Top 15 Do’s and Don’ts for Candidate Communication

It’s challenging to find and attract the right talent, consuming about 36 days of the recruiter’s work-life.

 

But one thing that can make the job easier is effective communication.

Why is Candidate Communication Crucial?

 

Communication is an essential part of the recruitment process for candidates to understand your company and the role, and for you to determine if they are the right fit for the job.

 

Cutting corners here can set you down with a bad hire and additional cost.

 

But that’s not the only reason you should invest in candidate communication. Here are the 4 benefits of honest and consistent communication.

 

1) Set the Right Expectations

 

Candidate communication begins the moment you publish the job description.

 

And the clarity in your requirements reflects in the candidate pool that it attracts.

 

Therefore, it’s crucial to clearly define the roles and responsibilities so that you don’t have to work through hundreds of unfit resumes and the relevant candidates can make an informed decision.

 

2) Improve Success Rate

 

Communication brings everyone on the same page and avoids misunderstanding.

 

Stay in touch with your candidates to keep them updated and ensure they carry through the hiring process.

 

3)Avoid Bad Marketing

 

Communication isn’t just crucial for the candidates you have selected. It’s equally so for the dropped candidates.

 

Empathic communication can prevent bad candidate experiences and dreadful social reviews.

 

Maintaining good relationships with candidates is an essential skill for any recruiter. It leaves the door open for candidates to apply for a new position in the future and also improves your reputation as an employer.

 

4) Collect Feedback

 

Communication can help you gain insights into candidate expectations and close the possible gaps in your processes.

 

You can collect feedback from all the candidates to gather an unbiased opinion and improve your candidate management.

 

How to Create a Positive Candidate Experience?

 

Improving the candidate experience makes them feel confident about the opportunity and the company. And you can be sure that even if the candidate doesn’t get selected, they will only have good things to talk about the whole experience.

 

 

Here’s how you can enhance the candidate experience.

 

1) Outline the Complete Candidate Journey

 

Missing out on planning each stage of the hiring journey can lead to severe oversights and affect candidate experience.

 

For better control, lay out the main touchpoints of the process and the timeline. It will help the candidates prepare better, driving promising results.

 

Break down the process into stages like

 

   1) Application: Draft a concise job description that mentions the requirements clearly. Choose the platforms where you’ll be publishing it and how you’ll manage the referrals.

 

   2) Screening: It can be overwhelming to analyze each resume manually. So, to make it easier, use an automated screening system. Think about the must-haves and good-to-haves for an ideal candidate.

   3) Interview: Inform the concerned managers about the schedule and the candidates’ background beforehand to make the interviews beneficial.

 

   4) Offer: Have an honest discussion with the candidate discussing all significant criteria.

 

2) Maintain Regular Communication

 

Ensure that your candidates are fully aware of what’s going on behind the scenes.

 

Prompt communication through emails or calls is a great way to keep the candidates engaged and show how much you value them.

 

Follow up regularly to understand the candidate’s plans, and don’t forget to inform the rejected candidates promptly.

 

3) Automate Recruiting Process

 

Though it’s important to keep the candidates updated, it can be a tiring task for you.

 

Use an applicant tracking system (ATS) that can help you streamline your processes while maintaining a repository of all candidates.

 

4) Value Candidate’s Time

 

No candidate likes to go through multiple rounds of interviews, answering similar questions.

 

Though understandably, you want to make the best decision but find ways to balance this with the candidate’s time. Re-evaluate your interview process and analyze if you can shorten it without losing out on any critical aspect.

 

Some of the common ways to do so are

 

   1) Briefing the interviewers about the candidate and sharing their resume beforehand with them.

 

   2) Requesting the interviewers to prepare their questions to avoid redundancy.

 

   3) Suggesting taking notes for further analysis and decision making.

 

   4) Reducing the interview time if a 60-minutes call can be wrapped in less time.

 

5) Share Preparation Material

 

Candidates highly appreciate it when recruiters are involved in their journey. Assist them with ample resources to prepare for the rounds and know more about your company’s goal and vision.

 

6) Be Open to Questions

 

Interested candidates will have questions about the role and the company. So, prepare yourself in advance with some of the following tips.

 

   1) Understand the details of the role and the responsibilities with the help of respective department heads.

 

   2) Create a knowledge bank for frequently asked questions about the company and the department.

 

   3) Share direct communication channels for instant resolutions.

 

   4) Proactively ask if they have any questions or need any clarifications.

 

How to Communicate Rejection to Candidates?

 

There are better ways to communicate rejection to candidates without making it awkward. Follow the below steps to convert even rejected candidates into your promoters.

 

1) Share Timely Update

 

Don’t keep the candidate guessing about the application status. Promptly inform them if they aren’t selected.

 

Use channels like email to communicate the information, or you can also connect over call or an applicant tracking system that allows instant and convenient communication.

 

2) Personalize Your Message

 

Rejection is already disheartening, and a generic system-generated response even so.

 

Personalize your standard responses to show empathy and appreciation for their time.

 

 

Starting an email with the candidate’s unique strengths they told you about is a great way to soften the blow.

 

3) Include Honest Feedback

 

While sending a rejection email, don’t forget to give insight to the candidate about their performance.

 

Honest feedback can help the candidates improve their skills to apply again in the future. Through this simple practice, you can build a loyal community of applicants who will not hesitate to reapply for upcoming opportunities.

 

4) Refer them to Better Positions

 

Sometimes even the best candidates might not be a suitable fit for the role you’re looking for.

 

Instead of just rejecting the candidate, it’s a great practice to refer them to better positions.

 

It can help you build strong candidate relationships and provide them with new opportunities.

 

5) Keep an Open-door for Future Possibilities

 

Rejecting a candidate doesn’t have to mean burning bridges with them.

 

Once you have shared the feedback, mention the guidelines for reapplying.

Usually, companies have a minimum of 3 months to allow re-application by a rejected candidate.

 

Add a link for the candidate to view the open positions.

 

15 Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Candidate Communication

 

1) DO Draft a Job Description Worth the Attention

 

Make it clear, concise, and informative to attract the right candidates for the role. Include links to resources, company policies, and videos to give a glimpse of the work culture to the candidates.

 

2) DO Treat Each Candidate Like Your Employees

 

Acknowledge each candidate and maintain regular communication to update them about their application status.

 

It ensures a positive candidate experience and a reputable company image.

 

3) DO Pay Undivided Attention

 

Active listening can give you great insights into candidate potential and help you make a better selection.

 

4) Do Welcome Questions

 

Turn candidate interactions into a two-way street where they can ask relevant questions without any hesitation.

 

Provide detailed answers to their questions to give them visibility and understanding.

 

5) Do Automate Your Recruiting Processes

 

If you manage the hiring journey manually, errors and forgetting tasks are more likely.

 

Use technology to automate repetitive tasks and organize your candidate communication in a single place.

 

6) Do Speak an Inclusive Language

 

It’s essential to be sensitive and open-minded when communicating with candidates. Use inclusive language that can’t be misinterpreted in the wrong way.

 

Avoid making unnecessary comments about age, race, gender, etc.

 

7) Do Leverage the Power of Feedback

 

Ensure that the feedback isn’t just left in the candidate file but is also implemented into your existing policies.

8) DO Follow-up with the Selected Candidates

 

The top talent has no lack of offers. So, if you assume that a good interview automatically translates into a finalized candidate, you are wrong.

 

Follow up with the candidates to understand their plans so that you can schedule the onboarding accordingly.

 

9) DON’T Keep Salary a Secret

 

Many recruiters refrain from disclosing the salary information. It can work against you if a selected candidate backs out after negotiations.

 

At least share a salary range in your job description to attract the relevant candidate pool. It will save your efforts and your candidate’s time.

 

10) DON’T Forget About Referrals

 

Employee referrals are a goldmine of good candidates.

 

Use a referral management system to effectively screen and select potential prospects.

 

11) DON’T Go Unprepared for a Candidate Interaction

 

Going unprepared for a discussion with a candidate can turn into a wasted opportunity.

 

Prepare your questions and discussion points in advance.

12) Don’t Ask Personal Questions

 

Ask questions about the candidate’s professional experience and personality, relevant to the position.

 

Getting into a candidate’s personal space can be rude and unprofessional. Stick to the questions that won’t put the candidate into an uncomfortable position.

 

13) Don’t Oversell the Company or the Role

 

Ensure that your communication reflects an honest image of your company and the role offered.

 

Exaggerating the work culture or hiding the not-so-good aspects can impact your employee retention rate.

 

 

14) Don’t Keep the Hiring Process Private

 

Educating candidates about your hiring process and the selection criteria encourages them to put their best foot forward.

 

It also promotes proper selection without any biases.

 

15) Don’t Miss the Video Interactions

 

Face-to-face interactions let you evaluate the whole aspects of candidate behavior. But if that’s not feasible, include video meetings as part of your hiring process.

 

In today's times, recruiters spend $1500+ on average hiring candidates for a single position. And the cost and time are only increasing every day.

 

That’s why it’s the right moment to invest in resources that shoulder the burden of the recruitment team and save expenses in the long run. Incorporate an applicant tracking platform that lets you efficiently manage referrals and acquire talent.

 

You can try RippleHire's talent acquisition platform, which allows smooth integration with your existing systems to bring the top talent to your team.