Why employers need to balance their needs with those of the candidates during the hiring process

Recruiters and hiring managers who are trying to attract the best talent to their organizations for premium entry level jobs and paid internships can be in for a tough, long process. They often need to sift through dozens of applications, then conduct a series of interviews to get to typically two or three highly qualified finalists.

Hiring is never easy and can often take a very long time, but taking too long or rushing it too much can be very detrimental both to the candidate and the employer. Successful employers do a lot of things right, including these:

• They understand that they need to sell the opportunity to the job seekers. Selling doesn’t mean lying. It means qualifying the candidates to determine which will do the work well and then accurately communicating to those the benefits of them accepting the position with your organization.
• Moving quickly enough to satisfy job seekers who are used to lightning-fast communication afforded by social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and online job boards such s CollegeRecruiter.com. Yet the employers shouldn’t move so quickly that they make serious and avoidable mistakes.
• Erring on the side of transparency. You don’t need to and shouldn’t show candidates all of your dirty laundry but communicate, communicate, communicate. When candidates apply, set your applicant tracking system to automatically acknowledge the receipt of the application and manage the expectations of the candidates by telling them what the next steps are and when those steps should occur. No one is asking for promises but if you know for sure that you’ll review the resume of the candidate within a week then tell them through the automated email that you’ll do so within two weeks. If interviews will for sure be scheduled within two weeks then tell them you’ll do so within three weeks.

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Balancing your needs with the candidates’ during the hiring process …

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