Now more than ever, it is crucial for recruiters to connect with their candidates. This means listening to their needs, empowering them to ask questions, and communicating with empathy. While automated technologies are becoming more prevalent in our industry, the candidate’s experience thrives without templates and call scripts.
Here are five ways we make the hiring process more human in 2022.
We are transparent with candidates regarding salary ranges, benefits, and workplace culture.
Being transparent and communicative with your candidate about what each open position entails is crucial. This includes salary ranges, benefits, and information regarding workplace culture. If you withhold this information or tweak the truth for your benefit, you are not putting enough value into your candidate’s needs. This unethical practice sets your relationship up for distrust and failure.
Our Recruiting Manager, Johnny Cail, says it best:
“I’ve found the best way to help a candidate feel empowered to ask questions is first to tell them all the ‘insider information.’ Many recruiters keep this information to themselves and try to get the candidate at the lowest numbers possible to maximize profit, but I just don’t see as much success going that route,” Cail explains. “I’d rather gain someone’s trust by telling them what rates we typically see and trying to get them at the highest number, so they are excited and eager to embark on the journey of interviewing.”
We find the balance between technology and the human touch.
Automated technologies are known for saving time. As a result, more recruiters rely on new programs, from auto-scheduling to automated emails. However, these technologies can negatively impact candidate communications and searches when used in place of humans rather than in partnership with humans.
Don’t let an AI bot be your company’s voice when sourcing candidates. Human connection is necessary when determining if someone is the right fit for a role. Data points and resumes don’t tell the whole story.
“Technology can help in so many ways, but being reliant on technology is hard to sustain in this industry for the long term,” Cail says. “Since each candidate’s experience differs, putting some prefabricated process in place is wrong. Instead, you need human touch to finesse the intricacies of each person and situation.”
Strike a balance between promoting efficiency and using your intuition to make your hiring process more human.
We recommend video interviews and visual interactions over phone calls and email threads.
Since most open roles are remote, most interviews are face-to-face via video conferencing programs. Visual interactions put a face to a name and can give you a sense of who your candidates are in the moment. Seeing facial expressions, hearing tone of voice, and watching your candidate’s body language will help you better understand what excites your candidate, what concerns them, and how they present themself in a professional setting. Email simply cannot compete with the audio and visual components of video calls. Additionally, video interviews add a layer of professional intimacy that builds trust and understanding for both parties involved. These are the reasons why we set up video interviews for our candidates.
We incorporate Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEI+B) initiatives into the hiring process.
Making your hiring process more human means showcasing your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to Glassdoor’s Diversity and Inclusion Workplace Survey (2020), 76% of U.S. employees and job seekers say that a diverse workforce is important when evaluating companies and job offers. 21% claim they would not apply to a job at a company that does not publicly state its goals to increase DEI+B initiatives.
Whether discussing these core values with candidates or expanding their networks, recruiters and hiring managers should focus on creating an environment that values fresh perspectives and welcomes diversity.
At Curate Partners, we have implemented DEI+B initiatives into the hiring process by partnering with non-profits across the US to provide more opportunities for individuals from all walks of life. We provide our clients with the most diversified candidates for the job—and remain committed to closing employment gaps.
“In hiring, there’s no better way to exemplify your commitment to DEI+B than setting expectations for all candidate searches to be diversified,” Taylor Shea, our Senior Account Executive, says. “[By doing this], inclusivity becomes a learned behavior rather than a term.”
We put ourselves in the candidate’s shoes.
We think about the job search from the candidate’s perspective. It can be arduous to continue sending resumes and cover letters that are mostly left unanswered.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What type of position would fulfill my candidate’s career goals?
- Why is my candidate looking for a new position?
- What are my candidate’s values, boundaries, and strengths?
As a recruiter, you must remain empathetic to your candidate. Remember that your mission is to lead each candidate you work with to the next step of their career journey. If you embrace the human connection, you will create a mutually beneficial safe space for your candidates to grow and find their dream jobs.
If you’re looking for a hiring process that is more human, contact us.