We all get busy, welcome to the wonderful world of a Recruiter. It’s easy to fill our days sourcing, interviewing, managing Hiring Leader relationships and expectations, updating the ATS, and reporting on our successes. It has become trendy over the last couple of years to say we are “refocusing on the candidate experience”, but what does that really mean?

• Are we unplugging our careers portal that takes a candidate 60 minutes to apply to job with us? Probably not.
• Are we pulling together a candidate bill of rights? Sure, sounds like the right thing to do!
• Are we communicating job requirements, describing the interview process and providing better and more meaningful feedback to candidates? Perhaps.

If we really want to connect with our candidates, and build a lasting relationship based on trust and mutual respect, we need to walk a mile in their shoes. Changing jobs is a huge deal for many of us, one of the most impactful decisions we make in our lives. By understanding and empathizing with our candidates as they ride the emotional roller coaster through the offer stage of the recruitment process, we position ourselves as trusted advisors. Let’s take a closer look at the emotions:

1 – The Verbal Offer Excitement
2 – The Written Offer More Excitement
3 – Background Checks A little anxiety – what if?
4 - New Hire Package Excitement and Confusion
5 – Candidate Resignation Lots of Anxiety - how will my boss react?
6 – Pre-Start Period Nervous and anxious – did I make a mistake?
7 – The First Day FINALLY!

As Recruitment Processionals, our time is stretched pretty thin and it’s easy to overlook the agonizing emotional swings our candidates are dealing with. If we really want to connect with our candidates, we must empathize with them. That’s how we start to build trust bridges and strong relationships with our candidates.