Education organizations are losing top talent due to sluggish follow-up practices, especially during the interview phase. Slow communication leaves qualified job seekers in the dark, making them question the value of the job they applied for and the integrity of the organization they applied to.
To help your hiring team communicate with candidates in record time, we created a break down of the ideal times to touch base with job applicants after an initial face-to-face interview. Streamline your communication systems, engage your job seekers and retain the top talent in your pipeline with this follow-up timeline!
Establish a follow-up timeline
One of the best ways to create an excellent candidate experience is to systemize your communication systems. We created a follow-up timeline that will help you keep tabs of when you should follow up with candidates throughout the interview process and after the first face-to-face interaction.
Not the Right Fit: Follow Up 1-2 Days After Interview
Sometimes you know immediately if someone isn’t the right one. But it may come off a little harsh if you send a rejection email before they even get in the car. Following up the day after or following day can give them the sense that you thought it over, and came to a sound conclusion that they weren’t a good fit.
Assignment Request: Follow Up 1-2 Days After Interview
If you want your applicant to complete an assignment as a part of the interview process, it’s considerate and most beneficial to send it to them 1-2 days after your interview. You will still be fresh on their mind and it gives them the optimal amount of time to plan how they’re going to complete the assignment.
Return for Another Interview: Follow Up 2-3 Days After Last Interaction
After you’ve decided the candidate is ready and qualified to move onto the next round of interviews, notify the candidate 2-3 days after your last interaction. 60% of candidates have quit because the hiring process was too long. So make sure you don’t keep them waiting too long to hear from you if you’re truly interested in their candidacy. It’s best to have a system in place so your team can agree on the best candidates quickly in order to move them through the process. Implementing tools like an interview scorecard help you rank candidates on an objective weighted scoring system which in turn allows you to make better decisions faster.
Still in Consideration: Follow Up 2-3 Days After Last Interaction
Whether you’re wrapping up final interviews or deciding between two top candidates, if you have your frontrunners in mind, you should contact them as soon as possible. Within 2-3 days of your last touchpoint is enough time to let them know they are still in the running for the position. The best candidates are off the market within 10 days! If you don’t touch base with them sooner than later, there’s a greater likelihood that they’ll accept another job offer. Or worse, decline your offer when it does come around because they feel you didn’t respect their time and effort during the interview process.
Job Offer: Follow Up 3-5 Days After Last Interaction
You’ve narrowed down your ideal candidate, great! Now it’s time to tell them the good news. It might take a while to get the finalized papers together, but it’s best to at least give them a heads up to let them know they are the chosen one! Or else, they might disappear for good.
Bonus – Save more time by using templates
Now that we’ve established the timeline, here are a few websites that provide a variety of email templates you can copy, paste and customize to follow up with your job applicants.
Workable Recruiting Templates- Job Interview Templates
2019 Ultimate Recruiting Toolbox for Talent Pros
Recruitee Recruitment Email Templates
The idea is to work smarter not harder, but also with intent. Taking time to consider your job seeker’s experience with during your hiring process can bolster candidate retention rate, word of mouth and your employment brand.
For more best practices on how to retain top talent during your interview process, register for our webinar “Stop Losing Top Talent During Your Interview Process: Exploring Best Practices” Thursday, September 19, 2019 · 1:00 PM CDT!
