Recruiting is changing to meet market conditions. New ways of accessing viable talent are popping up because in today’s market conditions it’s mandatory to engage candidates quickly. A recent blog post from Talentify spoke of the “Magic Window” and the power of the first 72 hours. This refers to the window of time you should respond to candidates of interest if you want to engage them in your opportunity.

Everyone is busy and inboxes, voicemail and text messages fill up fast. If you’re trying to hire the right person, though, this isn’t an excuse you want to use for not responding. Not communicating is communicating something to a candidate. It’s communicating disinterest in having them join your team. It is also an indicator of the company culture and how people do or do not communicate.

If you have a hiring need and you’re serious about getting the best candidate onboard, managing the hiring process should be a top priority for you. A few of the things you should be prepared to do, include:

• Define your hiring process, making sure you have the right number of steps and people involved to make a solid decision.
• Keep your calendar flexible enough to schedule interviews quickly when you identify a potential candidate and make sure that others involved in the process do as well. Remember the Magic Window of 72 hours!
• In-between your interview steps, keep those candidates who have the potential to get an offer warm. You do this by keeping them informed of the steps in your process, how long it should take between each step and other relevant information about why things aren’t progressing quickly.
• While working with urgency, avoid impulsive offers just to make a hire. Work your process thoroughly. Team hiring using a scorecard is an effective approach. Including an assessment in your process helps you to validate the interview and identify unknowns, helping ensure that you make an informed decision.

If you don’t have the time or expertise to manage the process well, you should consider partnering with a talent expert. Getting the right people on your team will pay off in the end.

“Working with the JESSI Search team was great. I especially appreciated the very consistent communication.” ~ Feedback from a Regional Sales Manager candidate placed on one of our client’s teams