You may find yourself at the end of a job interview process with two applicants who would both be excellent additions to your firm. While both candidates appear to be competent, something will eventually tip the scales in one’s favor – perhaps one has more experience or possesses hard-to-find qualities.
When you offer a job to a candidate, you hope they are as eager about it as your hiring team is about hiring them. However, a candidate’s heart may change, and they may decide they are no longer interested. It might be hard when your ideal candidate walks out of the room. What to do now? You had all hopes pinned on this one candidate who is no longer accessible.
That is why executives are learning to be comfortable with their second or third choices as scarcity grips the marketplace. Scarcity is also forcing businesses to improve their internal systems. Hiring managers are not suddenly accepting less qualified candidates; instead, they are working to improve their internal processes. Once the baseline requirements have been set, the pool of available candidates may broaden, allowing for hiring similarly qualified but less experienced candidates.
Why should the second-place candidate be equally important as the first?
Identifying excellent applicants is a strategic step that businesses take to ensure that they have a steady supply of qualified employees. That allows them to fill significant positions with talented and passionate candidates quickly. Companies can spot suitable applicants even before a job vacancy if they have a large talent community. Talent pools can be further divided into groups based on the firm’s needs, allowing the organization to benefit from the group of skills.
Staying in touch with your pool of candidates, including second-place candidates, will give you swift filling of every job position. Under extreme situations, when your preferred candidate turns down the job offer, you can always have a second-preferred candidate as a backup.
Even so, that does not indicate that hiring from the outside of preferences is a terrible option. Suppose the majority of your positions are being filled from outside. In that case, unless your company is a Silicon Valley gazelle, introducing such people at a breakneck pace, you should always have a pool of professionals as you build relationships through the years of recruiting and talent acquisition.
Ways to keep your second-candidates engaged
One of your applicants losing interest and moving on to a new job is the last thing you want to happen. Here are some strategies for keeping your second-choice applicants interested throughout the hiring process:
Keeping applicants in the loop
Following up with candidates, regardless of the outcome, is critical in establishing a positive recruitment reputation. An overwhelming majority of candidates prefer that you keep in touch and communicate effectively, versus leaving them in the dark, or ghosting them. It is possible that a candidate may not have been the best fit for one position, but he or she may be ideal for another in the future, and you will want to have established a positive, respectful connection with them.
For example, an apologetic email should be sent to all applicants that did not get chosen initially at the very least. A phone call from the hiring manager or an HR representative should be received by candidates who have had an interview with them.
Following up with candidates as a corporate internal recruiter is critical for any firm’s reputation. When it comes to job roles and service-based businesses, companies frequently miss that all of these applicants are also their potential new hires down the road and even customers. In either case, that communication enables you to make a positive connection with them.
Ensuring transparency throughout the process
Job applicants are aware that there is always the possibility of not being chosen for a position. Although this is difficult for candidates, businesses should make the entire procedure easier by being entirely honest during the hiring process. Even if they are your second-place candidate, it is advisable to be transparent with them on why another candidate was chosen.
Employers should give eligible candidates some constructive feedback. This feedback should contain suggestions for making the candidate even more qualified for the position and advice on succeeding in the next round of interviews, whether conducted by video or in person.
Make sure you are not making her feel like a rebound
When you contact a second-choice prospect for a job offer, you want them to feel just as important as your first choice. To ensure that, the responsibility lies with you. It is the job of the hiring team to make the second-choice candidate feel equally important. This can be achieved by phrasing your new offer correctly, so that they do not feel they were only given the opportunity due to the primary candidate not being available any longer.
As an example, if the first candidate you chose for the job resigns weeks later, make sure to notify your second and third choices that the position is open again and that you would want to schedule another interview. That will allow you to learn about the other prospects’ current employment status and to get them excited about the newly opened role.
Second-place job candidates play an important role in filling current and future vacancies within organizations. They can truly be a massive help for recruiters and talent acquisition professionals and should always be kept in mind for those needs. They may even be a great fit for a different position that becomes available. Keep these tips in mind moving forward to improve your recruiting efforts.
