Unsuccessful candidates: how can recruiters capitalize on this gold mine?
Keeping in touch with your unsuccessful candidates is not usually a reflex... and yet 67% of respondents to our European survey on the recruiter/candidate relationship agree to keep in touch with a company, even if they were unsuccessful on their first application.
This figure rises to 75% in Italy, 67% in France and 60% in Germany. Generally speaking, almost 7 out of 10 candidates are happy that the company they applied to keeps in touch with them on a regular basis.
Don't miss out on these already qualified candidates, who know and like you. Here are our tips to maximize your chances of making these “silver medalists” your hires of tomorrow.
Refusal of candidates in a well-argued and personalized manner
Please note that almost 30% of candidates will only accept to hear from you after a rejection if you have explained to them in a personalized way why their application was unsuccessful.
If you want to keep a strong, lasting relationship with your unsuccessful candidates, especially those who have been selected for the final stages of the process... you can't leave out the reasons why you didn't choose them. This first step is absolutely crucial!
We advise you to call them to explain why, and then double your call with an e-mail to summarize the few really important points they need to remember. Take this opportunity to give them a few tips they can use on their next application. You'll be showing that their profile is really worthwhile, and that you're taking a constructive approach that will serve them well despite your negative reply.
Unsuccessful applications: how to avoid spending too much time on them?
Of course, we know that offering a constructive refusal can be very time-consuming. You can therefore opt for a few time-saving solutions:
- Ideally, you should offer personalized feedback to each candidate. But you can still opt for personalized feedback for candidates who have reached a certain stage in the process, and send automatic rejection e-mails to the others. These are the high-quality candidates who can become your communication targets!
- In your automatic rejection mails, you can leave the door open for further discussion if the candidates wish. Most of them won't take this opportunity, but they'll retain a good impression of your proposal.
- You can automate part of the personalization of your rejection with a CRM (Candidate Relationship Management) tool, which allows you to start from a template while adding specific features: the perfect compromise for not wasting time but providing a real response to your rejected candidates.
Create a talent pool dedicated to your unsuccessful candidates and adapt your communications
You'll only be able to keep in touch on a regular and relevant basis if you've fully identified these candidates and their specific needs. To achieve this, your database concerning these specific profiles must be easily accessible and usable.
👉 Build actionable talent pools with our CRM (Candidate Relationship Management) tool.
And if you want to “industrialize” your approach by keeping in touch with your silver medalists and other unsuccessful candidates... you can't just rely on an Excel file, even if it's complete and well-filled.
Updating your candidates' details and identifying them using relevant filters (profession, status, experience, etc.) will never be easy if you don't use a suitable tool.
This is what a CRM (Candidate Relationship Management) allows you to do. Using an automatic system of tags (or keywords), you can sort your databases and structure your talent using multiple criteria. These tags then enable you to make personalized communications according to all the parameters that interest you.
This means you no longer have just one talent pool, but several identifiable talent pools: by skills, interests, seniority, type of position desired...
Take a look at our guides to mastering :
If you had to prioritize one segment of your talent pool of unsuccessful candidates in order to build a lasting relationship... choose young people! 82% of young French people (aged 18-24) said yes to staying in touch after an unsuccessful application.
GDPR: a pool of talent who have given their consent to receive your communications
Of course, before you consider communicating with these valuable talents for future recruitment, you need to secure their consent.
Our advice: in the email confirming the application's rejection, don't hesitate to offer to stay in touch in the months and years to come, and provide a link to a registration form for your talent pool. Good CRM tools will let you do this easily, without you having to fill in their details manually (and potentially make mistakes).
The other option? You can offer them the opportunity to subscribe to your company's HR newsletter, if you have one, to keep them interested in what you have to say. Regularly invite them to join your talent pool. They'll probably end up doing so if you offer them captivating content.
Choosing the right content for the right candidate profiles at the right time
To build our European study on the recruiter/candidate relationship, we asked candidates to describe the information that interests them most when it comes to receiving emails from companies.
Here's what candidates generally expect in terms of topic... and frequency:
15 relevant and overlooked recruitment actions that a CRM (Candidate Relationship Management) makes possible!
Guide: turn your recruitment team into proactive sourcing superheroes
Sourcing: the key is to adapt your existing missions