Dubai: Recruiting the right people to do the job is a time-consuming process, but this doesn’t give companies an excuse to ignore applicants that don’t matter to them.
Human Resources (HR) experts said that treating every job applicant with respect is crucial to the reputation of the company and organisations must therefore acknowledge every candidate and strive to make a job interview a “positive encounter.”
In a survey by CareerBuilder, 82 per cent of workers said they expect to hear back from a company when they apply for a job, even if the employer is not interested. Nearly one-third (32 per cent) said they would be less inclined to buy products or services from an organisation that did not respond to their application.
“From the second job seekers are viewing your job ad and applying to your company, they are forming an opinion of who you are as an employer and as a business,” said Sanja Licina, Ph.D. and senior director of talent intelligence at CareerBuilder.
Adam Kingl of the London Business School said employers should bear in mind that any candidate is also a customer or potential customer, so offering feedback that is constructive and making the entire interviewing process productive is an important “brand-building opportunity.”
“If a candidate is let down gently, learns about him or herself in the process, and leaves with good feelings about the organisation, this has a positive halo effect for the company,” said Kingl.
“A candidate who has a poor experience and shares those complaints with their friends and family may harm that company’s brand as a product or service provider. After all, there is a very fine line between a brand’s value to a consumer and an employee or potential employee.”
