A little caring goes a long way with candidates when it comes to communication
This event is part of the “Let’s Talk Recruiting” series where a panel of recruiting practitioners get together online and have a conversation on a variety of topics related to corporate recruiting.
In today’s conversation…
A key complaint we hear from candidates is that they don’t get feedback from companies they apply to. Let’s discuss how recruiting teams are managing this key piece of recruiting.
Whether you are using ATS templates or recruiters to manage their messaging, the resume black hole seems to be a key issue for our industry.
Listen in on how our panel members are addressing the issue.
Our Panelists…
| Name & LinkedIn Profile | Group | Title | Company |
| Kathlene Whinnery | Recruiting Portland | Sr. Recruiter | Viewpoint |
| Lisa Wrezel | Recruiting Chicago | Talent Acquisition Lead | Centric Consulting |
| Melisa Medrano | Recruiting SFBA | Manager, Talent Acquisition | NGM Biopharmaceuticals |
| Veronica Dining | Recruiting LA | Talent Acquisition Program Manager | Ticketmaster |
Some of the attendees…
| Name & LinkedIn Profile | Group | Title | Company |
| Stephanie Reese | Recruiting Atlanta | Senior Sales Recruiter | Apptio |
| Pam Rush | Recruiting Atlanta | Talent Acquisition Consultant | Assurant |
| Lauren Melson | Recruiting Atlanta | Campus Manager, Doctor Recruiting | Heartland Dental |
| Deanna Miller | Recruiting Atlanta | Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant | USI Insurance Services |
| Jessica Marotta | Recruiting Boston | Principal, Talent Acquisition | Forrester |
| Patrick Ward | Recruiting Boston | Talent Acquisition Partner | Halloran Consulting Group |
| Gina Kelleher | Recruiting Boston | Vice President, Talent Acquisition/Executive and Diversity Sourcing | Citizens Bank |
| Tim Walsh | Recruiting Boston | Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant | PAN Communications |
| Suzan McCarty | Recruiting Boston | Talent Acquisition | Recruiter | Amedisys |
| Laurie Meninno | Recruiting Boston | Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist (Planet Pharma Contractor) | Lundbeck |
| Kelly McCarthy | Recruiting Chicago | Senior Corporate Recruiter on the Talent Acquisition team | Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., LLC |
| Claudia Castaneda | Recruiting Chicago | Sr Talent Advisor | U.S. Cellular |
| Shawn Watzka | Recruiting Chicago | Senior Recruiter | Inpatient Psych Solutions |
| Sarah Schaefer | Recruiting Chicago | Senior Recruiter | Fresenius Kabi USA |
| Barbara Fasth | Recruiting Chicago | Recruiting Manager | Menasha Packaging |
| Donnie Lewis | Recruiting Chicago | Executive Recruiter | Abbott |
| Stephanie Kramer | Recruiting Chicago | Corporate Recruiter | Covenant Living Communities and Services |
| Diane Karija | Recruiting Chicago | Senior Manager Talent Acquisition | Recruiter | Fresenius Kabi USA |
| Thea Cassia | Recruiting Chicago | Program Lead, Talent Acquisition - International & Strategic Initiatives | CDW |
| Steven Rosenblum | Recruiting Chicago | Talent Acquisition and HR Operations Leader | Level 5 Partners |
| Tricia Jones | Recruiting Chicago | Director Talent Acquisition | Carle Health System |
| Shandee Ewert | Recruiting Chicago | New Grad | New Grad |
| Julie Mazzoni | Recruiting Chicago | Regional Recruiting Manager | Lexington Health Network |
| Kelly Esquivel | Recruiting Chicago | Sr. Recruiter | Avtex Solutions, LLC |
| Elaine Vinson | Recruiting Chicago | Talent Acquisition | Caravel Autism Health |
| Tony Pottle | Recruiting Dallas | Talent Acquisition | Interos |
| Antonia Ndi | Recruiting Dallas | Talent Acquisition Partner | Academic Partnerships |
| Tim Strandberg | Recruiting Denver | Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist | Datavail |
| Juanita Romero | Recruiting Denver | Recruiter | Ibotta |
| Kris Saprano | Recruiting Denver | ED and ICU Recruiter | SCL Health |
| Shelbi Davis | Recruiting Denver | Sr. Talent Advisor - Digital Services & Technology | Charles Schwab |
| Michael Woodworth | Recruiting Denver | Sr. Field Sales Recruiter | VMware |
| Courtney Hanchey | Recruiting Denver | Recruiter | City and County of Denver |
| Ariane Huens | Recruiting Denver | Manager, Talent Acquisition | HomeAdvisor |
| Denise Estep | Recruiting Denver | Senior Talent Sourcing Recruiter G&A | Automation Anywhere |
| Chelsea Boerstler | Recruiting Houston | Business Services Recruiting Manager | Norton Rose Fulbright |
| Crystal Crawford | Recruiting Houston | Talent Acquisition Partner | HighRadius |
| Vira Garcia | Recruiting Houston | Director of Recruiting | vcfo |
| Mike Crosby | Recruiting LA | Talent Acquisition Partner | Age of Learning / ABCmouse.com |
| Lance Hunsicker | Recruiting LA | Executive Recruiter | Parsons Corporation |
| Tony Abbate | Recruiting LA | Lead Corporate Recruiter | Guitar Center |
| Cynthia Ramirez | Recruiting LA | Recruiter | PSAV |
| Charles Carbajo | Recruiting LA | Talent Acquisition | Looking for Work |
| Zachary Eggers | Recruiting LA | Talent Acquisition Partner | AEG |
| Cara Schaeffer | Recruiting LA | Recruiter | Tiktok |
| Michelle McKnight | Recruiting LA | Senior Recruiter | Herbalife |
| Bez Rengifo | Recruiting LA | Sr. Manager / Director, People Services (HR Business Partner department) | Loma Linda University Health Care |
| Diana Luc | Recruiting LA | Technical Diversity Sourcer | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| McKenzie Sutton | Recruiting LA | Talent Acquisition Consultant | Mammoth Distribution |
| Giselle Salazar | Recruiting LA | TA Specialist | Optima Tax Relief |
| Sean Rehder | Recruiting LA | Community Manager | CRM Connections |
| Dan Schroeder | Recruiting Minneapolis | Senior Talent Acquisition Partner | Stratasys |
| Deb Smith | Recruiting Minneapolis | Talent Acquisition Senior Corporate Recruiter | Best Buy |
| Erica Cuthbertson | Recruiting Minneapolis | Corporate Recruiter | Agiliti |
| Dave Elliston | Recruiting Minneapolis | Senior Technology Recruiter | SPS Commerce |
| Denise Ward | Recruiting Minneapolis | Technical Recruiter | Wunderlich-Malec Engineering |
| Lynette H. | Recruiting Minneapolis | Military Talent Liaison - Talent Acquisition Sourcing Consultant | Wells Fargo |
| Dana Bozich | Recruiting Minneapolis | Talent Acquisition Specialist | Sedgwick |
| Becky Gramenz | Recruiting Minneapolis | Sr. Talent Acquisition Specialist | Looking for Work |
| Ann Lillquist | Recruiting Minneapolis | Senior Talent Acquisition Recruiter | Smiths Medical |
| Simone Epstein | Recruiting NYC | HR Manager | PX |
| Amanda Mendez | Recruiting NYC | Senior Technical Recruiter | Tapad |
| Alexa Montane | Recruiting NYC | Talent Acquisition Partner | Realogy Holdings Corp. |
| Ahna Thorstenson | Recruiting NYC | Recruiter | Uber |
| Brandy Burrows | Recruiting Phoenix | Recruitment Operations Manager | Medix Team |
| Sa'Von Sanders | Recruiting Phoenix | Regional Sales Recruiting Partner | Paycom |
| Lola Francis-Randolph | Recruiting Phoenix | Lead Recruiter | Arizona Department of Environmental Quality ADEQ |
| Jessie Kokaisel | Recruiting Phoenix | Talent Acquisition Lead | Heartland Financial |
| Elaine Dewitt | Recruiting Phoenix | Contract Recruiter | HonorHealth |
| Bridgitte Ngo | Recruiting Portland | Senior Recruiter | CareOregon |
| Marita Arevalo | Recruiting Seattle | Recruiter | Aegis Living |
| Diana Pontos | Recruiting Seattle | Technical Recruiter | Amazon |
| Matthew Lipinski | Recruiting Seattle | Talent Acquisition Manager | Slalom Consulting |
| Gilbert Lopez | Recruiting Seattle | Recruiter | Tetra Tech |
| Rasheeda Grant | Recruiting Seattle | Recruiter | Amazon |
| Anca Cristea | Recruiting Seattle | Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist | West Monroe Partners |
| Jenny Bastrom | Recruiting Seattle | Senior Recruiter / Sourcing Specialist | Washington State Department of Social and Health Services www.careers.wa.gov |
| Amy Shook | Recruiting Seattle | Senior Recruiter | RealSelf |
| Annette Gregersen | Recruiting Seattle | Sr. Corporate Recruiter | T-Mobile |
| Marvin Smith | Recruiting Seattle | Strategic Talent Sourcing | Talent Community Strategist | Lockheed Martin |
| Lucinda Lara | Recruiting The Triangle | Recruiting Analyst | Globant |
| Nicole McDaniel | Recruiting.Work | Talent Acquisition Partner 2 | Huntington Ingalls Industries |
| Stephanie St. Peter | TA Leaders | Director Of Recruiting | Zenetex |
| Mahen Kathirithamby | TA Leaders | Director Of Recruiting | Looking for Work |
| Dawn Losinger | TA Leaders | Head of Talent Acquisition | Precision BioSciences |
| Vinay Velivela | TA Leaders | Vice President - Head of Global Operations/ Talent Acquisition/ Recruitment/ Staffing Services | Libsys |
| Diane Mariuzza | TA Leaders | VP, Senior Recruiter | SitusAMC |
| Stu Weiser | TA Leaders | Director, Talent Acquisition | 1010data |
| Mark Beauchamp | TA Leaders | Director, Global Talent Acquisition | Skillsoft |
| Mark Tindle | TA Leaders | Director, Talent Acquisition | Root |
| Victor Apkarian | TA Leaders | Director Talent Acquisition | RGP - Resources Global Professionals |
| Kathy King | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Confluent Health |
| Manisha Bavabhai | TA Leaders | Head of Recruiting | Hudson MX |
| Monica Parker | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition and Development | Helget Gas Products |
| Candice Taylor | TA Leaders | Director Of Recruiting | ChowNow |
| Khursheed Irani | TA Leaders | Head of Talent Acquisition | cPrime |
| Kerri Arman | TA Leaders | VP Global Head of Talent | American Express Global Business Travel |
| JoDee Klinker | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Carson Group |
| Kevin Francis | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Lark Technologies |
| Tony Sawyers | TA Leaders | Sr. Director, Talent Acquisition | Parsons Corporation |
| Rachel Biggs | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | KúCoe Isom, LLP |
| Glenn Murani | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Optima Global Solutions |
| Nancee Martin | TA Leaders | Managing Director Corporate Recruiting | AvAirPros |
| David Baker | TA Leaders | Sr. Director of Growth & Development/Brokerage Services | One Homecare Solutions |
| Susan Landon | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | HELP USA |
| Allison Nicholas | TA Leaders | Director Of Recruiting | Metova |
| Adrina Wolf | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Maloney Novotny LLC |
| Micah Sulewski | TA Leaders | Director of Recruiting | Meridian Technologies |
| Cara Kuhn | TA Leaders | Director of Talent Acquisition | Wesley Enhanced Living |
| Jay Barrow | TA Leaders | Head of Talent Acquisition | Southern States Cooperative |
We asked our attendees, “What’s your strategy or goal when it comes to communicating to candidates?”
Here are their answers:
- Adding to pipeline or reaching out with job opportunity
- All candidates are notified of next steps timely - utilize calls, text, emails to keep candidates engaged
- attraction
- Be clear, concise, understanding and provide valuable, positive feedback
- Be consistent
- Be genuine and authentic.
- Be in constant contact!
- be personable and stand out
- Be precise, transparent (company and position) and ensure all candidate questions are answered.
- Be sensitive but authentic!
- Be sure my initial outreach shows them they're not just a number.
- Being authentic and making it personal. I am a representation of the company, and delivering exceptional service is top of mind.
- Being authentic and respectful of their candidacy regardless if they meet requirements. aka as good candidate experience
- being relevant & valuable in messaging
- Build and foster relationships
- Check out their WHOLE profile and prove you did in the message 🙂
- Clear, concise and candid
- communicate efficiently and effectivly
- Communicate the brand and engage to next steps asap
- Company branding
- Complimentary and Bringing out the WHY
- concise messaging
- Creating a personalized experience
- creativity and response rate
- Develop positive brand awareness
- Direct, to the point
- Don't sound like a robot
- Early communication is vital. Disposition is vital.
- Err to the side of "over-communication." No form emails. Be as direct as possible.
- Establish contact. Build trust. Open and honest messaging.
- Even if I'm using a template, put in information unique to a candidate so it doesn't come across as canned.
- every week they get a check in
- For quality candidates - you want to ask to keep them in your network for future opportunities
- Forming a relationship, even if the role you're reaching out to the candidate for is not the right fit now, it could be later.
- Frequent updates and transparency
- full transparency of education around position and process.
- Gain additional knowledge for my play book
- Generate interest that elicits a positive response.
- Get them to reply to me. If interested or not, at least an acknowledgement.
- Getting a higher acceptance rate
- Getting candidates excited about role/company; I mention already sharing their profiles w/hiring managers & any shared contacts
- Getting more comfortable & creative.
- giving all the info in concise manner
- Goal is to try not to look like every other LinkedIn message that candidates get!
- Hire Sales/ Care reps
- If they are not qualified, disposition via ATS. If interviewed by phone or email
- Improving response rate
- Include personal info even if brief
- Individualized communication
- Inform the candidate of the recruiting process
- Keep it personal
- keep them informed - Friday Follow-up (goal, not always reality)
- LinkedIn Messaging
- Make it more personal to each candidate, comment on an interest regarding their past work or on something on their profile.
- Make your message relevant and interesting with a call to action.
- Making them feel important and informed.
- Mentioning or engaging in something that is unique and important to them personally
- My personal goal (outreach to passive seekers) is to obtain a 50% or more response rate
- Open and honest
- Our goals is to provide a good candidate experience.
- Overcommunicate
- Personable and keep it short
- Personalization and purpose
- Personalization and timeliness
- personalization! personalization! personalization!
- Personalize
- Personalize
- Personalize messages
- personalized communication and transparancy
- Presenting a clear message, who I am, and info about an opportunity that matches their background and expertise.
- Respect, Care, Transparency - Even if not hired, candidates become marketing advocates in the field
- respond to all candidates within 24 hours.
- Response
- Response Rate
- Response rate and engagement
- Responsiveness, engagement and intrigue
- Show a little personality - make a Subject Line that stands out!
- Stay engaged to retain them in the process
- Staying honest.
- Strong response rate and personalization
- To get them to be motivated to reply back or keep following up.
- To have options
- To introduce them to their next big opportunity
- To make it an enjoyable experience.
- To not sound like everyone else.
- to present facts, objectives and best COA
- to provide the best candidate experience regardless of the outcome
- transparency
- Transparency
- Transparency
- Transparent communication is the key. Avoid mass mailing and tailor message as per the individual.
- Treat each candidate as a potential customer
- Treat every candidate as if they are the top prospect. If they are not currently they may be in a future search build pipeine.
- Try to find a commonality if possible when reaching out
- Trying to keep it warm and personal in tone
- Utilizing a Friday Philosophy. Making sure candidates know where they stand coming into the weekend.
- Utilizing a Friday Philosophy. Making sure candidates know where they stand coming into the weekend.
