Recruitment Dating 101

Recruitment Dating 101

This Valentine’s Day let us discuss the romantic aspects of recruitment, which fuels successful placements and happy clients. After all, wooing candidates and clients share surprising DNA with finding your special someone. 

So today, we are celebrating authentic recruitment affection: the genuine respect, attentiveness, and effort that builds lasting relationships. This is about innovative connecting strategies that resonate, even if the Hallmark holiday makes you want to hide under your desk. 

We unveil the secrets to a productive, love-infused Valentine’s Day, minus the cheesy cliches. 

 

Captivate with your job post

Writing a job post requires the same finesse as crafting the perfect first text or dating profile. It would help if you hooked the right people without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. The key is to go beyond listing qualifications and understand what makes applicants swipe right. 

  • Focus on the role’s essential skills and responsibilities. Think of it as writing a catchy bio, highlighting what makes this opportunity unique and exciting.
  • Run the post through a bias detector before you publish it. Unconsciously, certain words and phrases can discourage diverse applicants.
  • Salary and benefits are significant but show passion for the company’s mission, highlight growth opportunities, and emphasise the positive workplace culture.
  • Use active voice, conversational language, and humour to grab attention and pique interest. Remember, you are inviting them to join a great company.
  • Do not just post and pray, share your job posting on relevant platforms, engage with comments and questions, and actively seek out diverse talent. Imagine putting yourself out there and meeting interesting people, just like online dating! 

Remember, your job posting is your first impression. You will attract the best talent by highlighting the role’s essence, emphasising inclusivity, and avoiding unnecessary hurdles. 

With Eclipse, you can create and publish job listings on your company website or job boards, eliminating the time-consuming process of copying and pasting to different sites.  

 

Primed profiles 

Impressions start long before any date and in recruitment that means on platforms like LinkedIn. Just as you would notice an outdated CV, hiring managers see the same with LinkedIn profiles. So, encourage candidates to treat their profile like a well-crafted résumé, highlighting their strengths and experiences in a way that resonates with the job description. A captivating profile can be the spark that ignites a memorable CV and lands that coveted interview invitation. 

 

Finding that Spark 

To get any relationship off to a good start, you want to make sure they tick all the boxes; the same goes for recruiting. Start with Eclipse, our CV Import tool that allows you to import a CV directly. Skills and experience are crucial, so finding the right fit with candidates and clients is the ticket for a great match, this is made easier with our CV keyword search integration and search and match functionality

Once they tick all the boxes, make sure you get to know them; think of your client’s personality; are they introverted and focused, or do they thrive on banter and brainstorming. The wrong chemistry can be a recipe for an awkward interview and mismatched expectations. It is not about fireworks and forced laughs; it is about gauging that intangible ‘spark’ and whether the candidate fits the client’s vibe.  

Remember, it’s not about personal rejection. It’s about finding the piece to complete the company’s picture. Like in dating, sometimes two greats do not make a great fit. So, it is down to you to find that delicate balance. 

 

First Impressions Matter 

Like a first date, even the most qualified candidate can get nervous before an interview. Do not let those pre-interview butterflies deter them. As a recruiter, you can cultivate a supportive relationship that boosts their confidence and highlights the company as a welcoming workplace. 

With a pre-interview call, offer last-minute tips, share information about the company and interview team, and most importantly, listen and encourage questions. Their anxieties are your chance to shine, showing empathy and transparency. 

From jittery dates to confident candidates, remember that some support and guidance can go a long way in creating a powerful first impression in the world of love and recruitment. 

 

Don’t ghost, follow up. 

Unlike dating, follow-up after an interview is encouraged, ideally within a few days, to keep both parties in the loop and the candidate fresh in the employer’s mind for those coveted second-round invitations. 

Just as ghosting is a dating faux pas, so is vanishing on candidate. You never know when that unsuitable applicant might be the perfect fit for a future opening. Plus, leaving them in the dark damages your reputation, much like being gossiped about after a messy breakup. 

If a candidate isn’t the right fit, see if your client will provide feedback, which can be recorded via Eclipse Core. Job hunting is stressful enough without the added sting of ghosting. For those who don’t quite fit the current role, consider them the right person, the wrong time of your talent pool. Keep them warm in your database, ready to match them with the perfect opportunity. 

Both dating and recruitment involve navigating rejection. While it’s tempting to vanish, remember the power of clear communication and be honest about why the candidates were not selected. This open approach can build bridges for future roles and create a network of talented individuals. 

So, stay active after the interview. A quick call or email with feedback shows you value their time and effort, even if it’s different from the news they hoped for. Embracing the follow-up is easy with Eclipse Client Recruitment manager, record candidate shortlists, unsuitable candidates, and candidate feedback as well as managing emails with our Interceptor, an email ‘man-in-the-middle’ which intercepts inbound or outbound emails sent from external mail clients and records them in the contact log automatically. Building genuine connections like these fuels your candidate relationship management strategy, ensuring a steady stream of top talent ready to impress on their first official date. 

 

Make it official or break up. 

In the world of recruitment, emotions can be a rollercoaster filled with exciting highs and lows. The phone rings, your heart races, and your candidate has the job. Finally, all the emails, calls and tireless outreach have paid off. Or something has fallen short, and you need help finding the perfect role for a candidate, or a demanding client is taking up a lot of your time; letting go is the healthiest choice. 

Recruitment is a dynamic field, when one door closes, another opens. Use breakups as a chance to reflect and refine your approach. You may need to adjust your sourcing strategies for certain candidate types or set stricter boundaries with clients. Every experience, positive or negative, is a learning opportunity. 

So, keep your chin up, recruiters! Celebrate your wins, handle breakups gracefully, and prepare for the next exciting chapter in your recruitment journey.