Candidate Expectations When They are in The Driver’s Seat

In my role as a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Elevated, I help our clients find new team members to join their team. While I’m not a headhunter, and we don’t have a bench of people or connections, just waiting for jobs, I make it easier for clients by handling the job postings, the screening, the manual uploading to various ATS technologies when technologies decide they don’t work together, phone interviews, references, and background checks. You know – the parts that makes recruiting new team members a challenge!

And the thing that gets me out of bed every day? When a hiring manager makes a decision to move forward with an offer, quickly and decisively.

But now, post-pandemic and despite record high inflation, candidates are in the driver seat. So, what does this mean for you as a hiring manager? Simply put: You’re going to need to change a few things and moving fast has to be part of the equation.

From a candidate’s perspective there are a few things to consider:

1. They are looking for the path of least resistance. If you have too many hoops to upload a resume, they will move to the next job ad and apply to them. Asking for a video or a cover letter? We love that, but it might just mean your candidate pool is that much smaller. Tip: Make sure your application process is easy to navigate and participate in.
2. They are looking for communication. When you conduct the first interview, they want to know what the next steps will be and when. Tip: Before the interviews begin, get clear with your process so you can be transparent with the candidate at the end of the interview. Timelines, how many interviews, who will be connecting with them next, are all points of data that may help to keep them connected to the process and stay in it for the long haul.
3. They want you to respect their time. While we believe in more than one interview, do you need 4 and a project that they present in person? Tip: Consider combining peers into one interview, consider having people on back-up (if you are interviewing from 12:30 to 1:30, have someone at 1:30 ready to hop on the Zoom to begin their process). If you are asking a candidate to complete a project, pay them for their time (at Elevated, we use gift cards and e-transfers!)

Understanding your process (and sticking to it) will help you to make decisions, faster.  Good candidates with experience don’t always pop up in a two-week period, within a 50 km radius. But they do disappear if they aren’t connected to you in an authentic way.