I placed this status update on LinkedIn the other day.

‘Calling a candidate back to tell them there is no news IS news to ...

It got 250 ‘Likes’, and dozens of comments, so it touched a nerve for sure. Not that surprising considering well documented candidate dissatisfaction with feedback during the recruitment process. Corporate and Agency recruiters can share the blame.

I also got several follow up emails, all from job seekers with horror stories, including this one from a very senior candidate, now in a great new role. (I have removed the name and company, obviously. I have the candidates permission to publish this.)

If this does not help you understand that poor candidate experience destroys your brand, personal and corporate, then I really don’t know what will.

Dear Greg,

Happy new year.

Thanks for the connection; I’m enjoying your posts too. Particularly about HR/ Recruiters actually being in marketing.

Just recently I went for an interview with one of the larger insurance companies… Interview went extremely well (well I thought)… Long story short they never got back to me or returned any calls/emails..

Poor form. So I cancelled all of my 8 policies I had with them..

Keep up the great work.

Regards..

(Senior Candidate)

It baffles me. Why would a major corporate, no doubt spending millions on branding and marketing, treat people who want to work for them in this way? It happens a great deal. Corporate HR types need to catch on fast that their job is more marketing than it is anything else.

Surely it’s obvious? Talent is the new currency of wealth creation. It’s what makes companies win or lose. It’s what will make entrepreneurs rich. Or not.

In the emerging world of rampant skills shortages, TALENT becomes the epicenter of competitive advantage.

And we treat people like this? Seriously?

Yet everywhere, I read articles on employer branding and candidate experience. How about we stop talking about it and start practicing it a bit, huh?

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This post originally published on The Savage Truth

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