Why Your Candidates Are Ghosting You.

We’re hearing a lot about how candidates are extremely hard to find: they’re quitting current employers in droves (the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in October reported that 4.3 million Americans quit their jobs in August*) and many of them – even if they’ve been unemployed for several months – are showing no signs of wanting to return to work.

And many of those who are looking for work, and who apply for your positions end up ghosting you: they don’t answer your calls; they don’t show up for interviews, they don’t even show up for their first day on the job.

And they never tell you why

I’ve done some research on this. I’ve also experienced my share of candidate ghosting these past few months.

So here is my take on their why:

·???????They got a better offer.

They may not have received it yet, but they’re pretty certain it’s out there

Yet “better” doesn’t necessarily mean more money.

It could be they’re looking at one or more other positions that are in the realm of a career change they simply can’t pass up (or want to explore).

Yet the biggest reason could be that they simply are looking at multiple offers from different companies that all are offering more than you.?This might include commission, salary, benefits/perks, or all three.

This means that if you don’t know what your competitors are offering, you’re behind the proverbial eight-ball.

So, detailed research is called for.

You might decide to contact your no show (you may have to be persistent and let them know you’re merely doing some research) and ask them about what competitors are offering.

You may need to call your contacts at your competitors and do a firm “ask for” info.

Probably your best bet is to call upon a recruiter in your niche: such high-level recruiters such as my cohorts and I absolutely know what your competitors are offering and what the candidates are looking for before accepting a position.

·???????You are offering a poor candidate experience.

?You’re not getting back to candidates to answer their questions quickly (or at least as quickly as your competitors do).

?Your job description is just an overview of the roles, duties and responsibilities: you need to ensure the job description is absolutely clear and detailed.

?Consider placing the compensation and benefits package in the job posting.

?Improve your communication: respond to applications ASAP.

?Place the hiring process – the steps and what candidates can expect – on our company’s careers page.

?Contact candidates about where they are in the process before they reach out to you. For example, in your “we received your application” message to them, let them know when they should expect to hear from you regarding an interview.

?If you interview them, let them know what the next steps are.

Perhaps the MOST important thing you can do to insure that you keep candidate who are ghosting to a minimum right now?

?Understand that they pretty much are the ones in control; you cater to them!

Seriously. This is reality now.

Forget this and you’ll lose out on terrific candidates, particularly experienced, top-notch medical/ophthalmic device sales professionals.

What’s been your experience with candidates who ghost? What – if anything – are you doing now to decrease their number?

*This was 2.9 percent of the workforce and the largest number of quits ever.

#salesrecruiting #medicaldevices #salesrecruiter #candidatereferrals