Job Seekers All Complain About This One Thing

Each week I meet with new people who are going through a job search and exploring their options in the marketplace. Their stories, backgrounds, skills and passions vary. But one common factor unites them all.

They are unhappy with the way they’re being treated.

“I’m just a number.”

“Nobody ever calls me back.”

“They make assumptions based on my resume but don’t give me a chance to tell my story.”

“I got a rejection email within 10 minutes of hitting submit. The whole place must be run by robots.”

Now, let me be the first to say there are some companies out there doing it right. As recruiters your priority is on communicating well, valuing your applicants, and you’re aware that filling roles with the right talent is a two-way street. If that’s you, then bravo. Keep doing what you’re doing.

However, from what I’m hearing from job seekers, unfortunately many companies fall into the “poor treatment” category. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s look at it this way.

Applicants know that in order to make an impact, they need to stand out, be different, devise new ideas and challenge the status quo. Yet as I look at the talent landscape, I wonder if companies are doing the same.

For example. When was the last time you made a significant change to your recruitment strategy? What processes do you have in place to screen and interview candidates, and how is your process different from other companies in your space? How much energy do you spend managing technology vs. getting to know the people behind the screen?

Are you now reaping the benefits of your process? Or are you, like many other employers, screaming that you can’t find great talent?

Maybe you can’t find the talent because you’re looking for it all wrong.

The way everybody else does.

The way it’s always been done.

I’m here to tell you—it’s time for a change.

In today’s competitive market, job seekers are evaluating potential employers based on how they are treated during the application process. That means companies can no longer thrive by doing things the same old way—which typically means collecting applications through an electronic funnel, rarely providing personal feedback nor human interaction of any sort. Do you want to be known as an employer that values it people? Then you must shift gears and treat applicants like people.

How?

Here’s a crazy idea. Determine what “everybody else” is doing, then do the exact opposite.

For example—let’s talk about resumes.

Why do we evaluate talent based on a piece of paper? If we’re looking for standout applicants, why do we train them all to format their worth in the same face-in-a-crowd way? How does this help us determine who’s a better fit than all the rest?

It doesn’t. So let’s ditch the resumes. Find a different way to discover who your applicants are and what they have to offer.

But Chad, we can’t do that. Resumes are just how things work. We can’t possibly scan through hundreds of applicants efficiently without resumes.

You’re right, you can’t. Not if you’re focused on quantity rather than quality.

Meanwhile, your competitor is going to figure out a way to meet with people in person, provide authentic communication, perhaps even set in place an effective barrier to entry that attracts not hundreds of resumes to wade through but just a handful of the right applicants. Which means, essentially, they are going to fill their roles with the top quality talent you’re looking for—and they’re going to do it more efficiently in the end.

If your employees are truly your greatest asset, it makes sense that your innovation and attention should be focused on making sure you’ve got the best employees for the job—which {and this is the kicker} may or may not be the ones who applied.

So what’s next? Call me. If you’re serious about attracting, motivating and retaining right-fit talent, I can provide a breakthrough approach to your recruiting needs that treats people like people—valued, understood, and celebrated. Best of all, my solution is cost-effective and ideal for filling those tough-to-fill key roles. It’s not business as usual, that’s for sure—but it is smart business. Together we can set your company apart from the rest.