hopefully, some of the things mentioned in this article will help and your numbers will magically increase.
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