How your recruitment process should resemble the dating process

How your recruitment process should resemble the dating process

The recruitment process has been the same for years but needs to be changing for the emerging workforce (I.e., new generations), and also with the technology advancements of today. Recruitment today should utilize all of the current technologies that you have available to reach out and recruit active and passive job seekers. One way to think about the recruitment process is to think about  dating.  

When you go out on a first date, you are making quick decisions about your potential with your date from the moment you sit down. By the end of the first date, you’ve probably decided if it’s worth going on a second date and investing more energy into a potential future. During the date there was conversation, a mutual exchange of information, a getting to know you period that helps form your opinion about the future. These dates can go two ways, the excitement of going on a second date or the opposite where you are waiting for the right moment to leave. The recruiting process should be no different. 

Another aspect you should bring into the recruitment process is technology. What I mean by this is dating in 2021 starts off on an app or website. Many times, the first time you see a person is through a picture on their profile and then you talk online before meeting in person. You should use similar processes in your recruitment process.  

The most common recruitment process one-way communication  

For many companies, recruiting is more like a one-way conversation where all the company does is ask the candidate questions. For example, what job do you want, give me your personal information, fill out my application, take my tests, etc. And what does the applicant get in return – an automated email saying we got your information and someone will be in touch with you (and often times that is not true – the applicant never gets the call for the second date). And even if the applicant does get the call for the second date (next step in the hiring process) how many have you already lost because they didn’t get what they were looking for during the first date? How long do you think a relationship would last if that is what happened on a first date? The candidate would never go on a second date. This is essentially why the recruitment process needs to change. You need to be able to give the candidate something in return, not just ask things of them. It is like going on a date with someone who will not talk to you.  

Make recruiting more like a date

So how do you make the recruiting and application process more like a date? How do you make it interactive, a mutual exchange of information, give both parties enough information to make a decision about whether to progress in the recruiting relationship, etc. Some ways to do this are video-based job applications, online recruiting, and timely responses from the employer to help the candidate feel the most comfortable. In video-based applications, the company asks some information, the candidate provides an answer, and based on that answer gets information relevant to what they want, and information on why the company and the applicant are a good fit. And this happens real time, so that in a five-minute interaction both parties get to decide whether they are excited about moving to the next step or never going on that second date. 

With today’s next generation workforce making up the vast majority of job candidate’s, companies will have to change their processes to meet the needs of their candidates. You want to recruit candidates the same way they would date or even just live everyday life. So, using your social media accounts and online job boards to hire is essential along with having a recruitment process that is a give and take. Be sure to let them know when you will be in touch and let them know if they are not a good fit for the position as well. These small changes will help you tremendously with hiring the next generation along with current job seekers in a more efficient and interactive way. 

Change your processes 

Today’s applicants have plenty of choices. There are more jobs than people, especially at the entry-level of an organization. Competition for good talent is fierce. Companies need to compete for both active and passive job seekers and need a process in place that lends itself to allowing passive job seekers to quickly and easily see if a second date is warranted. Without a friendly “first date” process in place to allow passive job seekers to quickly see if a second date is warranted your company will be choosing from among those not chosen by others. And for active job seekers the process should not be any different. Many more tips are available about hiring in the current climate. But the use of any virtual tool right now will help you compete in the recruitment process and allow candidates to apply, prescreen, and be interviewed from the comfort of their own home. And by treating this first virtual interview like a  “date”  makes them more comfortable and also shows your interest in them since you are giving them information about the company. So, make sure when you are recruiting you get use all of these tools to get your top candidates on a second date.  

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