6 Factors That Make Rejected Candidates Apply Again

Did you know that 22,7% of the candidates do not want to apply for another position at the same organization after being rejected in the recruitment process?

22.7% represents almost one fifth of the candidates, and is based on feedback from hundreds of thousands of candidates collected between January and June 2019 from Trustcruit. Losing these candidates means that a company is missing out on the opportunity of recruiting them for another position in the future.

What if that candidate would be the perfect match for another position or that the timing just was not right this time? In order to avoid missing out on all these talents, this article will provide you with 6 factors that create a positive candidate experience and makes your candidates eager to apply for a position at your company again.

You might think that providing feedback in the recruitment of candidates after the rejection is the most important factor to attract candidates to apply again. And yes, it is a very important part. However, the most important reason for why candidates want to apply again is the response during the actual recruitment. But which parts of that are the most valuable to make your candidates apply again and to improve your recruitment and candidate experience?

1. The candidate gets the opportunity to show their competences

Increase the quality of the candidate experience by offering the candidate the opportunity to show their competences and skills, for example through a competency-based recruitment process or by asking if the candidate has something more that they would like to tell you before ending the interview.

2. The candidate is involved and get to know how the recruitment process work

Be transparent during the recruitment process and keep the candidate updated about their status during the recruitment, not only when rejecting or not rejecting the candidate.

3. The candidate get notified about their stage in the process

Always give feedback to your candidates and do not postpone this! 85% of candidates expect feedback within two weeks and a majority of these within one week. Data from Trustcruit shows that the candidate net promoter score lands on -22 when a candidate receives a rejection instead of -45 when they get do not get any feedback at all. It is therefore of high importance for the candidate experience to notify and give feedback during the recruitment process.

4. The candidate is pleased with the feedback

How the feedback and response to the candidate is communicated is of high importance. In what way have you communicated the rejection? In what way has the information been formulated?

5. The communication reaches the expectation of the candidate

Different target groups have various expectations. Get to know your candidates! What do they expect from you?

6. The candidate is treated professionally

Keep the communication and response professional! Keep the time schedule and keep your promises. Also, keep your communication clear and continuous to avoid misunderstandings between you and the candidate.

Why are these 6 factors important?

As presented by the data above the different factors are considered to be of slightly different importance. However, it is clear that all of this is of fairly big importance for candidates that take part in a recruitment process. In order to not miss out on all the competences of the candidates that have been rejected before you need to focus on the creation of a positive candidate experience.

By focusing on these 6 factors you are one step ahead towards a recruitment where 10 out of 10 candidates will apply again and where your organization has greater abilities to achieve an even more successful recruitment process in the future and a better candidate experience.

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