Responding to Challenges in the Recruiting Process

By Jeff Jurinak

recruitalicious 2011 8 2Today’s unemployment, restructuring and outsourcing have really put the recruiting function in an interesting light. Giving a quality experience to candidates and hiring managers is essential – but it can be difficult. Given the high volume candidate flow some recruiters contend with, dealing with over-anxious candidates can be challenging and push recruiters to venting in inappropriate ways. If you are in HR or in recruitment, I would imagine you have all experienced the “stalker candidate.” The one that calls an extreme number of times a day/week, sends disparaging emails, and is just bewildered that he or she has not been selected for the opportunities to which they have applied. It’s ok to admit you know what I am talking about. It happens to us all. How do we deal with this?

On one hand, we want to deliver a positive experience to all of our candidates and hiring managers to ensure good relations now and in the future. The solution I have found is trusting your HR “gut” feeling and staying consistent. I understand that staying consistent can get boring and not what you feel like doing, but it is important.

As recruiters, we have to demonstrate our commitment to our process. As we all know there is a huge difference between good follow up and stalking. In the conversations we have and in emails we send, we must put forward the same consistent message. Our first instinct is usually good, if we are prepared and good at what we do. There is a reason why we did not move that person forward in the first place, and if they are following up in an aggressive way, we should not let ourselves feel manipulated. A firm but friendly consistent message stating that we actively consider all candidates’ information against the skills, qualifications, and eligibility of all interested applicants, said repeatedly can go a long way to help stave off that stalker candidate and allow us to get back to the other work we have waiting nearby.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. ~ Emerson


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