Lack of feedback to candidates by today’s HR and recruitment professionals is quite appalling

  • Post published:05/06/2018
  • Reading time:3 mins read

If you want to know why recruiters in corporate Talent Acquisition departments and recruitment firms are considered in the same undesirable league as unscrupulous real estate agents and sleazy second-hand car salespeople, be ready for a blunt wake-up call.

Candidates complain to me that way too many HR people, Talent Acquisition departments, and Recruitment firms do not keep them updated on the hiring process. I just came out of an interview with a senior manager who took a day off to meet the multi-national industry leader about a big job; this meeting took place two months ago. Since then, no email nor phone call, no feedback or update what so ever.

Sorry to be blunt about this, but such negligence of professional behaviour is totally inappropriate and should be reasons for dismissal of who ever that corporate or third-party recruiter is.

I am always embarrassed when I hear how even big multi-national companies totally ignore the decency and courtesy of providing feedback to candidates and applicants who took time off to come for a job interview.

Why are Managing Directors of hiring companies not demanding their HR or their third-party recruiter to do a better job of updating interviewed candidates?  What about setting KPIs that weekly updates are not an option but a policy!

If you provide interviewed candidates with regular and weekly updates, they will have enjoyed the journey – even another candidate got the job. They will talk about a positive experience, how professional your company is, it’s employee branding 101. Simple.

So can we all please shape up? Let us not be so lazy that we cannot take the time and courtesy to update candidates every week until a placement or hire have been concluded. If you need more convincing, then click the link just below and read the whole story.

The lack of feedback given to candidates by today’s recruitment or sourcing professionals is quite appalling. I understand why a significant portion of the global population has an intense dislike for our profession. You can ask pretty much anyone, and they have a story to share about a cynical, disheartening and inefficient experience they have had with a recruiter. This is incredibly sad for our industry.

I think too many recruiters have lost the ability to put themselves in their candidate’s shoes. They have forgotten the agony of waiting for feedback after an interview. Or they may not have ever experienced what it is like to go through a restructuring or a retrenchment process. Regardless of this, Recruiters need to come down from their ivory towers and be more empathetic, and sympathetic, to each candidate’s current situation.

via The Importance of Constant Candidate Feedback | Sourcecon

Tom Sorensen

Tom Sorensen is an executive search veteran with over 25 years of experience recruiting in Asia, Europe, and Africa. He has worked in executive search in Thailand since 2003 and is recognized as one of the country’s top recruiters and most profiled headhunters.