What is a better feeling than having top-notch performers applying for a position that your company is recruiting? You’re more excited than ever that you will find someone great who will fit right into your team and your company. However, they withdrew their applications during hiring process for some apparent reasons and your heart dropped to your stomach. Now you need to know why.
We believe that there are several reasons to explain candidates’ disengagement and withdrawal of the process entirely. Below we’ll explore five reasons why this happens and what you can do to prevent it.
Long and Tedious Hiring Process
Many star performers will leave the race if the hiring process is lengthy and complicated. For many businesses this is the primary cause of candidates dropping out. Examine the process critically and look for ways to streamline and simplify it. Ensure that the application process is well-understood by the applicants, and maintain contact with them at all times. If an unforeseen event occurs that lengthens the process more than intended, contact the top candidates and explain the situation and solution. Candidates would think twice before dropping out of the program if they are communicated with honesty and promptness.
Poor Interview Experience
Put yourself in the applicant’s shoes. If you were the one being interviewed what would you expect and appreciate? Ensure that courtesy and friendliness is extended and the questions being asked in the interview are relevant. The interviewer must be focused and engaging, if they appear unorganized, unprepared, or distracted the candidate will question what it’s like to work there and may well decide that they would be better off elsewhere. The interviewer is an extension of the company and the business brand and must be your best ambassador.
Challenging Navigation
Many businesses have an online application portal. A company will lose top talent at the outset when the online application is frustrating and cumbersome. This area of your website needs to be well thought out, organized, and easy to use. It must also showcase the company culture and the many benefits of working there. It serves as the first impression that a potential employee will encounter and it’s true; you never get a second chance to make a good first impression!
Communication
It is impossible to overestimate the value of maintaining constant contact with prospects. If there are long gaps in the application process, the applicants will begin to wonder what their working experience will be like. Frequent and relevant emails and phone calls help keep candidates interested in working for your organization. Adding them to your newsletter mailing list is another way to keep the applicants in the loop while also offering them a look at the company culture. Keep them updated on next steps and follow through. Honest communication helps to build trust and rapport.
See more: Does your interviewing style tell you enough about your applicants?
Slow Decision Making
When the interviews are finished and all that’s left is to make the final decision, don’t put it off. If the final stage takes weeks, you run the risk of losing your top prospect. This could be interpreted as a lack of coordination or communication inside the company, or, even worse, as an incapacity of the executives to reach a decision. Typically, top candidates are quick and confident decision makers and they expect that the companies they join will be similar.
Bibliography:
Top 5 Reasons Why Candidates Withdraw. Talcura Blog. (n.d.). https://www.talcura.com/post/top-5-reasons-why-candidates-withdraw.