The job market in 2022 is as competitive as it gets.
Candidates often embrace networking on professional platforms like LinkedIn and choose between multiple offers to find their new job. How can your company stand out and attract top talent?
It’s all about building and maintaining strong relationships with applicants during the hiring process. If you create a pleasant environment for a job interview, candidates will feel more comfortable speaking up about their skills and qualifications.
Keep reading and discover great ways to build healthy work relationships with future employees.
Why is relationship building important in recruiting?
When interviewing a candidate for a job opening, you talk with a potential employee and colleague.
The language you use during your conversation, your attitude and your guidance during the call are vital in persuading an applicant to join your business. Statistics reveal that 54% of candidates with a positive interview experience are ready to accept a job offer.
Building a relationship with applicants is crucial for recruiting for hard-to-fill roles. E.g., software developers are getting new offers every week or month. To convince a developer to move to your company, you may need to discuss career and personal goals, future opportunities and other perks like working a 9/80 work schedule.
Pro tip: a rejection email is always a hard pill to swallow. Have you ever thought about offering a personalized experience to unsuccessful candidates? Send thank you cards to applicants rejected in the last stage of the hiring process and keep that connection alive.
3 ways to build relationships with applicants in a job interview
A well-structured recruitment system can bring and retain the right talent for your business. Look into these three proven methods and use them to hire the ideal candidate for your company.
Create a friendly atmosphere
Nerves play tricks on candidates during a job interview. It’s a natural reaction to the fear of failure or to not being prepared for unpredictable questions.
An astonishing 93% of candidates experience anxiety during a video or phone call with a recruiter. Sounds crazy, right?
To ensure applicants feel calm and do their best to land their dream job, you must create a stress-free interview atmosphere. It all starts with the interview invitation email.
The email needs to be:
- Professional
- Concise
- Detailed
Google’s email is professional but warm. It’s concise, but it gives all the information the candidate needs. It’s detailed, but it encourages the applicant to reply to know more about the role.
This email sets the tone for the interview and shows affection towards the candidate. Words like ‘magical’, ‘cool’ and ‘meaningful’ inspire confidence and positivity.
How can you transfer the good vibes into the video call or the in-person conversation? To maintain a friendly environment during the interview, follow these three rules of thumb:
- Practice small talk: ask candidates about their hobbies, an unforgettable trip or an interesting fact about their home country. If you share similar backgrounds, the interview will start as a friendly conversation more than a plain and boring interview.
- Introduce yourself: talk about your professional experience and give minor details about your personal life. The candidates must perceive you as someone approachable in any situation.
- Don’t rush: if you jump from one topic to another, candidates will lose the flow and the interview may become a nerve-racking experience. Allow the interviewees to take all the time they need to answer your questions.
In a nutshell, make the applicant feel at home!
Be transparent
In a job interview, transparency is a must.
As a manager or recruiter, you are responsible for being honest about the offer and finding the right candidate. It’s in your best interest to be upfront about the expectations for the job opening.
Applicants value companies that are eager to share their brand mission and values. A company that shows its strengths and weaknesses without fear is a great place to work. Potential employees tend to make meaningful and memorable connections with these companies, even before signing an employment contract.
The biggest concerns for a job seeker before doing an interview are:
- Salary: 78% of candidates say that companies aren’t transparent about the salary during the recruiting process. Write the employee compensation in the job post or talk money in the first call.
- Benefits package: are you willing to cover healthcare expenses for your employees? Do you offer an employee savings plan? Prepare a list of all the benefits your company grants to workers.
- Goals and culture: to know if a candidate is a good fit for your company, you must describe the exact requirements for the role. Aspects like the daily amount of workload, a culture of recognition in the workplace or performance bonuses are decisive in hiring your next employee.
Transparency can be a game-changer for your business. Potential employers may see it as a green flag that indicates a healthy work climate.
Keep in touch
A job interview doesn’t end when you press the hang-up button in a video call. If you want to maintain lasting relationships with future employees, follow up after the meeting.
As a rule, emails are the best way to keep in touch with candidates. They’re short, personal and non-intrusive. Contact applicants via email to strengthen bonds with them and avoid unnecessary interactions.
Do you want to foster connections with your interviewees through the hiring process? Follow these tips to write an engaging follow-up email after a job interview:
- Timing is vital: send an email 1-2 hours after the call to keep candidates in the loop. It’s a sign you care about their time and appreciate their effort during the conversation.
- Start with a ‘thank you’: it’s a rule of courtesy. Thank candidates for joining the interview and don’t forget to give them a timeline for processing their application.
- Go straight to the point: your message should reflect honesty, especially if it’s a rejection email. Celebrate the success of top candidates and give constructive feedback to the ones who didn’t make the cut. You never know if they’ll find a suitable role in your company in the future!
- Talk about the following steps: make the candidate’s life easier. Write a brief and professional email where you explain in detail the next steps in the recruiting process. Specify the stages to get to the final offer, who’s involved in them and give your applicants recommendations to nail upcoming interviews.
Final thoughts
A job interview is more than just a questionnaire about job qualifications and employee resumes. It’s an opportunity to sell your company as a friendly, inclusive and non-toxic workplace.
If you want future employees to get off to a good start in their new job, build relationships with them during interviews. Consider the following:
- Create a comfortable atmosphere and let the conversation flow naturally
- Be transparent and honest about the salary expectations, benefits and goals
- Keep in touch with your candidates via email after the interview
Feel free to use these tips and get the most out of your recruiting processes.
