The war for talent rages on. It is getting harder and harder to find the right talent for the right role at the right time. Several organisations are incorporating technology to improve their recruitment capabilities in terms of quality and time of hire. Some hiring teams are spending thousands of dollars to integrate AI in their recruitment function. Others are relying on recruitment agencies to gain access to a larger talent pool. However, money and technology are not the deciding factors to win the war on talent. Everything will be centred on how you treat people, how you communicate with jobseekers, and how you take care of employees.

The way organisations treat people from jobseekers to employees will determine whether they win or lose the war for talent.

Empathetic Candidate Care is Strategic

If you want to keep your best employees, take great care of them even before you hire them. As I always say, professionals often forget people who got them the job or what advice they got, but they will never forget how you made them feel. It is true that job seekers must make a great impression on employers or recruiters. That should also be the case the other way around.

1. Positive and developmental feedback

Empathy can be subjective and objective at the same time. In my years of experience, caring for jobseekers can enable a recruiter to provide positive and developmental feedback effectively. Let’s face it, recruitment is more on rejection than new hires. So, it is important that there is value in the experience even if they didn’t get the job.

2. Rejection is part of it

It’s not jst jobseekers, recruiters get rejected as well, just not as much. Let’s say you found the “perfect candidate” and you made him or her an offer. You wait a couple of days because the candidate had to think things through, then you receive a reply saying it’s a no. This can be frustrating and even hurtful for us recruiters. But, this is part of the job. You give and you receive no’s. Getting edged out by other recruiters is normal, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the experience.

Get in touch with the candidate and ask why he or she took another offer. You’ll probably get answers around better pay, better benefits or better growth opportunities. That does not diminish your worth as a recruiter. You did great and you tried to help an individual looking for a job. The more you understand your candidates and assess the decision they made, the more you grow as a recruiter.

3. Giving everyone a chance

I’ve met a lot of candidates who were skeptical during interviews, some even before it starts, that they won’t get the job. When I asked them why they still push through with it, they would give me an answer of, “I wanted to give it a try.” Right there is an opportunity to impact someone’s life for the better. Recruiters can boost the confidence and cadence of an applicant. Not by feeding them lies, but by fully assessing their skills and aligning them with the job description. Out of 100 people, only 1 or 2 can make it through. But all 100 deserve a chance.

4. A healthy culture for all

The culture of an organisation is something that impacts the lives of everyone, including candidates and outside communities. Here at Quay Appointments, we always ask the question of “how can we improve our recruitment solutions and candidate care?” We come up with big and small ideas, some a bit complex but always for the sake of improving our services. Maintaining a healthy culture means asking the right question and assuring that all voices are valued.

These days, job candidates are not just after money. They want a strong organisational culture wherein they can thrive in the present of work and eventually, in the new world of work as well. They also want workplace flexibility and safety. When hiring someone, ask questions you would ask your existing employees.



Again, if you want your employees to stay, take great care of them when they are still candidates. Even if they decide to leave to take on more challenges but for the better, you’ll still feel glad because you did your part as a recruiter.