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It’s so frustrating isn’t it. You’ve shortlisted 3 perfect candidates for interview for your new position that you need to fill quickly and 2 are no-shows!
With the shortage in skilled candidates currently looking for work, businesses are finding a new common behaviour from candidates who seem to hold all the cards and that is the ‘no-show’ or ‘ghosting’.
It seems it is acceptable for a person to actually not turn up for an interview and then completely ghost the Company or Recruiter when they try to get in touch to find out why.
For the hiring manager, this is a nightmare. You’ve likely spent time looking into the candidate and taken time out of your day to prepare for the interview.
For recruiters like us, who work on a contingent basis and are only paid when the candidate starts, this can mean a financial loss.
We’ve come up with some great tips for your hiring manager to avoid being ghosted during this talent shortage:
BUILD A RELATIONSHIP
Interviews can cause people to become extremely anxious especially if the candidate isn’t quite the right fit for the role in question. The best way to ensure your candidate turns up, is to build a relationship with them to match them to their perfect role.
So, what specifically do you need to know about your potential candidates?
Skills – Not everything on your candidate’s CV. is what it seems. You will only really get to know your candidates skills if you talk to them directly. Some great questions to ask during your initial screening process are:
“Can you talk me through your typical day?” or “What are your goals for professional development?”
These questions help to ascertain what they do now and what they want to do in the future.
Personal situation – this is a tricky one as you are not allowed to ask about a candidate’s personal attributes if they are irrelevant to the role being applied for. However, during your initial screening, you will want to find out things like whether they can drive, what type of role they are looking for, where they live and how far they are willing to commute.
SET EXPECTIONS
Find out if the candidate is interviewing elsewhere. By opening a dialogue to gauge their true interest in your position you will ascertain what factors they are weighing up when considering and accepting interviews and job offers.
Ensure the candidate is fully aware of the company, its position on promotion, their culture and environment. Their social calendar and any other advantages or disadvantages that may deter a potential candidate from attending the final interview.
TOP TIP
If the candidate doesn’t drive and the location of the Company has no public transport links, then it is likely the candidate will not show up for the scheduled interview.
reduce interview lag time
Try and schedule the final face to face interview as quickly as possible.
Remember, you are hiring in a candidate shortage so it is likely that your candidate has been identified by other Companies or Recruitment Agencies for similar positions also.
Don’t go beyond two weeks as it is likely someone else will be faster than you!
If the candidate is unavailable for a face to face interview, try using an online platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to fast track your interview.
CREATE A 5 STAR JOB PITCH
From your first conversation with the candidate on the phone, make sure you get their attention, this is your chance to create excitement about the job vacancy. What is important about the role and how it fits within the Company.
Create a positive image for the candidate. Use employee testimonials and identify relevant career prospects for the candidate. A good way to do this is to talk about your training and development programme. This will make the Company, and the vacancy, feel favourable compared to other jobs being advertised.
Remember, in all your correspondence, you are actively selling the position to your candidates so, speak with enthusiasm and passion both via the telephone and on further email updates.
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAIL
It’s important that you establish that the candidate is definitely interested in the position and is motivated to attend the interview.
Re-visit this at least 3 times in different ways so you know that the candidate has a clear understanding about the position and you can understand why they’re interested:
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- Go into detail about how they will get to their interview, how long it will take them and what transport they will use.
- Reaffirm they have the correct date in their diary and that they definitely do not have any other commitments during that time.
- Finally, establish the candidate’s commitment by asking them again why they are interested in the role talking through the job description and any other key points.
By being thorough at the first stage, you will hopefully reduce any doubt that the candidate might have about the role and will encourage them to attend the final interview stage.
By establishing the motivational aspects of why a person has applied for a new role or is interested in attending an interview for the vacancy, the greater chances are that you’ll have a full set of candidates at your final interview stage.
See the silver lining – Ultimately, candidates who are a no-show or ghost you after your initial screening may not be the most considerate or dependable employees. Be thankful that this behaviour has showed up early and prevented you from hiring the wrong person for the position!
Remember, we manage your hire process completely to your final interview. We will provide 3 candidates that want to do the job and can do the job – often in less than 2 weeks!
