How to Keep Candidates Engaged Throughout the Hiring Proce
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re currently operating in an employee’s market, which means there are presently more open positions than there are qualified individuals to fill them. This makes it incredibly challenging, particularly for veterinary recruiting, since the pool of candidates is even smaller. One of the biggest keys to successful hiring is keeping candidates engaged throughout the process. Lose their attention and you could easily lose them to a competitor.
So, what’s the secret? How can you effectively capture and keep your top candidates’ attention until you’re ready to make your move? Here are five strategies to try.
Be clear about the position and its responsibilities.
A great way to make that initial connection is to be thorough with your job description. The more details a candidate knows about the position he or she is applying for, the more buy-in you’ll get. As such, make sure you are doing more than just selling the role, but rather framing it as an opportunity to become a part of something great and a chance to further their career. The deeper this understanding, the more engaged your candidates will become.
Draw them into the practice culture.
In today’s competitive veterinary recruiting market, only the practices that truly stand out will be able to catch the eye of top talent. Beyond simply getting their attention, however, painting a compelling picture of your clinic’s culture can help draw in your best candidates and start nurturing a connection right away. Demonstrate to candidates what it’s truly like to work for your practice and do so in a way that helps them visualize themselves as part of the team.
Make communication a top priority.
One area where many fail in veterinary recruiting is communication. They mistakenly believe that only touching base when absolutely necessary is enough to keep candidates engaged. To the contrary, if you’re not staying in regular contact with your top applicants, the odds are against you. Show your candidates that you’re truly interested and that you value them. Remember – how well and how often you communicate will tell a candidate what to expect if he or she should choose to work for you, so make it a positive and memorable experience. Always follow up and follow through.
Be respectful of your candidates.
If you’re blowing off phone calls, taking forever to follow up on email inquiries or constantly rescheduling interviews, you’re sending the message that you don’t value your candidates’ time. And when that happens, they’ll begin to see your practice in a negative light and likely lose interest in working for you altogether. In today’s highly saturated market, demonstrating that you respect the time and effort of your candidates is what can ultimately separate your clinic from the rest and bump your offer up to the top of the list.
Be honest and fair with your offer negotiations.
The offer and salary negotiation stage is the most important part of the veterinary recruiting process. It’s also the most sensitive. Understand that if you’re working with a top-notch candidate, chances are very good that they’re also being courted by other clinics, which means they’re also entertaining offers from other prospective employers. As such, you should remain ready, willing and able to negotiate your original offer. If you come to the table with a “take it or leave it” attitude, the candidate will very likely walk away.
Will doing all of the things above guarantee that your best candidates will stay engaged? No. But it will certainly improve your odds of landing top talent for your clinic. Enlisting the help of an experienced veterinary recruiting firm can increase those odds even more. Dream Team Elite can help make the process of finding, engaging and hiring A-level candidates for your team easy, fast and efficient. To learn more or get started, contact us today at 1-800-469-1871 ext 353.
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