Keep Attracting High-Value Talents With This One Tip

You may have noticed that your recent job ads have not been attracting the usual top-tier candidates despite your usual hiring efforts or that the pool of talents you want to attract has been flocking to a competitor. To this, you wonder — what could you be doing differently?

There are several reasons why it is essential to attract the right people for the jobs you need. In Malaysia, certain job roles and skills in the digital, green, and care sectors will be in demand in the next three years, according to the Skills Demand for the Future Economy report, which requires particular skill sets that not everyone has. 

Another important thing to consider is the time, money, and effort spent on hiring and orienting a new employee — which may be considered an investment on the company’s part. Like any investment, you want to ensure that the resources you are pouring into a new hire are worth it — lest you run the risk of a bad hire, which can affect a company in the long run.

Given the costly implications of making poor hiring choices, it can be frustrating to come across so-so candidates that don’t quite fit the bill in terms of the position you are trying to fill. Yet as you try to figure out why you keep losing out on better candidates, one factor that may not have occurred to you is probably your lack of feedback with candidates.

While it may sound like a simple reason, its simplicity is precisely the reason it is overlooked by many companies — and why many suffer from a declining quality in the talent pool.

Job vacancies are at an all-time high in Malaysia as its labour market continues to recover. Thus, anyone looking for a job can simply thumb through social media posts or traditional postings, coming across various hiring posts from companies looking to attract the most qualified candidates. More job ads mean more choices for jobseekers. That’s good news for anyone looking for employment. But is it also good for companies looking to hire? 

This seeming democratisation of the job-hunting process has made jobseekers more selective. With all the information out there, they can already sift through all the job postings and find one that fits their skills best. Especially when it comes to high-value talents offering a specific and desired set of skills to the table, these candidates can become even more selective. Hence, this is why companies need to step up their recruitment strategies and work harder to meet the candidates’ expectations. 

One of their most-overlooked expectations is receiving feedback. Yet candidates look forward to feedback, and based on jobseekers’ insights, keeping candidates on the status of their applications is a key recommendation on how to attract quality candidates.

Regardless of whether a candidate’s application was successful or not, they now look for transparency and timeliness. Giving feedback — even for an unsuccessful application — helps them understand the result better, the aspects they could improve on, and how they can best move forward. 

In a recent survey conducted by SEEK, from the 74% candidates that did not hear back about their applications, 43% of them said that they are unlikely to reapply with the same company. 

Hirers who do not provide feedback may be perceived as: 

• Unreliable, lazy, and untrustworthy; 

• Having an irresponsible culture that does not care for the welfare of their people; 

• Scammers preying on people’s vulnerabilities; 

• Unappreciative by wasting the candidate’s time and effort;

• An overall unfavourable company to join.

Not providing feedback can also pose a significant detrimental impact on the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and branding. 

The increasing cases of scams in the news have also affected the way jobseekers reach out to companies. Because of stories about repeated scams, candidates have become more cautious about job ads and careful of the companies trying to fish for their applications. Thus, jobseekers who do not receive updates about their applications may misconstrue these companies as scam jobs or not legit jobs, and are only trying to get their private information.

Giving feedback should be timely, just so the jobseeker can take the proper steps to move on. It’s important to extend to jobseekers the simple courtesy of immediately letting them know the results of their application. Don’t keep them waiting, especially if you’re going to reject them after all. 

Candidates have spent effort on their applications to answer a company’s needs so they hope to get some feedback in return. Looking for a job can be long-winded and complicated. A simple response can already boost a jobseeker’s confidence and arm them with enough drive to take the next steps. If successful, this will make them extra eager to deliver results from day one and know their next moves.

If unsuccessful, they will apply for more jobs. Providing them with feedback will improve their chances of getting employed. Thus, don’t wait for months to reply and tell them what happened during their application, or interview, and how they can improve. Act while the events are still fresh. It might seem like extra work, especially for your hiring team, but you will soon realise that it’s a crucial recruitment strategy that can also help you in the long run. 

Many companies now promptly provide feedback within two to three weeks to thank candidates for their applications, even when they have not chosen to go with the candidate. This feedback explains why the applicant was not suitable for the role and is given proper action points they can improve on — further putting the company in a good light as one that does not neglect its candidates.

Providing feedback to jobseekers reflects:

• A company brand and corporate culture that prioritises people; 

• The kind of company values, such as professionalism and transparency, that you promote; 

• Being human and caring in a dog-eat-dog world; 

• An overall positive image that will increase your chances of attracting top candidates.

A simple effort to update one’s hiring strategy can do wonders for both the jobseeker’s confidence and the company’s reputation. Providing feedback has a cumulative positive effect on the organisation’s image, which is vital in attracting the best candidates in the market. Start the initiative today with the help of JobStreet, and you’ll be filling job vacancies sooner than expected. 

Find the right candidate for the job today by using Talent Search. Then visit our Insights page for more ideas on attracting top talents and making them stay.