They say Knowledge is power. In a similar vein, I have always said that communication is key to making things happen. The flip side is that it also stops things happening in a way that you want to avoid.
I know that many candidates complain that they don’t hear back from Recruiters and are left waiting for feedback or don’t have their calls returned. It’s frustrating for everyone – no matter which party you are in that relationship.
Recently I have found myself in a number of situations where I’m managing expectations of both candidates and clients where things are not happening as quickly as everyone would like. In my opinion open and regular communication with all parties will generally prevent an unwanted outcome. We have placed two candidates over the last few weeks who were convinced that the delay in getting a decision was a bad sign. I genuinely believed this was not the case and through daily updates managed to keep them keen and engaged. When the good news finally landed they were completely committed to accepting the roles and have started their new position.
Unfortunately things don’t always go that way and we also had a client withdraw an offer due to having to chase repeatedly for a confirmed start date. I don’t believe there was any bad intent on the part of the candidate, but the radio silence cast doubts on their commitment to the position on offer. More regular updates or at least being in touch on the dates promised would, I believe, have prevented this happening.
There is a lesson here for us all. Don’t let things drag on without speaking to all parties who have a vested interest in a particular situation. It is so easy to contact someone these days: Phone, text, WhatsApp, e-mail, Messenger, the list is endless. Even if you don’t have a definitive answer, at least drop a quick message to say that you have not forgotten and you are working on resolving a particular situation.
Silence is deadly and can very easily be perceived as a lack of interest or that the outcome is negative and you just don’t want to have a tough conversation. Don’t lose out on something that you really want or need by failing to get in touch when you said you would. Just a quick text to say something (anything) is better than leaving someone hanging.
At JS3 Recruitment we love to talk and we will return your calls. If you are a candidate or a client looking for a Recruiter who won’t disappear on you please get in touch with us on 0161-763-0420.