Improve Your Company’s Reputation by Acknowledging All Job Applicants

Every recruiter’s goal is to fill a job opening with a worker who has the right skills and is the right fit for the organization. Unfortunately, too many employers place too much emphasis on this and overlook the many other factors that can influence their business when recruiting new talent.

Employers understand that an unhappy or dissatisfied customer can negatively impact their business. But the same can be said of job applicants whose experience with your company leaves them feeling disrespected. When these applicants tell their friends and family about their negative experience, it can impact your company’s ability to recruit top talent in the future and hurt your reputation in the community.

Because of the current economic climate and the fact that seeking a new job is a stressful and demanding undertaking in the best of times, it is important that you pay equal attention to all applicants, including those who don’t land that coveted job. Remember, if a person is treated fairly, they may be disappointed that they didn’t land the job but still come away from the process with positive feelings about your company.

We all know someone who carefully crafted a cover letter and sent along their resume for a position for which they were qualified, only to hear nothing. While it’s normal to screen out the vast majority of applicants very early in the process, it is important to acknowledge them and prevent them from feeling like their application was overlooked or ignored. Acknowledge receipt of their application with a simple and to the point email or post card, thanking them for their interest in your company and explaining that only those selected for interviews will be contacted.

While filling an open position is just one of many items on your daily ‘to do’ list, the recruitment process is most likely the primary focus of a person who has interviewed with your company, especially if they are not currently working. For this reason, if you say you’ll call next Tuesday to advise regarding the status of the search, it’s important that you do so. This prevents the candidate from being left waiting and wondering, or prematurely accepting an offer from another company.

After interviews are complete, there are still a handful of candidates who won’t get the job. By now, you have a more personal relationship with the applicant and you should deliver any bad news personally and privately. It’s not fair to them to come home to a voice message their family has already listened to saying they aren’t qualified, or to a postcard their roommate brought in from the mailbox stating they didn’t get the job.

It does take a little more time to pay attention to these details, but it’s worth the effort. Leaving applicants with positive feelings about your company will allow you to stand out as a preferred employer while enhancing your company’s reputation in the community.