A lot of emphasis is always on employers finding the right employee for their company, however it’s all too easy to forget one simple truth: recruitment is a two way street. Simply from reading a job post, a candidate judges a company and makes a decision if they want to apply for the job or not. In this article, I focus on why candidates might not want to work for a particular company and what actions can be taken to change this.
Why candidates don’t want to work for a company:
Now that we have covered the negative aspects, let’s look at how we can turn those around to attract the best people. Getting the attention of promising candidates requires careful consideration, such as:
Social Media
As well as putting companies in direct contact with potential candidates, social media is the perfect way to communicate the personality of a business. When used well, it can give a sense of what an office culture may be like in an honest and believable way and it shows people that it’s a fun place to work, rather than simply claiming it.
The Advert
Too many job adverts focus on attributes the candidate must have which isn’t appealing or exciting to job hunters. The detail is needed, however it’s also important to include what is in it for a candidate who may consider applying for the role. If companies want to excite top people for the role, they need to begin with bold and engaging statements that make the business sound like no other.
Social Responsibility
People are increasingly concerned with the social, charitable and environmental conduct of businesses. It’s no longer just a box to tick, but is now a valuable selling point. If a company is more supportive of charitable causes than others, they will get noticed.
The Smaller Benefits
Most businesses talk about their offer of a ‘competitive salary’ and ‘great benefits package’, however generally, all companies are offering in and around the same thing. Companies need to focus more on unique perks they offer, such as a social element to the workplace or a more desirable location. Companies should try and seek out what competitors don’t have so they can go about offering something different.
Selling a company to a potential candidate doesn't end once they come in for an interview. It’s imperative that businesses remember they still need to sell themselves throughout the interview and do everything in their power to make sure the interviewee says yes to coming on board.
This can be done through understanding the candidate’s motivation and why they are looking for a job, understanding the competition to promote anything that may be different from any other companies the candidate might be interviewing for and promoting the people already working for the business as good people want to work for and with decent individuals. After all, it’s typically the people we work with that make the biggest impact on how long we stay in our jobs.
On a final note, remember candidates are also customers. Any bad impressions left will stick with them long after they have started working elsewhere. It’s imperative that companies treat candidates as they would anyone else, if not better.
The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.
Why candidates don’t want to work for a company:
- The job description has very little information on the role, is peppered with inaccuracies, and/or is so generic and unexciting that it generates no interest.
- The application process takes too long to complete and/or requires a reference from anyone and everyone they previously worked for.
- The company has a terrible website and social media presence with minimal or outdated information and no engagement, or even worse, there is no online presence at all.
- The company has a bad reputation online and also amongst other businesses and people in the industry. The reputation is so tarnished that it’s common knowledge not to work for them.
- Nothing is worse than when a company never keeps promises to follow-up, whether it is to schedule interviews, provide more information, or even to let the candidate know if they have been rejected.
- The Job Description/Title/Pay/Location/Hours have altered more than once during the recruitment process and the candidate no longer knows what position they are being interviewed for.
- More often than you may expect, companies demonstrate a lack of respect for the candidate by being unapologetic about being late for the interview or being a no show, by not being prepared, or by being rude during the interview.
- The interviewer lacks confidence in himself/herself, the position, or the company, which comes across negatively in everything said or done in front of the candidate.
- The compensation and benefit package is not competitive enough, the work is not interesting or meaningful to the candidate and progression prospects are minimal.
- The company culture isn't the most inviting and candidates know it. It may be cliquish and lack diversity of opinions, thoughts, and creativity and/or be inflexible and demanding to an unnatural degree.
Now that we have covered the negative aspects, let’s look at how we can turn those around to attract the best people. Getting the attention of promising candidates requires careful consideration, such as:
Social Media
As well as putting companies in direct contact with potential candidates, social media is the perfect way to communicate the personality of a business. When used well, it can give a sense of what an office culture may be like in an honest and believable way and it shows people that it’s a fun place to work, rather than simply claiming it.
The Advert
Too many job adverts focus on attributes the candidate must have which isn’t appealing or exciting to job hunters. The detail is needed, however it’s also important to include what is in it for a candidate who may consider applying for the role. If companies want to excite top people for the role, they need to begin with bold and engaging statements that make the business sound like no other.
Social Responsibility
People are increasingly concerned with the social, charitable and environmental conduct of businesses. It’s no longer just a box to tick, but is now a valuable selling point. If a company is more supportive of charitable causes than others, they will get noticed.
The Smaller Benefits
Most businesses talk about their offer of a ‘competitive salary’ and ‘great benefits package’, however generally, all companies are offering in and around the same thing. Companies need to focus more on unique perks they offer, such as a social element to the workplace or a more desirable location. Companies should try and seek out what competitors don’t have so they can go about offering something different.
Selling a company to a potential candidate doesn't end once they come in for an interview. It’s imperative that businesses remember they still need to sell themselves throughout the interview and do everything in their power to make sure the interviewee says yes to coming on board.
This can be done through understanding the candidate’s motivation and why they are looking for a job, understanding the competition to promote anything that may be different from any other companies the candidate might be interviewing for and promoting the people already working for the business as good people want to work for and with decent individuals. After all, it’s typically the people we work with that make the biggest impact on how long we stay in our jobs.
On a final note, remember candidates are also customers. Any bad impressions left will stick with them long after they have started working elsewhere. It’s imperative that companies treat candidates as they would anyone else, if not better.
The contents of this article are necessarily expressed in broad terms and limited to general information rather than detailed analyses or legal advice. Specialist professional advice should always be obtained to address legal and other issues arising in specific contexts.
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