Most hiring managers have been there: you have a highly qualified candidate that you’ve been actively pursuing for an open position. They’ve been in for an interview or two and passed several levels of screening. Then, when the time comes to fill that open position, you offer them the job–only to discover that their interest has disappeared.
In many cases, it’s because they’ve already lined up another job elsewhere. Why do your job candidates lose interest? A few simple changes to your hiring process can create a substantial difference in how candidates respond.
Highly Qualified Candidates are Needed
Highly qualified candidates, especially in the mining industry, are in high demand. It’s not just your business that needs these excellent candidates to fill open positions.
Oftentimes, you may find that the best candidates are snapped up quickly by businesses that have streamlined their hiring processes–and most candidates are reluctant to create bad feelings with their new company by jumping ship so soon after being hired.
With candidates in such high demand, if your business wants them, it’s important that you streamline your hiring process so that you’re not left looking at yet another candidate who has already been hired elsewhere. Over the course of 2017, the mining and related industries added approximately 59,000 jobs–and that’s a lot of opportunities for your candidates to go elsewhere.
Your Candidates’ Expectations
The average candidate wants to hear back from your business as soon as possible–and they expect a response within a week or two of that initial communication.
In fact, 57% of job seekers are most frustrated by how long it takes to hear back after an interview. Keep in mind that job seekers typically aren’t just looking to hop from one job to the next. Highly qualified candidates may be seeking to improve their current situation, whether due to poor pay or a job that simply isn’t meeting their needs.
They may also be between jobs–in which case, they don’t have time to wait around for you to move through the hiring process.
The Impression You Leave
In many cases, candidates have heard great things about your business–whether from existing employees or from their recruiter who has helped put their resume up for consideration.
Unfortunately, failing to get back to them in a timely manner can leave a bad taste in their mouth about your entire company. Candidates are looking for a company where their time is valued, and leaving them waiting for a response for weeks simply doesn’t give that impression. Even excessive rounds of interviews can put off a candidate: more than 41% of job seekers feel that more than two rounds of interviews are a waste of candidates’ time.
Delays Cost Time
Not only are delays hard on the candidate, who will feel as though they’ve invested a great deal of time and energy in your business only to be kept waiting, they’re hard on your business! The longer it takes to fill your open position, the more your existing projects and deadlines will suffer as a result.
Additionally, you may end up with candidates who are less qualified for those positions, which means you won’t get the same level of capability and efficiency you would have received from the first round of candidates.
You Can Keep Job Candidates from Losing Interest
There are many highly qualified candidates just waiting to make things happen in the industry. They’re prepared to do that for your company, but first, you have to show that you value them.
Streamlining your hiring process benefits you and your future employees. You know that you need to fill the open positions. Dragging out this process simply means frustrating the highest-qualified candidates in your field, leaving them wondering whether or not they would be better off looking elsewhere. By streamlining your hiring process, you can take advantage of these great candidates and put them in place within your company sooner.
If you need help finding highly qualified candidates in the mining industry, contact us today to learn how we can help connect you with those candidates and streamline your hiring process.
