What Your Silence Says to Candidates

What Your Silence Says to Candidates

Avatar photo Jeff Gipson | January 29, 2019

Composer Claude Debussy said that music was the silence between the notes. An old adage states that silence is golden. Mark Twain reminded us that it’s better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt. There are a lot of ways to say it, but it seems to be universally accepted that silence is tremendously valuable. Except when it comes to hiring. The more silence you allow to invade the process, the more opportunity you give your competitors to steal away potential candidates.

Many companies are unaware of how the quiet spaces between the various stages can affect candidate enthusiasm, so we have outlined some of the more perilous areas where silence can be especially damaging.

After First Contact

Once you have made initial contact with a candidate, you cannot overestimate their excitement and tenacity. This is a crucial time where you can either start things on the right foot by reciprocating that desire to move further or you give them room to pause by leaving them in the dark. We all know that we only get one chance to make a good first impression, so it is vital that the impression candidates have of you is one that resonates clear communication and a healthy interest.

Throughout the Process

If you have decided to move a candidate forward to the next step, communicate with them how that transition will work. People want to know what to expect, and they like to know when to expect it. Transparency is crucial for both parties. As the hiring company, you hope for and expect honesty and clarity from those you hire. It stands to reason they deserve as much in return. At this crucial point, silence can be translated as a lack of interest, which can inspire your prospective hire to abandon the process or seek out companies who won’t leave them in the dark.

It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over

Even the companies that exhibit great communication throughout the hiring process can find themselves taking their eye off the ball. Perhaps you have found a great candidate. You’ve been responsive. They’ve interacted well. You extend a verbal offer, and they accept. This is the point where too many organizations allow themselves to become too comfortable and allow too much time to lapse between the verbal commitment and something more official. Even the best candidate can be fickle, and at this important stage, silence breeds restlessness. Restlessness leads to recklessness. And recklessness can include abandoning a stagnant verbal offer for something more concrete.

Shorten the Silence

It stands to reason that you cannot be in constant communication with a candidate, but it is vital that you minimize opportunities for silence. There are innumerable variables that can deter a candidate; therefore, it doesn’t make sense to create additional roadblocks. Additionally, by reducing the silence throughout the process, you shorten the overall time it takes to locate and place the right person. The less time you spend between the stages of recruiting, interviewing, extending an offer and onboarding, the less opportunity there is for disruption.

At The James Allen Companies, we help reduce the silence while allowing you to stay focused on your day-to-day business. We are not only experts at locating and attracting the best professionals, we focus on finding passive candidates and bringing your opportunity front and center. Additionally, we keep these individuals engaged throughout the various stages while reducing the overall time it takes to make a hire by facilitating the logistics associated with interviews, offer proposal and onboarding. Partnering with us improves both you the level of professionals you place and the enthusiasm and drive they bring to your organization.

About the Author

Avatar photo
Jeff Gipson
Jeff Gipson Sr. is a veteran of the staffing industry, with more than 30 years of experience. He got his start working for an international staffing organization where he focused on information technology placements across the country. In July 1992, Jeff continued his staffing career with a St. Louis based information technology staffing company. There, he was strategically involved in launching the organization’s first branch office — and subsequently three additional branch offices over the next several years. In July 2000 Jeff made another move — this time to launch his own staffing company, continuing his IT focus. In 2003 the organization was reinvented. Relying on his earlier sales career in the insurance industry, the company changed course and began building the firm around the insurance industry. The company continues to put all their energy in the insurance sector filling positions of all titles across the country. Jeff and his wife Carolyn have been married since 1980. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
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