You Are the Missing Link From Your Recruitment Process

PA130149 Here are two scenarios to ponder:

You walk in to a car dealership that doesn’t have any salespeople on staff. No one is available to answer your questions. No one will describe the features and benefits of the cars. The only person there is a 17-year-old kid working at a cash register. Test driving is prohibited. If you want the car, you simply buy it … like a pack of gum.
You are interested in buying a certain house and there is no real estate agent or home owner available. You are told that the process involves first making an offer without the opportunity to see the interior or take a tour. After you make an offer, then you can enter the home.

The reason why these scenarios seem funny is because when making a big decision, information gathering is critical. In these situations people need information, reassurance, and probably even some hand-holding to feel comfortable.

And, for big decisions, it’s helpful to gather information from another human being (i.e.: car salesperson or real estate agent, etc). We want that personal connection to help guide us and answer our questions.

For most people, finding a new job is another big life decision.

If the human connection is so important, then why do many companies take the cash register approach regarding their talent acquisition strategy?

These companies:

Require that candidates submit their resume online as the first point of contact.
Offer no personal contact for a potential candidate to ask questions.
Will not allow for a site visit until a candidate is already at a final interview stage.
Never respond to candidates emails or phone calls
Do not list a contact person on job postings

All of this builds to our questions of the day:

How can a candidate be genuinely interested in an open position without having an opportunity to fully research your organization?
How can you possibly attract top talent if you don’t offer a real person to serve as a recruitment contact?

Don’t treat your recruitment process like that car dealership with a cash register. Rather, incorporate your recruitment staff in the front end of your process to fill your funnel with enthusiastic candidates.