Reaching out to the candidates – effective ways

Reaching out to the candidates – effective ways

I was having a generic conversation with one of my candidates and he said he missed my email, as he receives as many as 100+ business emails every day, 95 % of the emails from the recruiters for different job openings.

I was asked by my client on how I reach out to the candidates, question looks very simple on the surface but isn’t it true that establishing initial communication with the candidates is the most important part of end to end recruitment cycle.

Reaching out can primarily involve most basic steps

• Sending candidates, a text message.
• Sending an email.
• Grab your phone and call them.
• Social Media Reach out.
• And Let the candidate reach out to you.

Phone Call: Though it is always the fastest means of communication, isn’t it true that we most often hesitate to, answer calls from unknown number?

• Be aware of candidate’s work schedules. Timing is very important.
• Do not be in a rush to get the candidate submitted to a job opening. Acting fast and being in rush are two different scenarios.

Email or personalized text messages.

Because it can be easily accessed at one’s convenience, not only email can be very descriptive or depending on the nature of the communication it can be kept short and engaging at the same time. It can be a great way of starting a conversation as it more convenient, personal and endearing from a candidate’s standpoint. Additionally, a detailed document can be attached with the short email body.

A short email with a single line job description, though it raises curiosity among some candidates, some candidates may lose their interest because of the lack of information.

I have found it convenient from candidate’s standpoint if :

-There are all the details in the mail body and key points highlighted /underlined.

-Paragraph can be at times difficult to read. Keeping the points in bulleted list makes the content easy to read.

-Contact information mentioned (phone number, email, LinkedIn, etc.) so the candidate can reach you with any questions.

-Keep the tone friendly and approachable.

-Be aware of work schedules. 

-Keep the subject line informative and short.

Open role – (Job position – skills required), location – Ref – Job Board

Remember to be polite and enjoy your conversation with the candidate, this point solves most the problems, keep it simple and keep trying and remember your candidates are busy people with career aspirations to either move beyond their current role or to find another job. Learn how to handle rejection and no from candidates.