The root of recruiting is all about developing healthy relationships with candidates and clients. By focusing on improving your communication skills, you can better use consistent and unambiguous communication to build these connections.
Let’s go back to the beginning… Language and communication are an integral part of human nature. Language characterizes humans and helps us to express our feelings and complex thoughts and ideas. We use language to communicate with others along with nonverbal cues like gestures, emotions, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Connections with others are formed when we communicate effectively - which is a crucial aspect of working in recruitment!
Why is good communication and language so important in recruitment?
Bad (and good, although less frequently) experiences will be shared publicly! Applicants share their recruitment and job application experience online or with friends.
The main issue candidates face (and talk about publicly) is that companies do not communicate with them for 2–3 months after submitting their application and do not provide status updates on a continuous basis. Bad experiences cause more than half of jobseekers to reject a job offer. This can have a massive impact on the company’s reputation and future success with hiring new employees.
If recruiters put in more effort to use effective language and provide clear and regular communication, everyone involved benefits. This (hopefully) leads to more hires, but at the very least, it leads to a positive view of the company and an increase in candidate experience.
You might ask… how can effective language be used at EVERY recruitment stage?
Below are some tips on how to include effective language in your recruitment process.
In the Job Ad
Highlight the benefits for the candidate and show the relatable sides of the company
Use inclusive (i.e. non-gendered pronouns like they/their/you) and avoid biased language (e.g. rockstar, aggressive, champion, competitive) to appeal to a wider audience and encourage everyone to apply
In the Approach
Use a personal approach when contacting candidates
In the Interviews
Humanize the interview process by sharing your company’s values/mission and potential development and growth opportunities
In the Feedback
Reject candidates with honest (brief but not harsh) feedback in a timely manner
In general
Provide updates at all stages (even if there is no update - this is still an update!)
Be positive and make a good impression even if the candidate is not hired
Don’t worry - communication skills can also be learned and improved!
You can improve your communication skills by starting with this one action: LISTEN. Once you begin to actively listen to people around you, the other small changes will fall into place. Other crucial characteristics of good communication are treating everyone equally and with respect, and keeping a positive attitude.
There are various changes that you can also do. You can tailor language to your audience and use open body language. Checking a message or an email before sending it could prevent a mistake or spelling error, or even a misunderstanding. Be brief but specific to help get your message across. Oftentimes it is a good idea to think before you speak and also to write things down to circle back to later.
Small adjustments can also improve your communication skills as a recruiter. Actively listen to candidates and do not interrupt them - this will help you to retain the information they are saying, and it will help them feel heard. Be aware of non-verbal communication (like facial expressions) that may occur during an interview. Preparing ahead of time and calling the candidate by name will have an immense effect on creating a positive environment during the interview.
These are many examples of great communication. Improving your skills may feel daunting at first, but don’t get discouraged! First, try to make a list of all the great communication skills you already have. It is also helpful to jot down the skills that you think you are missing or not great at. This is the perfect starting point! Work on the skills little by little, so you don’t get overwhelmed. You can also ask a close friend or colleague for their insight about your communication skills, since they might have a different outlook than you do.
Improving your communication skills can have a great impact on everyone involved in your recruitment process. This is especially true for today’s situation where one needs to build a relationship and connection during virtual calls.
Working on your skills may seem daunting at first, but once you start, it will get easier. So what are you waiting for? Make a list of your amazing communication skills and the not-so-amazing ones. I would love to hear about your journey of improving your communication skills for a better recruitment experience in the comments!
by Bryanna Insley, Recruiting & Communication Expert