Candidate screening pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

At Talent Ticker, we’re all about helping you be the best recruiter you can be. Effectiveness and efficiency are so important, but so are the human relationships we form. These relationships are the answer to so many parts of recruiting, but are you confident you’re looking after both ends of the deal? We’ve shared some of our top tips for ensuring your candidate buys into you and their next opportunity.

Screening candidates for interviews is a large part of any recruiter’s job. We’re picky, and our approach to screening is that we want to be impressed. We decide exactly who has the skills we need and move around the pieces on our boards to align them with the best opportunities.

Hiring in a candidate-led market where we’re all conscious of the skills-gap is a completely different game. It’s so important to recognise that the power has shifted, and interviewers are no longer the only decision makers in the hiring process – the candidate is, too.

Now is the time that as recruiters, we need to become salespeople. We need to sell our opportunities to the candidates we want. Don’t just tell them but show them why these placements could be great together. Listen to both parties and ensure they can see eye to eye.

Our potential candidates need to realise that their next opportunity can be more than just their next paycheque, too. If a candidate can see beyond the corporate front, they’re far more likely to form an emotional connection with the idea of joining a company. A candidate who is hungry to join a company, is passionate about their cause, is one who’ll really shine at interview.

What not to do when screening your candidates

Don’t be late: You don’t want your candidate showing up late to interview, wasting your contact’s time, so don’t do it to them, either. First impressions count, and this starts with you. By reflecting calm professionalism to your prospective candidates, you’ll encourage this behaviour in them, too. Your candidate needs to trust you, to open up to you. Knowing that your candidate is invested is the first step towards a successful placement.

Don’t get too comfortable: It’s one thing to want to put your candidate at ease, but quite another to be too informal, which can come across as unprofessional. They need to know that they’re not just another candidate or one more statistic to you, but they also need to know that you’re the one who’s going to help them land their dream job. Trust is a two-way street in this relationship.

Don’t make presumptions: You don’t know your candidate… yet. Making assumptions can make you look like too opinionated, so listen to what your candidate is saying. This is key to finding the best opportunity for them, and for increasing your likelihood of a successful placement.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep: While it’s more important than ever that we sell our opportunities to our candidates, it’s also important not to over-promise and misrepresent the opportunity. Trust is key. Over-egging could just lead to your candidate being disillusioned, doubting your judgement and not wanting to work with you again.

Manners matter: Show your candidate respect and afford them the same level of interest and politeness that you expect. Be familiar with what’s on their application before you speak with them. Show that you’re interested in what they have to say and that they mean more than just your next meal ticket.

After the interview

It’s worth remembering that your role in the screening and interview process doesn’t finish the moment you’ve put your selected candidate forward. Make sure you leave them with an idea of when they can expect to hear from you again.

Should your candidate be lucky enough to be offered a position, encourage them to weigh up the offer. While they should be reminded of making a timely decision, it’s okay to reassure them and allow them time to consider. Don’t make them feel hounded or pressured; allow them the space to appreciate the great job you’ve just done in landing them a dream opportunity.

If your candidate wasn’t so lucky, take time to reassure them. Nobody likes rejection, and you need to help them find their game face so they’re ready to go back out there and start afresh. These relationships are so important, don’t drop them now just because you didn’t land an immediate pay-out.

What next?

Looking for some new opportunities or candidates to get you on your next journey? Let Talent Ticker help you take the next step. Using our database of 650 million real-time contact profiles, you can search for the latest numbers and emails for outreach, ensuring higher connect rates and more productive conversations. Next, use our powerful automations and highly personalised multi-touch campaigns to not only break the ice, but increase engagement. To help remove silos and create a connected workspace, you can sync your tech stack and email to our platform.

Don’t forget, with the Talent Ticker Chrome Extension you can gather key insights, vacancies, and valuable contact data directly from company websites and LinkedIn profiles. Not only that, but you can also connect with prospects or candidates directly through the plugin and bypass your InMail and connection request limits.

Find out what else we can do

Interested in seeing how else Talent Ticker can save you time and improve your effectiveness? Book a quick 15-minute call with our team to see how you can spend less time doing business development, and get more time to build stronger relationships with candidates and customers.