The recruitment process is notoriously time-consuming, hence why many companies outsource it to the likes of us! But what can make a recruitment drive particularly frustrating is when you can’t get any traction. It seems that no matter how you spin it, candidates are not accepting the job offer. It can be a mind-boggling situation to find yourself in, after all a job is a job, right? Someone must want it! However, things are rarely as straightforward as they seem, and the recruitment process is no different. We’ve listed five reasons job offers are snubbed by candidates so that you can avoid these very common pitfalls.
5 reasons your job offer is not working
1) Your job advertisement stinks
Copywriting is a necessary skill to have when writing up a job advertisement. It is important to strike the right balance between being informative about the position on offer and selling it! Check if your headline contains a clear and easy to understand job title. You might be tempted to get creative with your job titles, but if potential candidates can’t grasp what the position actually is the chances of them applying is very slim.
A healthy dose of emotive sales language is good to have in your job advertisement because how else will candidates know what makes you different (and better!) when compared with other companies in your industry? Treat the job advertisement as you would any advertisement, which means not only talking about what the candidate can do for you but what you can do for them. A win/win situation is what to aim for.
2) You took too long
Timely communication is vital for securing talented candidates. People like to know where they stand and if they are left at all in doubt, they will quickly move on. Chances are candidates will have applied to a few job advertisements, so the first to reply is going to get priority. Therefore, it makes sense to keep your recruitment process as concise as possible.
Take a close look at the step-by-step actions involved in your recruitment process. How long does it take for candidates to receive a reply to their application? Do you have an automated reply in place? How quickly will they be invited for an interview? After the interview, do you know exactly how long it will take to get back to candidates?
These details are not only important for you to know so that you can see if there are areas for improvement, but it is helpful for candidates to know. If they don’t have a timeline of the recruitment process to work with they may assume at any interim in the process that they were unsuccessful and direct their focus to the next job application.
3) Bad recruitment process
Imagine a candidate applies to work at a brand they love. The energy and innovation of the company resonate with them, and they’re excited at the prospect of joining the team. That is until they are in contact with the team! The HR person who replies to their application is curt and formal which is not the attitude they expected from a pioneering company. When they attend the interview, the secretary at the desk hardly acknowledges them making them feet two-foot small. When they finally make it to the interview, it is an intense experience with four interviewers firing questions at them all at once!
Not the best experience for any candidate, and to top it off the brand image has been completely shattered. Every contact a candidate has with your company is a hint for them about what the culture will be like. Therefore, it makes sense to ensure that it is a positive experience rather than an unnerving one. Ensure that your brand voice is maintained throughout the process and provide candidates with a clear vision of what it will be like to work with you
4) Did you tell them the salary?
As you can see on our job page,we like to be transparent about salaries when our clients are happy to be. Not only is it an effective filter for unsuitable candidates, but it helps potential candidates to take the job advertisement seriously. When the salary is hidden, it is difficult for candidates to imagine working for the company. There is an information gap that can only be filled by assumptions, word-of-mouth, out-of-date job postings or just a big question mark.
Not knowing the salary is an irritant that is going to bother candidates for the whole recruitment process until they find out. By providing information about the salary off-the-bat, the candidate is reassured that they are getting a fair deal and can now focus on other important things like whether they are the right fit for the company, is there opportunities for growth and are their skills suitable for the position they are applying for.
5) Counter-offer
We wrote a blog recently about the tricky situation that is the counter-offer. Unfortunately, this one is out of your control. If a counter-offer from their current job is all the candidate is looking for, then you were never going to win! However, this is another reason it pays to have a streamlined recruitment process because there is nothing worse than putting all your hopes on one candidate to find out at the very end all they wanted was a raise with the company they are already working for. The quicker you can weed out these candidates the better.
Are you currently on the hunt for top digital talent? At Connexus Recruit, we connect the dots between great companies and great employees. Get in contact today on 01 254 8362 or by sending us an email at hello@connexusrecruit.com.
