A CareerBuilder survey revealed that 44% of workers who didn’t hear back from an employer when they applied for a job said that they have a worse opinion of that employer. This particular stat should drive home the fact that candidate feedback does relate to the employer brand in a strong way. So I guess if we don’t have time for candidate feedback, we should make time for it.

If we can consider feedback as an important factor in creating a positive employer brand, why is no one giving it up? Gerry Crispin pulled together a 2012 Candidate Experience Surveyin which over 100 American companies participated. He learned that almost 80% of unsuccessful job applicants do not receive feedback from employer, and less than 10% receive what could be considered useful and more detailed feedback.

Granting candidate feedback sounds like it has become a real missed opportunity for a lot of recruiters and HR professionals to build the employer brand and it doesn’t stop with just those candidates. We learn in a Mystery Applicant survey that 83% of candidates will share their experience with family and friends, and 64% of those will share that information via social media, furthering the reach of their experience.

It is obvious that candidate feedback isn’t a priority among most recruiters, but it is also obvious that it should be.

Use Your ATS

Applicant tracking systems are here for you, and for the candidate. Cyber Recruitercomes with features that make automated communications so very simple. While in a lot of situations, it is impossible to give tailored and custom feedback to every applicant, it is completely possible to keep all candidates in the know and up to date with the status of their application, and that’s what they really want.

Since tapping into your talent pool for future jobs is so important, it makes sense to close applicant relationships on a good note so that they might be interested when a job opens where they are more qualified.  The greatest benefit of an ATS is that you have hundreds of resumes/applicants readily accessable in your database. 

The sourcing and recruiting resources that would have been used to find a new candidate, can be saved by searching the talent pool that you have already established. Automated communications through an ATS improve the candidate experperience, creating a solid talent pool of candidates who actually want to hear from you. Secondly, the ATS organizes those relevant candidates from the past in an easily searchable manner.  

Build Your Talent Pool

Some positions require a few rounds of interviews and a lengthier time-to-fill. Quality candidates who have put the time and effort into this process should see some sort of return on their investment. The more taxing the particular hiring process is, the longer that red carpet should be. Personalized, courteous and thankful communication should be used.

This is probably a candidate who you will want to be able to call in the future. A little extra effort will keep this candidate in good graces with a positive view of the organization. An easily searchable ATS is also good to have on hand in these situations. Relevant candidates from the past are easier to find and contact.

In order to be more effective, make sure your ATS allows you to search multiple ways.  Whether it’s a resume search, database search or even the opportunity to search off of multiple criteria. Find the best candidate with great search functionality.

Sharing candidate feedback comes with a lot of benefits for the company, and the recruiter as an individual. It doesn’t have to be a time consuming process, now that ATSs are optimized for automated communication. When candidates are happy, the brand stays in tact and the talent pool can grow. 

photo credit: Ktoine via photopin cc

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