candidate

Serving the Candidate as a Customer

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As humans, it is natural to have certain reactions when we meet a new person. These reactions shape our perception of the other person. They also determine whether or not we want to continue to engage with that other person. If the experience with the other person is positive, we enjoy our mutual interactions and look forward to extending the time we spend with each other. If the experience of engagement is negative, most of us look forward to cutting off the time spent with that other person as quickly as we can.

With this in mind, the recruitment role taken on by the human resources practitioner can make or break a candidate’s job-seeking fortunes. As recruiters, we may find ourselves reacting to a particular candidate based on our own individual and personal perspectives. If the personal reaction is positive, the recruitment process with that candidate continues. If the reaction is negative, the process with that candidate stops. Either way, our responses as recruiters, in this type of approach, are based on our own self-interests and are not in support of the best interests of the organization that we must represent. The results from this type of approach are not good: the business interests of the organization are not met; the valid interests of the job-seeking candidate are not met; and the legitimate interests of meeting our human resources’ legal, ethical, and professional obligations are not met.

In order to meet the legitimate interests of the business and recruitment process, viewing the candidate as a customer can provide assistance in shaping the recruiter’s frame of reference. A customer service approach for the recruiter is explored in this article posted by HRD magazine.

As noted in the article, when the recruiter is able to use a customer service-based approach, the candidate and the recruiter both experience a better process. The result may be the same in that the candidate is not the successful choice for the organization; however, the credibility of the hiring process and its results are not put at risk when the recruiter has done their job by serving in the best interests of others.

Discussion Questions:

  1. If you experienced ‘ghosting’ by a recruiter during a job application process as a candidate, what impressions were you left with of the recruiter and the company you wanted to join? Would you re-apply as a candidate in the future?
  2. From an HR perspective, how can you monitor and adapt your personal reactions (positive or negative) during the recruitment process in order to maintain objectivity and reduce recruitment risks?
  3. In your opinion, what is the value of using a customer service-based approach for job candidates? Explain your rationale.

Time is the Answer

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The question is, how do we, as Human Resources professionals, make the recruitment process successful for both parties?

Time can be our best friend or our worst enemy, especially as it is one of the key components of any recruitment strategy.   In a recent LinkedIn post, Scott Case states that we need to ‘get real’ with candidates about the actual skills, culture, and work environment that are involved in any interview process.  More importantly, he identifies how quickly we expect the interview process to proceed and the pressure that is in place to make the hiring decision as soon as possible.

Click Here to Read the Article

Making sure that the interview process is transparent, however, does not just happen.  A commitment to transparency about the types of skills, culture and work environment that the organization really wants, comes from a well-planned, and well-timed end-to-end strategic recruitment process.  It is true that the candidate really does need to understand what the potential workplace is like.  After all, the employment decision is not just on the side of the employer.  The candidate too has to make the big decision whether or not this particular job, with this particular employer, is the right fit for them based on their own personal values and workplace experiences.

When we think about making the big decisions in our own lives, most of us need lots of time to think about the pros and cons of that decision. When decision-making is rushed, the end result often does not work out well for anyone involved.  When hiring decisions go wrong, the impact has significant negative ripple effects on all of the parties involved.  As Human Resources professionals, we need to ensure that the hiring decision goes the right way, by allowing everyone involved to have the time to make the decisions they need to make, based on well planned, thoughtful, and transparent processes along the way.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Thinking about your own approach to decision making, what steps do you follow to make the ‘right’ decision for you?
  2. After going through a recruitment process as a candidate, have you ever decided that the position you were interested in was not the right one for you? What happened during the process that helped you make that decision?
  3. As a Human Resources Professional, identify how much time is needed for an end-to-end successful recruitment process.
  4. Why is it important to ensure that candidates have a clear understanding of the required skills, work culture, and the environment involved for any position in any organization?

Interview Do’s and Don’ts

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Thanks to expansive social media and internet tools, employment candidates are able to access a plethora of materials to prepare them for a job interview.  The amount of detail and scope of information can be overwhelming.  There are valuable insights to be gained, if candidates are able to sort through all of the available internet advice.

A common theme for candidate interview preparation is knowing what questions will be asked and how to to give the ‘real’ answer in response to those questions.

A recent article, provided by Workopolis’ editor-in-chief, Peter Harris, identifies what hidden meanings are behind typical interview questions and how candidates should respond to avoid the traps of what is really behind these types of questions.

Click Here to Read the Article.

If read this article from the perspective of an employment candidate, it seems that the set up for the interview process is just that, a bit of a set up.

If, however, we read this article from the perspective of a Human Resources professional, there is a clear message that the questions we are asking candidates in interviews are not the right ones.

We need to do a much better job in preparing ourselves, as Human Resources professionals, for the interview process. We can do so by preparing questions that are straightforward and clear in purpose.

Human Resources professionals have excellent skills in many areas.  We are not, however, gifted with super-power mind-reading insights that allow us to discern what interview candidates are meaning to say in response to misleading questions which appear to be full of hidden meanings and tricks.

Let’s stop asking the questions that give us the answers we don’t want and start preparing questions that give us the answers that clearly identify what we do want.

This way, we can leave the super-power mind-reading skills alone, for now.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are typical interview questions that, as a candidate, you think should not be included in a job interview process?
  2. What types of questions, from an HR perspective, do you think could be used more effectively in an interview process?
  3. What types of prompts can the HR professional use during an interview that encourage candidates to answer the questions in the ‘right’ way?