The Value Of Feedback When Recruiting
As the job pool widens and the volume of applicants shrinks, it may be in the recruiter’s best interest to help an applicant along. You need to exemplify the expertise your client is looking for while illustrating sound and impartial judgment as you screen. When the job and the candidate is a near, yet not perfect, match, it’s worth taking a closer look.
94% of job seekers desire feedback. Their advice can range anywhere from observing inconsistencies in cover letters and resumes to giving up on an opportunity too fast. As a recruiter, it’s challenging not to tire of job seekers making the same common mistakes. Yet volunteering helpful feedback inches a job-hunter closer to achieving their goals and makes them a more viable nominee.
Take A Closer Look
15% of applicants who have a positive hiring experience put extra energy into the job. So, developing the skill for delivering effective and well-placed feedback may end up being one of the best fielding techniques in your kit. If you’ve delivered your feedback well, and improved your candidate’s odds, it could pay off tenfold.
It’s important to be judicious. No one expects you to burden yourself by giving feedback to every candidate in the field. Be discerning and compare their experience to the realism of their goals. Balance the good with the bad. How close are they to the mark? If an applicant’s experience looks great, but their resume’s presentation doesn’t cut it, focus on the content. Let’s say their resume or cover letter is generic and hasn’t been customized. How long were they at their last position? Has it been a decade since they designed a resume? Perhaps they need a confidence boost or a few gentle pointers to achieve their goals.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Show them the way and answer the questions they didn’t know to ask. Identify someone worthy of feedback, and gauge how they receive your advice.
Nondefensive communication
As an introduction, point out what attracted you to that candidate. Next, divulge that as a recruiter, you feel obligated to point out how frequently those common mistakes are overlooked. You’re not pointing out the mistakes they’ve made. You’re addressing the commonality, which is validating.
A study from Harvard University revealed that delivering negative feedback can result in people avoiding you. Their responses to your feedback will weigh upon your delivery. Never speak in absolutes or in vague terms. Detail what you feel are their strengths, growth opportunities, and how near they are to the mark.
Take responsibility for the feedback you deliver. If it’s coming from personal experience or boils down to a matter of your professional opinion, then frame it as such. It’s less confusing and lends credibility to your advice. If you’ve communicated non-defensively, their responses may give you greater insight into the quality of the candidate.
Followup
Make sure the feedback you deliver is prompt. Having little-to-no luck in their search, they may stick with their velvet handcuffs and drop off. A missed opportunity. 60% of job-hunters quit hunting because the process takes longer than they expected. If you wait too long, your advice loses its impact or becomes irrelevant.
Study their responses. Do they mirror you, repeating back what you’ve aimed to convey, or are they missing the mark? Is the confusion or miscommunication coming from your end or theirs? These things should be easy to identify. If they received your feedback well, consider offering additional support and make yourself available when possible. Hone your delivery and you’ll improve your screening techniques tenfold, gaining the trust of your clients and the candidates you aim to recruit.