All candidates deserve some form of feedback when it comes to them applying or showing interest in one of your positions. According to Indeed.com, the “Golden Rule” of treat others the way you want to be treated is the main ideal behind providing such feedback.

Think about this way; if you put forth the effort to apply for a position online and maybe even perform a follow-up call or email for a phone interview, you would expect the same level of participation from the hiring manager or recruiter, right? Check out these 7 simple steps that Indeed believes will help you and your team provide better candidate feedback and overall boost your company’s reputation among job seekers.

1. Every candidate deserves feedback. This is not rocket science and means exactly what it says, if they take the time to show interest in your role, reciprocate and provide a little feedback.
2. Start with the material. Always try and be clear and upfront with your job seekers, making sure they are aware of your hiring process. If there are multiple interviews or a waiting period involved, keep the candidates updated along the way.
3. Offer ongoing insight. Give them specific industry stats regarding hiring. If you have an over abundance of applicants for a role, statistics will show that you obviously can’t hire everyone and unfortunately that may involve the candidate in question.
4. Acknowledge the awkward. I think everyone will agree that the worse parts of hiring is having to A. let someone go or B. explain why are they are not qualified and will not be hired. However, in both instances, it will do much more good than harm if you are upfront and honest. Don’t beat around the bush, explain the situation, making sure they understand the reasons behind the decision even if it is as simple as they didn’t make the final cut.
5. You’re never too busy. You will always have enough time to make a quick 30 sec – 1 minute phone call notifying a candidate that unfortunately, you went another route. Although, the conversation is short, this action is much more powerful than you think.
6. Make it actionable. If you come across a candidate that may have just fallen short of being qualified, help them along the way. Provide constructive criticism and provide avenues in which they make be able to better their situation and resume. This could something as simple as improving their communication skills to taking some online courses.
7. Practice what you preach. Try and remember the human side behind recruiting. You don’t always know the back story behind each of your candidates. What if they have been struggling for months to land a job to not only provide for themselves but to better their future. A simple act of treating others the way you would want to be treated, if you were in their position, will go a long way!

In the end, it is very simple to lose sight of the big picture when going through resume after resume. Behind every cover letter and application is a person who is simply trying to find work. By making sure we provide those candidates with the proper courtesy of some kind of feedback, we are ultimately improving the overall job seeking experience for candidates and employers alike.

The Trillium brand of companies is privately owned by René Poch and provides more than 30 years of industry leading recruitment and staffing services through its divisions including: Trillium Staffing, Trillium Construction Services, Trillium Driver Solutions, Trillium Marine, Trillium Technical, Trillium Environmental, and Trillium Techs. With approximately 90 offices nationwide and nearly 400 internal recruitment professionals, the Trillium brand is proud to be recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts as a Top 25 Largest Industrial Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Largest Staffing Firm in the U.S., a Top 100 Fastest Growing Staffing Firm in the U.S., and a 2015 winner of National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. For more information please visit www.trilliumstaffing.com.