Hi Recruiters,
Welcome to part 2 of 2, where I'm highlighting my takeaways from our F.R.B.R. Conference presenters from earlier this month.
I really can't stress enough how lucky we are to have so many passionate and skilled folks in the community who are willing to share their experience and tips for success.
As I sorted my notes from these speakers, there was one theme that kept sticking out to me: The importance of follow-through.
Whether it's a recruiter or hiring team failing to guide candidates through their process properly, candidates failing to follow up or respond timely, or folks on opposite sides of the aisle getting ghosted, I think much of what creates bad experiences these days is largely due to a lack of follow-through.
When loose ends remain loose ends, expectations are missed, and promises are broken. Those experiences don't feel good for anyone.
Are we really too busy, too inundated to take the ball all the way to the end zone?
As someone who grew up playing competitive sports, I know what happens when you don't follow through. You fumble the pass. You miss the lay up. You lose.
Let's get on with some advice on how to reinvigorate our practice with some pride — and follow through.
Career strategist, sourcer, recruiter, and AI enthusiast Bryan Dyer came on at the halfway mark to recount his very recent experience as a job seeker — and the fact that the "journey" when looking for work is much more chaotic than it is linear.
The numbers don't lie. Here's what Bryan's over 1,400 job applications, which netted 27 interviews, over the course of 88 days, really look like:
The conclusion? That the candidate experience is plagued with ambiguity. It's hard to know what is working and what isn't; why he didn't get a job; how exactly he is over or underqualified; what about the interview didn't sit right with the hiring team, etc.
Bryan suggests that as recruiters, we are in an important position to disrupt the status quo, to be more human, more empathetic, and more responsive.
Because that's what we would want when we're on the other side of the fence.
For those who may be in the thick of job searching, recruiter David Schultz, who has successfully pivoted from tech to trucking and sales, joined us to share some excellent advice for applying and interviewing.
The principles and habits of recruiting are universal. If you're considering switching to a different industry, still highlight the obvious, day-to-day stuff:
Be prepared to talk about your toughest challenges, like filling a difficult req, or dealing with a tricky client. Practice structuring your responses using the SAR method:
And one more piece of advice for good measure: Your job board profiles should have as much detail as your resume.
Great notes, David.
TA adviser and recruiter Tamara Swearingen followed to share a familiar ghost story.
It goes like this. Although a recruiter selected an excited candidate to go through the hiring process, they failed to have any correspondence between or after interviews, despite (a) saying they would, (b) the candidate progressing through rounds and (c) the candidate reaching out for feedback. After the final interview, the candidate hears nothing for days, then weeks. Finally, after seeing the job listing disappear, the candidate receives a canned rejection email.
No call. No personal message.
I love Tamara's perspective: With one swift move, recruiters have the power to make a big impact on a person and organization. Failing to act with kindness also creates an equally sized impact, but one that's negative.
Veteran recruiter Keith Halperin joined in to share what TA can do to minimize the issue of ghosting. I agree with Keith when he says the root of the problem has to do with employers allowing too many applications for a given job.
Why does it matter? Because, as Keith said so well, "[Candidates and recruiters] are all entitled to courteous, professional and timely communication."
A few simple but effective tips to lower the numbers yet raise the quality of applicants:
Keith also suggests deploying cost-effective tools like chatbots to handle time-consuming but important tasks like routine communications.
The question now is, in Keith's words, "The tools exist now to reduce ghosting, does the will to do so also exist?"
Recruiter Maité Rodríguez was willing to talk about how she's had moments in her career where, while managing an oversized workload, she ghosted candidates who deserved better.
She's since fully committed to being a true believer in the power of the follow-up — for both recruiters and candidates.
It makes sense. According to candidate data from Greenhouse, the biggest red flag in the hiring process is a lack of communication:
Poor communication isn't just a turn-off, it results in a high likelihood (54%) of candidates abandoning the recruitment process. And what caliber of candidates do you think are going to bounce if their expectations aren't met? Yeah…
As Maite points out, the goal is to make your candidate successful. Let's not forget that.
Although much about finding a job has changed rapidly over the years, 19-year recruiting, sourcing, and TA vet Holli Pohl reminds us that some of the basics — such as the resume — are not ripe for innovation.
For anyone job hunting, she shared two areas of advice I thought were key.
Resume tips:
Who you know matters (a lot):
Thanks, Holli.
Aaron Ibañez here! Is it just me or is this year flying by? Must be having too much fun. Plus, we've been busy bringing you content we think you'll love. Check out this conversation Daniel Harten had this week with Trent Cotton about what it means to be a high-performance recruiter.