Uh-oh, spaghetti-oh
COVID’s just messed up your recruitment plans… and you’d already started assessing applications! Now there’s a recruitment freeze, well, everything freeze.
No one has a crystal ball that can predict the future; whether you’ll still need to hire or whether business impacts from the COVID lockdowns force your business to shrink. But what you don’t want is to lose high value candidates who’ve slaved for hours perfecting their application for your role/s… by ghosting them.
You absolutely cannot leave them hanging even if hanging by threads is what we’re *all* doing right now.
But, what to say? How to say it?
Here are a few simple ways you can maintain candidate connection while recruitment’s on pause.
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash
5 shiny ideas to create connection
Acknowledging that for some, there is powerful information you’re holding, and it may be more difficult deciding whether to share it, and if so, how much to share. For some, there’s a potential PR fallout from giving too much away about your position. I’ll leave it for you to decide what does and does not apply.
Hopefully, you’ll still find a few golden nuggets in this list >
1. FAQs
Create a static webpage that you can share a link to via email, SMS or your social profiles that answers some of the commonly asked, safe to share questions. You could even invite grads to a Facebook live where you can bring them up to speed and invite questions. Don’t be afraid to say you ‘don’t know’, however, avoid saying it with a negative or deflated tone.
2. Fortnightly nurture emails
These don’t even need to be communicating a COVID related message. You could simply send emails that tell employee stories, company news, awards or achievements, CEO updates, recruiter tips, and/or grad cohort spotlights.
If you’ve put recruitment on hold, then this is your opportunity to shine!
Put together a series of guides to help grads prep for (survive) recruitment once things kick off for you again. For example:
What to expect from a virtual AC?
The difference between pre-recorded interviews and live
How to dazzle us with your personality when a screen’s in the way
The point is to:
maintain regular contact to remind them you’re still here,
help them with valuable and entertaining content, and
reassure them that business really is business as usual (for now).
Look for content inspiration from the whirlpool forum, email enquiries, or social media interactions.
3. User-generated content campaigns
Introduce something fun with a user-generated content campaign. Create a hashtag and ask your grad community to join in by sharing things like >
What’s your life look like in lockdown?
Quirky lockdown inventions
New skill/s
‘New normal’ bucket list
4. Webinars / live video
Whether that’s via Zoom, Facebook/Instagram live or you shake things up with LinkedIn stories (it’s boring so far, the fruit is ripe for your picking) – consider co/hosting a series of webinars on personal development themed topics.
For example, marketing skills, personal branding, networking, or that hard to nail > how to add frills to your LinkedIn profile / how to approach key industry contacts via a cold LinkedIn email. Has anyone nailed this yet?
5. Connect new grads
Set up a Facebook or Slack group and invite your newly hired grads to join, connect with each other, and mix freely in the virtual communal kitchen unsupervised. Once they’re known, you could invite grad buddies into the fold to assist with any ‘what to expect when you’re not sure if you’re expecting’ questions.
Additionally, you could invite them onto a virtual project / Hackathon to problem solve a real (better) or created business problem.
Be the friendly, helpful beacon
Whether you’re operating in an uncertain or high-risk environment, OR in an environment that is business as usual, work on nurturing your relationships by regularly communicating with grads to ensure they feel informed.
If you can be a reliable source of information and entertainment, and make them feel respected and valued, they will remember you.
“…people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
Check out my ready-to-send recruitment campaign emails to boost your candidate experience.
One final food-for-thought note
Silence is deafening.
And while it may be ‘the employer’s market’, and while you may be faced with more options because so many are in the unemployment line, developing a poor brand reputation while the dust settles won’t help ensure the hundreds of applications you do receive are actually the good ones worth receiving.
*This post was originally written for and published on Grad Hero Hub