Setting proper expectations is a critical part of ensuring a smooth recruiting process. Before you end the interview with the candidate be sure to let the candidate know what you expect from them and what they should expect from you. Explaining that expectations are held on both sides is the best way to avoid resentment and show the candidate that your relationship is not one-sided.

The expectations you set for your candidate should include:

Returning your calls or texts in a timely manner
Completing all onboarding paperwork by a certain time
Committing to availability for interview
Informing you of any changes that may affect the interview process with the client
Staying positive as well as flexible throughout the remainder of the recruiting process
The expectations the candidate should have for you include:
Doing everything you possible can to get them an interview with the client
Staying in regular contact with them
Inform them of any feedback you get as soon as you get it
Return their calls in a timely manner
Continue to look for other opportunities that may interest them

To confirm the candidate’s buy in, after you state the expectations, ask if they believe the expectations are fair. More information can be found in the section titled Closing the Recruiting Call.

EXPLAIN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS

After the candidate has stated that they would like to be submitted for the role, explain to them what the interview process with the client will consist of. You want them to know what is in store for them and what they should expect.

CONFIRM CANDIDATE’S SCHEDULE

You will now want to see if the candidate has any prior engagements that may interfere with the interview process. You ask this because you need to know if the candidate has any times that they would not be available to interview. Knowing this will help avoid any unexpected delays.

You also need to ask if the candidate has any upcoming trips or vacations. In the event that the client is interested hiring your candidate, you need to be able to inform them of any time that your candidate will be requesting off within the first few months. This is just good business for any new hire.

Lastly, if your candidate does have prior engagements that may conflict with the interview process or they have a planned trip within the next few months, let the Account Manager know prior to submitting the candidate. Doing this ensures that everyone is on the same page and allows the Account Manager to determine a proper strategy for the situation.

COUNTEROFFERS

Start discussing counteroffers at the end of the initial ISGF interview. It is important that you get the candidate to start thinking about this early on. Information regarding counter offers can be found in LEO, this information can be a good value add pieces to send to your candidate after an interview. At this stage, it’s good to go over the basics counteroffers or to let the candidate know that you will be sending them information on this subject for them to review. You will go much more in depth on the subject if an offer is extended. More information on counter offers can be found in the section titled Offers and Resignation.

OUTSIDE INTERVIEWS AND OFFERS

The candidate needs to let you know if they are asked to interview anywhere else. You need to be able to gauge how that opportunity stacks up against yours to determine the proper strategy. This information also helps to ensure that you are not marketing them out to the same company as well as provides you with sales leads.

Also, ask your candidate to call you before accepting any other offers. You don’t ask this to try and talk them out of a better opportunity, you ask them to do this so that you can ensure it is a better opportunity for them. This also allows for a proper strategy to be developed.

If either of these happen, notify the Account Manager immediately.

CHANGES

Tell your candidates to notify you of any changes that could affect the interview process. This includes changes in schedule, job search criteria, and resume updates. You need to stay as proactive as possible, and the best way to do this is by getting real-time updates.

YOUR COMMITTMENT

Expectations should not be placed solely on the candidate, you also have a commitment to your candidate of what they should expect from you. Let them know what part you play in all of this. Tell them that you will be doing everything you can in order to get them an interview and will also provide them with real-time updates. Let them know that you will also be on the lookout for any other positions that may interest them and that you will be calling regardless if you have an update to give at least once a week, just so they know you have not forgotten about them.

Doing this goes a long way with the candidates and helps set the team mentality.

SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS

When you submit a candidate, there are select documents that the candidate will need to complete. The majority of the time, the documents will consist of an ISGF Application For Employment and an Authorization To Represent Form.

The application form is a standard application for employment. The importance of this form is first, to confirm what the candidate has told us in relation to their employment history, and second, it will be required if the candidate accepts the position they are applying for.

The Authorization To Represent form, gives you permission to represent the candidate. This form does not need to be completed prior to you submitting the candidate however, it does need to be completed in a timely fashion. The benefit to this form comes into play when there is a question of ownership. There are a lot of fly by night recruiting firms out there. Most of these firms believe in quantity over quality and have a bad reputation of blindly submitting candidates to roles, sometimes without even talking to them. It is not uncommon to hear that the candidate you submitted may have already been submitted by another firm, but the candidate has no idea.

The Authorization To Represent form, in a situation like this, proves to the client that you do in fact, have a legitimate relationship with that candidate and can help prove that you should be the one to represent them.

Explain to the candidate that you need these forms completed and returned as soon as posable. Ask them when they can get the forms back to you, if they are serious about the position they should be able to complete the documents within one day.

In some cases, there are specific variations of these forms, such as with YRC or State of Michigan. There are also additional documents for C2C consultants. If you have questions as to what documents to send, consult with the Account Manager.

ASSESSMENTS

It is not uncommon for clients to request technical or personality assessments from candidates. If this happens you need to explain the importance of the assessment to the candidate. Explain that the assessment needs to be taken seriously as if the job depends on it, and in a timely manner. Don’t just ask the candidate to do it, set a specific time for it to be complete. Depending on how long the assessment should take, you need to ask to have it completed between 12 and 24 hours at the latest.

CONFIRMATION

The confirmation allows for you to clarify the candidate’s requests one last time. For this, you would repeat back to the candidate their requested pay rate, their availability to interview, that they do or do not have any upcoming trips, any timeframes set on returning documents (resume, onboarding docs., assessments), etc. Performing this step gives you and the candidate opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

REQUEST REFERENCES

As a final step, before you end the call with the candidate, ask for the candidate’s references. You need to ask for two supervisory references and two coworker references. The professional references need to consist of the candidate’s DIRECT LINE MANAGERS form their last two, most recent positions, not including their current employer. The personal references need to be from two coworkers that the candidate worked with in a recent role.

In many cases, the candidate should be able to provide you with this information while you are on the phone. If the candidate needs time to gather the reference’s information, send them an email titled Reference Request and ask them to respond to it with the references. Again, set a specific time that the references should be expected to be returned (typically no more than 12 hours).

For more information on references, review the section titled Reference Checks.

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