Jilt is described as a sudden rejection or abandonment without reason by one party. It often occurs in dating when one partner suddenly leaves the other without telling specific reasons. The thing is, being jilted is not only popular in dating, but it is nowadays popular in recruitment as well.
NBC News reported that entry-level candidate fails to show up at their first-round interview nearly every 10 percent of the time. The reason is that job recruiting platform like monster.com allows candidates to apply for multiple jobs at once, allowing candidates to not give full focus or loyalty for one position. In other words, they might not invest quite an interest in one particular company and only attend an interview invitation that seems to give the best offer. Thus, it opens a wider door for a recruiter to be jilted or ghosted by candidates.
See also: The Difference Between Talent Acquisition & Recruitment
Another reason for a recruiter being jilted by candidates is because of the cost-cutting recruitment strategy which results in low candidate experience. “Most hiring managers are not asked by CEOs, ‘How can we get the most amazing people?’ They are asked, ‘How can we get enough cheap people to get the work done?’” Seth Godin told NBC.
The question is, how can a recruiter manage a recruitment process with a low budget while avoiding being jilted by candidates? There are four ways you can do.
When you have a limited budget to advertise your job openings, it is better to avoid being too specific and too choosy when sorting out candidates. Too specific job ads will only get candidates too lazy to even click the apply button. If you are too choosy, you might never get the candidates for the position. Sometimes inexperienced A is better than unethical B candidate. “Hire for attitude, train for skills” should be your hiring motto.
As a recruiter, you do not want to hire a liar. You want your candidates to always tell the truth, right? If yes, then you should do the same. Delivering truth will not only get you the most loyal candidates but also ensure that they get the right information for their choice. Mutual advantage is important here.
Humans are simple creatures. Small gestures of appreciation such as thank you note can mean so much to someone. That said, following up with an appreciation is important. A study by Harvard Edu showed that “thank you” are two words that can give lifelong effect on someone’s life, especially when the appreciation is given from upper level of an individual like a manager, CEO, or hiring manager. The study showed that managers who remember to say “thank you” to people who work for them might find their employees feel motivated to work harder. Saying the phrase is also proven to lead to a stronger relationship between two people.
You will never know when you will need or meet the candidate again, so showing an appreciation is the best way to create a good memory between you and candidates.
What if you meet a candidate who has no manners and bad attitude? As a good recruiter, you are not responsible for their behaviour but you probably still need to thank them for showing up in the interview and give them feedback along with the rejection letter.
As stated earlier, you will never know if you need to do business with a former candidate, thus, keeping the bond alive with them is a good thing. Besides, having a recruiter-candidate relationship will not give a bad effect on your career. Instead, you can cultivate the benefit of maintaining communication with them. For example, you can keep them in the talent pool whenever the new better opportunity arises. The candidate might also refer you to their friends for your friendliness and good communication.
Read also: A Career to Consider After Years of a Recruiter Journey
