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Candidates want feedback – the gap between expectation and reality
Candidates want to be kept up to date on the status of their application. They want to know whether their CV caught a prospective employer’s interest and whether they will be invited to the next stage.
What is more, around 60% of candidates expect to be told why they were turned down, even where their application was judged not to meet the requirements at the CV stage. They want to know why their profile fell short.
Personalised feedback gives them the sense that their application was considered properly and professionally.
Yet only 24% of employers give candidates feedback after every stage. Fifty-two per cent tell candidates why they were rejected if they attended at least one meeting.(Candidate Experience w Polsce 2023/24 report, eRecruiter).
How do our consultants see feedback?
Every candidate who engages with a recruitment process – reading the advert properly, taking the time to apply and to register in our database – deserves constructive feedback. It is an expression of partnership built on respect and on an exchange of experience with a candidate who has made the effort to apply.
Candidates want to be kept up to date on the status of their application. They want to know whether their CV caught a prospective employer’s interest and whether they will be invited to the next stage.
What does feedback give candidates?
- Even when the final decision does not go their way, good feedback is valuable guidance for their development and useful in future applications
- When giving feedback, our consultants work from facts – comparing the candidate’s experience with the requirements of the role, and taking fit with the company culture into account as well
- Personalised feedback makes candidates feel treated as partners, which increases their willingness to work with us again and to take part in other processes
- Professional feedback from an experienced consultant often turns out to be the start of a lasting relationship with a candidate, whom we invite to register in our database and to whom we put forward further roles
What do consultants, the agency and employers gain?
- Being able to give feedback, including negative feedback, is a core skill for a consultant and a mark of their professionalism and experience. It increases trust in the agency and in the prospective employer
- Feedback built permanently into our process strengthens how the agency is seen as a dependable business partner
- Giving candidates constructive feedback makes the client we represent look transparent, which benefits their employer brand
- Candidates who receive good feedback from a prospective employer are more likely to recommend the client and our agency, which can increase the number of applications to future roles
- Giving feedback as early as the CV screening stage sets us apart from competitors and builds a reputation as an organisation that respects every candidate’s time and effort
Candidates confirm it – feedback matters!
Ninety per cent of candidates who receive detailed, personalised feedback from us thank us for it, even when they have not gone through to the next stage. Many agree to keep their CV in our database and would consider future processes where their skills are a closer match to our clients’ needs:
“For the first time in more than 20 years I received an email from a recruiter with feedback before the process had even begun. I am impressed by your professionalism.”
“In Poland this is still far from standard – it leaves a good impression.”
“Thank you very much for the feedback. It is not common practice these days. All the more reason to appreciate your professionalism and the personal effort you put into replying to me.
The reasons you set out are clear to me.
I would certainly be open to your future projects where my application is a closer fit.”
“Good morning, thank you very much for letting me know… that does not happen in this market.”
“Thank you for a reply that was not automated :-).”
“Thank you for the feedback. It is very valuable. If my profile suits other projects of yours, I would be glad to take part.”
What candidates tell us speaks for itself 🙂 That is why we make sure feedback is an integral part of every process we run.
No time for feedback? There is a way…
We often hear that, amid everything else and with limited time, recruiters cannot give candidates detailed feedback.
Given that the great majority of specialists (83%) prefer to receive feedback by email, that channel lets us use the automation built into ATS systems. The tools we work with every day make it possible to reply to candidates quickly.
Does automation help with personalised feedback too?
Recruiting experience combined with process automation is the ideal way to give candidates feedback that is both efficient and worthwhile. It is worth creating response templates for each stage of the process and adapting the wording to the particular candidate. The time spent on personalisation – the two or three extra clicks the system asks for when you add tailored content to a template – is what builds candidate experience.
You can read how to give a candidate professional feedback here Constructive feedback – what it is and what it is not | Stalwart Manacus
