A candidate spends a considerable amount of time and effort to apply for a new position — from building a CV, creating a cover letter, to preparing and attending the interviews. It is a significant investment of their time, money and work. However, the majority of employers do not provide feedback to rejected candidates.
LinkedIn’s Global Talent Report uncovered only 41% of the candidates surveyed had received job interview feedback, while 94% of them expected to hear back. In the Australian market, Seek’s research confirmed that 43% of job applicants have never heard back from the hirer at all.
Offering feedback to the rejected candidates is not only beneficial for the candidates but also employers. A candidate that has a good experience will reflect positively on your employer brand. Here is a list of five reasons why you should be providing feedback to the unsuccessful candidates.
1. Feedback is a great PR opportunity
According to Seek’s survey, 66% of applicants that haven’t hear back from employers grew negative feelings towards the hirer. The more positive experience your candidates have with you, the more positive review they are likely to give, which can significantly reflect on your reputation as an organisation.
For example, employer review websites such as Glassdoor let the users submit their reviews of the interview process. Other potential candidates can refer their comments to learn about your hiring process. If a candidate has had a negative experience and leaves a bad review about your organisation, it can affect your reputation.
Word of mouth is also an active PR channel. Even if a candidate doesn’t write a review on a website, they may still talk with their friends and family about their interview experience at your organisation. Take the time and be transparent and honest during the hiring process, so your candidates will feel great and say positive things about you. Through their word of mouth, you can attract other candidates to want to work for your company.
2. Future prospects
A job applicant is not just a potential employee – they are also potential customers. When preparing for job interviews, they research about your organisation, products and services. The more they know about you, the more they may want to use your services. However, if the things don’t work out and they don’t anything back from you, they may develop negative emotions and less likely to want to use your services for their personal needs.
Candidates may also be your potential clients. You don’t know where and how your business relationship develops. A candidate you rejected a long time ago could be running a business and become your future client. Don’t let your candidates down by not providing any feedback – it may come back at to your business in the future.
3. A great way to say Thank You
Again, a candidate spends a considerable amount of time, money and effort to apply for a new job. Whether that is for updating the CV, preparing for the job interview questions, or taking time off from their current work to make it to the interview, it’s all about the investment.
Giving feedback will show your respect to a candidate for their hard work to apply for your company, regardless if they get the job or not. Make sure that your candidates feel positive about the experience, so they don’t feel like have wasted their time.
4. It’s not as time consuming as you think
You may think you don’t have enough time for crafting the feedback comments for each candidate you have interviewed. The truth is, it’s not as time-consuming as you think. The interviewer usually makes notes on candidates responses and behaviour during the interview process. All you need to do is send these comments back to a candidate. In this way, you can supply what the candidates want without having to spend a substantial amount of time or resources.
5. Candidates will appreciate it
Hearing nothing back from an employer often affects their chance of getting other jobs.
Some candidates may wait and hang on after an interview, hoping to hear good news from your organisation. You can positively give the unsuccessful candidates closure by providing feedback and comment. Also, candidates will appreciate the opportunity to hear about what you perceive about their performance during the interview process. They can learn from their rejection and work on their weaknesses to succeed in the next job interview.
TalentVine – The Trusted Recruitment Marketplace
If you’d like to discuss your current hiring processes, we are always happy to help. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the TalentVine team – you can connect with any of our +300 specialist recruitment agencies.
