With the world at our finger tips on our phones and the constant bombardment from emails, texts, and social media, it is easy to become waylaid and put aside some important tasks. Whether you are a candidate or client you could miss out on that amazing job opportunity / person if you put off what you could do now until tomorrow.
I have witnessed a number of instances where candidates have missed out on opportunities because they have not included contact numbers on their CV or have put off updating them or have taken too long to return calls from their recruitment consultant.
I have also witnessed a number of instances where clients have missed out on that exceptional candidate at both the interview and offer stages.
Whilst in some instances this cannot be helped, there are some tips which I think are helpful to reiterate to all candidates and clients:
1. Always act promptly – even if this is a quick email to acknowledge receipt of correspondence. I appreciate this is a bit ambiguous - how prompt is "promptly"? I suggest this will vary from a day to a week at the maximum.
Candidates - Your consultant is there to help, so if you are struggling with aspects of your CV or need advice or guidance, DO ask.
Clients - Responding quickly not only means you fend off the competition, but also the process moves quicker and it makes the
candidate feel valued. In a candidate short market, where candidates have a huge amount of choice in a number of disciplines, this is critical.
2. Provide prompt feedback post-interview. Wherever humanly possible, feedback should be given no more than 24 hours after the interview. Everyone has invested time in preparing and conducting the interview and should go away with a positive experience.
Candidates - Your feedback is just as important as the clients so give your recruitment consultant a call as they are the best sounding board you could hope for.
Clients - Even if the feedback is brief and a final decision hasn't been made, there should be some form of contact to advise on your initial thoughts.
3.The next stage of the process.
Candidates - Be honest with your recruitment consultant. Are you interested in the firm? Do you have anything else going on? It is all important.
Clients - If the feedback is positive and you want to take things forward either to an offer or a next stage interview, feed this back quickly! If this conclusion is reached after a couple of weeks for whatever reason, it creates the impression that the candidate was a 'second-best' option - even if this wasn't the case.
As an agency, Chadwick Nott consultants are not targeted to send out a certain number of CVs. As a result of this, we will only send candidates that are genuinely suitable.
If you are a candidate this is good news as your CV will only be sent to the right firms with your permission.
As a client actively looking to recruit now or in the future, I advise partnering with an agency that knows their market inside out and also won't bombard you with every CV that they receive! This will help with the challenging task of managing a busy recruitment desk.
If we can assist you and you might appreciate a no obligations discussion, please get in touch with one of your dedicated consultants,
https://www.chadwicknott.co.uk/contact/our-offices
