Julia WeeksOne of the most important parts of a recruiter’s job is to foster strong relationships with candidates. Without a good candidate-recruiter relationship, a deal can quickly fall apart.
There are four key ways we can create a more personal candidate screening and interviewing process in order to build those strong relationships with talent:
1. Be honest
The key ingredient to any strong relationship is honesty. In the recruiting business, being dishonest with candidates will cost you in the long run, leaving you with untrusting candidates as well as clients who question your work ethics.
Make sure you are forthcoming with your candidates and you will see an increase in the level of trust they have in you as their recruiter.
2. Really listen
Not only is it enough for you to be honest with your candidates, but you must truly listen to their needs and desires. Most candidates can sense if you are really listening.
In the past, I have seen recruiters who multitask when speaking with candidates. While it may seem to get more accomplished in a little amount of time, recruiters always miss valuable pieces of information from the candidates when trying to do this.
Take your time and fully concentrate on your candidate conversations in order to identify any red flags and key must-haves for your candidates.
3. Meet face-to-face
In my recruiting experience, I always found the face-to-face interaction with candidates really helped me to create a more personal relationship with them. I know that this is not always possible due to locations and travel distances, but I did my best to make this happen when given the opportunity.
If you will be traveling to a candidate’s location, make the effort and invite your candidate out for a cup of coffee while you are in their area. Your candidate will greatly appreciate this and the face-to-face interaction will help you build the strong relationship you will need in order to make a future deal work.
4. Use video
When face-to-face interaction is not an option, consider scheduling video interviews with your candidates. While a video is not quite the same as that in-person meeting, it offers much more than a simple phone call. With a live video interview, you and the candidate are able to visually see each other, smile, and better sense each other’s reactions to questions and answers.
Next time you are faced with long distances or travel difficulties, try arranging a live video interview with your candidate. You will instantly see the value of this tool in your business relationships with candidates.
How do you create a more personal candidate screening process? Please share your tips in the comments below.
Image: monkeybusinessimages/BigStock.com
Spark Hire
Josh Tolan
