Earning the candidate’s trust in a candidate-driven market...??

Here’s a few tips (& note-to-self!) which I think are very important:

1. Conduct a thorough intake meeting ?? : presenting candidates with a detailed job description is great, but probably not enough. When conducting your intake meeting with the hiring manager, be sure to capture detailed notes around key “selling points” and/or extra info that might not be included in the published job posting. For example, this could be further details about the team they would be joining or the project, summary of what their first 3-6 months would look like, a new technology that the team is adopting etc.?
2. Tell the candidate that you’ve read their profile without actually telling them ?? : In my experience and more so recently, the level of detail in the reach outs to candidates seems to be a key driver for getting a response. It’s a good idea to work on how you can deliver a great level of detail in a succinct & straight to point manner. But most importantly, the content of your reach out should tell the candidate that you’ve actually read their LinkedIn/CV/Resume/Website/GitHub/other. Simply stating “I read your profile” doesn’t cut it. Pinpoint something specific that you saw on their profile and link it to the opportunity you’re presenting: “I saw your repository on GitHub on how to build Java microservices architecture, we’re Java house here at “X company” and about to kick start our transition to microservices, so I’d love to talk to you about this “X opportunity” we have available!”, for example.?
3. Active listening??: if a candidate has taken the time to have a conversation with you, don’t miss your opportunity to prove to be worth their time. Listen, really listen and take notes on their experience, interests, frustrations, motivations and anything else that will help you understand what the “right opportunity” for them looks like.?
4. Ask the right questions ??♂? ??♀? : “How would you describe the ideal next role for you? What are the key aspects that really matter? - “I just want a new challenge” doesn’t answer the question nor does it give you the level of detail you need. Dig deeper and take notes of? the information you’ll need to be able to present the candidate with the “right opportunity”, whether immediately or in the future, and with that earn their trust.?
5. Be transparent ?? : according to a LinkedIn survey “83% of candidates say it would greatly improve their overall experience if recruiters could set expectations about the recruiting process.” Nothing unexpected here - being able to communicate in a clear and transparent manner is essential when it comes to delivering a positive candidate experience. For example, setting clear expectations about the interview process, timelines, further details on the role they’re interviewing for, team, project etc. And that’s also why it is so important to have a thorough intake meeting as mentioned earlier!?

I'm a firm believer that having a “human-first” mindset is essential to be able to do our job effectively as recruiters. Katrina Collier talks about this (& many other useful subjects) in her book “The Robot-Proof Recruiter”, which I highly recommend to every recruiter by the way!?

I’d love any comments or thoughts from industry colleagues on the above, but also keen to learn about the steps that you’re taking to earn candidate’s trust & attract talent in this candidate-driven market!

If you’re a “candidate” reading this, your thoughts and suggestions are also very welcome!?