Time Kills All Deals

Sep 16, 2014 12:00:00 AM · by Healthcare IS Team

From a recruiter’s standpoint, a delay in the hiring process is the most common factor preventing a successful hire. A delay can range from too much time between interviews, to a postponement in making an offer, to putting a position “on hold.” Below are a few things to avoid during the hiring process.

Extended time between interviews

If you have an interview with a candidate and you’re interested in moving the process forward, you should schedule the second interview within 48 hours. I’m not saying the interview needs to take place within 48 hours, but it should be scheduled. Every day that goes by between a first interview and the scheduling of a second interview, the candidate will second-guess how well things went. His or her friends and family will ask if they’ve heard back; the more time that goes by that they haven’t heard back, they’ll start to convince themselves that they really weren’t that interested anyway. They’ll go into self-preservation mode, so to speak. Even if the company does finally call back, it shows a level of indecisiveness and disorganization on their part, so the candidate may decide that this is not a company for which he or she wants to work.

Delay in making an offer

Depending on the position and situation, if the interview process is complete and you’re interested in hiring the candidate, a verbal offer should be extended within five days of the final interview. Should there be other candidates involved in the process, causing the offer to take longer than five days, there should be clear communication and continued conversations with the candidate to keep interest alive. Much like the interview example above, the more time that passes after completing the process, during which a candidate does not receive an offer, the more likely that their self-preservation mode will kick in, causing them to decide that they weren’t really that interested in the opportunity after all.

Lack of keeping in touch with a candidate throughout process and if the position is put on hold.

As stated above, if there’s going to be a delay between interviews due to unforeseen circumstances, over-communicate this with the candidate. Don’t assume that you can tell them initially that you won’t be making decisions for a couple of weeks and, without further communication, expect them to be interested and available when that time comes. You need to stay in contact with them throughout the process to reassure them that you’re still interested. A quick phone call and/or email will go a long way. On the same note, if a position gets put on hold, remain in regular contact with any candidates with whom you had interest. They may still be available when the position reopens and you’ll have established some rapport with them. If they’re not available, you’ll have left them with a good impression and they may have referrals.

Here’s the bottom line: The more time it takes a company to move through the interview process, extend an offer, and set a start date, the less of a chance they have of landing their ideal candida

You may also like: What Is Your Sourcing Strategy?

General, Consulting, Hiring, Healthcare IS Team

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