Had an absolutely fantastic candidate experience the other day – with a University, that has caused me to spend a lot of time thinking about how it could translate to the corporate world. In fact, I would say that is has rocked my world. Perhaps it stands out because I'm so used to being treated like a non entity as a candidate. I had been cruising the web looking for Phd programs and found one that seemed appealing. I filled out a very simple form (name, e-mail, phone number and program interested in) and sent it off expecting to recieve an e-mail with generic program info. Instead, here's what I recieved. Within an hour I had a phone call from a very plesant man thanking me for my interest in their program and asking me if I would like to speak with a guidance counsellor to get more detailed info. Since this was such a pleasant surprise I said sure. I was imediately transferred and introduced to the guidance counsellor who was also lovely – keep in mind at this point he / she has no idea if I'm remotely qualified for their program either from a grades, degree, financial perspective. She very subtly prequalified me (I almost didn't notice) and, here's the big touch – she gave me her PHONE number and e-mail adderss and immediately sent me a follow up e-mail confirming her contact information. WOW. Ok, so I know that I'm a revenue stream for this institution if I actually become a student. BUT, aren't employees also revenue generators for corporations, especially great employees? What's wrong with allowing people to contact us and get more information about our company and the positions available before we aske them to invest hours of their time winding their way through our elaborate application processes? How is is that we (employers and recruiters) are so arrogant that we insist candidates invest in us without any promise of a return on investment (those autogenerated e-mails sent out months after a candidate has applied thanking them for their application but letting them know that we won't be proceeding with them don't count). I do think that we as an industry need to start treating all candidates as customers and investing more time upfront with people who have expressed an interest in our companies – afterall, it's really only common courtesy and politeness.

Here's a few thoughts:

Posting on dedicated job sites is fine but is no longer sufficient. Participating in digital spaces where the type of talent the company seeks is active makes a lot of sense and also provides valuable information back to the company. This doesn't just mean pushing out a job! It also means looking for opportunities to actively engage in the discussion and / or community.

Companies also have an opportunity to engage more through their own websites. There's usually quite a bit of overlap between people interested in the company's product and / or service and those interested in employment. Companies that are interested in connecting in this way will develop a recruitment advantage as well as developing a better understanding of their market.

There is simply no excuse for not responding to an applicant! Period, end of story. Companies are diluting their brand equity and ultimately end up paying the price one way or another. By not acknowledging and / or responding companies are saying – “We're not interested in talking to you and don't care if you have expressed interest in us. We just don't have time for you.” Of course, when the company is in need they're aggressive as all can be and often overpay through search fees, lengthier fill times, additional advertising…..

Lastly, I think one of the biggest opportunities that is going untapped today is broadening the view of right-fit talent. There is talent on the market today that could contribute considerable value to an organization's diversity, capability and long-term success. Yet, in the majority of cases companies still only want someone who has already done what the job calls for. The ability for people to develop new skills in shorter time periods, leverage past experiences to advantage new ones and deliver differentiated value has never been more enticing than it is today. Is there some risk in this approach? Yes? Is there more risk in not taking a chance and only doing what has been done before? Absolutely!