By: Angela K. Phillips, MBA, PHR

During the application process, feedback to job seekers can be minimal to non-existent. As a hiring manager or HR professional, you barely have time to review the semi-qualified applications your Automated Tracking System (ATS) spits out for potential interviews, let alone reach out to every job seeker who is interested in your organization. And why should you? If a job seeker doesn’t even meet the minimum requirements that you spelled out in your job description, then they aren’t doing their job in the first place.

As an HR professional, you are typically the middle person between the hiring manager and the job seeker, working to find the right match for your company, sometimes among thousands of resumes.  The ATS can help to weed out the obviously bad, but we all know that the ATS can also eliminate the perfect candidate because an algorithm did its job but lacked the human element needed to recognize a great candidate whose resume may not have matched all the keywords.

But, even while you are busy with the hiring process, remember how important feedback is to job seekers. Providing feedback during the initial steps is simple.  Set up an automated email that lets a job seeker know you have received the application and that you will be in touch if interested.  It’s simple, to the point, and at least lets the job seeker know the submittal made it to your system.

The feedback that is most valuable to job seekers should be delivered during the rounds of interviews. Here is some guidance on ways to provide feedback to job seekers and offer them an opportunity to give you feedback about your process for future hiring opportunities.

1. Make sure your job description actually describes the person you want to hire. If you are hiring additional people for a position that employees of your company already fill, have those employees review the job description and share feedback based on what they actually do. Update your job description as necessary.
2. During phone interviews, ask the candidate if they have reviewed the job description and have them explain how they are a good fit for the position.  Asking this will give you insight into their level of engagement by letting you know if they did their homework.
3. At the end of each interview, provide the candidate some insight on what kind of person would fit best in your organization. During final interviews ask pointed questions about how much the candidate really knows about the organization, its structure, and culture.
4. After a candidate has accepted an offer, call each candidate who was not selected and let them know that you have chosen another candidate. Focus on two pieces of feedback for each rejected candidate. First, let the candidate know what they can do to improve their chances in the future, either with your company or another. Second, leave the candidate with a piece of positive feedback. If you will consider them for future opportunities, share what you saw in them that impressed you. If you believe the candidate doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, they shouldn’t have made it past the phone screening in the first place.

How you treat the feedback loop portion of the interview process is crucial to how future candidates view your company.  The candidate you reject today may be perfect for a position you post next month or next year.  Great hiring managers and HR professionals are able to leave even rejected candidates feeling positive about the process and their opportunities with the company in the future.

If you are approaching your hiring process with a clear strategy and understanding of the necessary skills, company fit, and salary and benefit expectations for the position you are trying to fill, you can position yourself to receive qualified applicants and also put yourself in a place to provide constructive feedback to interviewees.

Remember, it can potentially be a long road to find the perfect candidate, so prepare for the marathon not the sprint.