The process of communicating with a heavy flow of Talent traffic requires a plan, the right technology and consistent execution. Below is an example of how the hiring process should work when looking at bringing in a person for an executive position; however the strategy can be used for any position at any level. Here I share a real world example I received from an executive recruiter:

1. Send all Talent Traffic (aka resumes  and other supporting information) into an Applicant Tracking System

2. Automatically send each applicant an email describing the process and include an automated assessment instrument such as a Qualifying Questionnaire. Note: ask your current ATS vendor for the best method for providing a questionnaire to – there are plenty of ATS solutions for companies of all sizes. Here is a sample automated response:

Thank you for your interest in the Marketing Manager opportunity. The next step in our process is a short online questionnaire.  In consideration of your schedule, we’ve engineered this step to be as concise as possible.  I anticipate the questionnaire will take roughly five minutes to complete.  This questionnaire will provide us a deeper understanding of your experience and qualifications as they relate to the requirements of this opportunity in a format that is easily presented to our hiring team.

To begin the online questionnaire, please click the following link…

3. Within a week of first contact, send all the talent an email thanking them for their interest and letting them know if they are under consideration or not. The Qualifying Questionnaire process can be automatically weighted to help with this process. Here’s a sample of a follow-up response email:

Thank you for your interest in the Controller opportunity.  The interest and response to this opportunity has been high. I wanted to communicate that I am personally reviewing the talent and am focused on sourcing a Controller serving a publically traded company in a Medical Diagnostics or Healthcare related industry. I am in the process of screening this talent set first and plan to complete this week.

Thanks for your patience and again I appreciate your interest and consideration.

4. And once a candidate has been selected, send a third and final email letting all talent know that the position is closed. Thank them again for their time and consideration.

Jobseekers appreciate a timely gracious response, they deserve it. Through this considerate process, employers protect their corporate brand – an employment communications practice that should be the norm. Right?

And thanks to a clear and well-thought out talent traffic plan, you may end up receiving emails like this from job candidates:

Dear Mr. Jones,

Thank you for the follow up.  Even though it was not the response I had hoped for, I appreciate the reply.  I have sent a few resumes out in this past couple weeks and am surprised at how few recipients even acknowledge receipt.

With the current market, job openings are probably flooded with applicants but each one represents a person and I feel, in the job hunt and beyond, it’s all about relationships.  It’s amazing how many people don’t understand that.

Please keep me on file and hopefully something will cross your desk that will be a good match for me.

At the end of the day, corporate graciousness during the hiring process will have a positive return on your brand and what company wouldn’t want that?

Article by Hank Stringer