Improve Your Company’s Reputation Among All Job Applicants

The goal of posting a job opening is to find a worker with the right skills who is also a good fit for your organization. While achieving this goal is important, it’s important to remember that there are several other factors involved in recruiting new employees that can have an effect on your business. Namely, your company’s reputation also know as your employer brand.

Employers understand that an unhappy or disgruntled customer can have a negative impact on their business. But job applicants who feel as though they haven’t been treated with respect by your company can also have a negative impact. They might discuss it with their friends and family, and as word spreads it can affect your reputation in the community. It might hamper your efforts to recruit top talent in the future.

Seeking a new job is a stressful and demanding endeavor in the best of times. Given today’s economic climate, it is important that you give those applicants who don’t land the job as much attention as the one who does. Remember, a person may be disappointed that they didn’t land that final interview or get the job, but if you treat them fairly they can still come away from the process feeling positive about your company.

We all know people who have crafted a cover letter and sent along their resume for a position for which they felt very qualified, only to hear nothing back. While the screening process will eliminate the vast majority of applicants very early in the process, it is still important to acknowledge receipt of their application and prevent them from feeling as though they’ve been ignored. At this early stage, a simple and to the point email or post card is usually enough. Thank them for their resume and interest in your company and explain that only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

When managing your business, filling a position is just one of many important tasks on your ‘to do’ list. But the recruitment process may be the main focus of someone who has interviewed with your company, particularly if they aren’t currently employed. It’s important that you follow through with the candidate so that he or she is not left waiting and wondering. If you say you’ll call next Tuesday to update the status of the search, it’s important that you do so.

There is still a small group of applicants who won’t get the job once the interview stage is complete. You have a more personal connection with the applicant at this point, so communicate any bad news in a personal and private manner. Leaving a voice message that their roommate might hear, or mailing a postcard that their kid might bring in from the mailbox is not acceptable.

Paying attention to these details can certainly be time consuming, but making the effort to preserve and improve your organization’s reputation in the community will allow you to stand out as a preferred employer and improve your future recruiting efforts.