Lesson: Keep Candidates Engaged by Touching Base Weekly

As leaders we work really hard to find the right people. But how can we improve how we do that and, equally importantly, how candidates feel about us and the process.

I have been both the candidate and the hiring manager and I have found one very simple, quick step that keeps everyone feeling good and feeling engaged.

It's astonishingly simple: TOUCH BASE ONCE A WEEK.

Put yourself in the mind of the candidate. Wouldn't you feel great to get a weekly update, to not have to worry about- Did they forget me? Am I still being considered? What's going on?

Let's not forget that this is one of the first perceptions we give about how we treat people in our organization.

If you are the hiring manager, don't you want your candidates to be excited and enthusiastic? Someone is sitting at home hoping to land this job and there are several others who deserve to know where they stand.

Touching base once a week in the process is a demonstration of respect to your candidates, and it shows care, concern, and attentiveness. Even if the call is to say "You are still in consideration. The next steps are _____, and I expect this will happen by _____."

I admit I learned this lesson the hard way. I was having difficulty within my company lining up the necessary "next step" interviews. The client was eager to work for us....but not so eager that my two weeks of not contacting them would be tolerated. From my perspective, I didn't want to contact the candidate without definitive next steps. I realized when the client withdrew as a candidate, all she wanted was to remain informed and to have her expectations managed. Tough lesson for me.

So, do yourself, your future superstar hire, and your company a favor...touch base at least once a week, even if it is solely to let the candidate know they're still in consideration.