Imagine how easy your life as a recruiter would have been if every call you made got answered. Isn’t it? But, the same is completely untrue and if even after experiencing everything, you fail to realise it, here are the numbers saying it out loud to you. Just like you, every recruiter is ought to make 40-75 calls in a day. And in a research done by MRI network, when asked recruiters claimed that the biggest barriers they face in recruitment are-
- not finding enough suitable candidates to fill up open positions (63%)
- candidates do not respond to calls or emails (42%)
The second major problem being the reason this blog is written. Mostly, the ones who don’t reply to emails aren’t looking for a job or find job description intriguing enough. Alas! That is the hard-hitting truth that all the recruiters don’t just need to accept asap, but also need to do something about real soon.
Relax! Put the horses of your thoughts to a pause and let us make it easy for you. Here are the most common reasons for call rejection by candidates and the best solutions (if there are any)
Most of the individuals have some or the other caller identification tool installed on their phone. This lets them know who the caller is. Now, because as a recruiter, you have been calling many persons, it either will have the location alongwith your designation or it would be marked as spam, marketing or advertising call.
Solution- #Be extremely watchful-
So, if most of the calls you make go unattended and denied, get this thing checked by calling someone known. If you find your number spammed or marked as an advertising or marketing call, change your number right away. Do it before you make any other call. Otherwise, all your efforts will continue to go in vain.
#2 Reason- They aren’t up for a job (or maybe, not that actively)
Clearly, if a person has not applied for the job position, he may not be looking for the job actively. Infact according to a survey conducted by Stack Overflow, 62% of the individuals are open to new opportunities without actively looking for them while 24.8% are not interested in new job opportunities. The reason for such disinterest could be high job satisfaction, a recent change in job, etc. The crux is because they have not applied for any job, they won’t be expecting any calls. Hence, those (almost all) who don’t like to hamper their personal lives and professional productivity, don’t entertain calls from unknown numbers.
Solution-Following up is the key
Just like you should consider mailing the candidate before actually calling him, you should send a message or an email if your call has not been received. Pitch them about the company benefits and give a brief of who you are.
#3 Reason-The candidates know you need them
Such candidates are quite hard to tame. The candidates who know they are exactly what many companies need, and so they rarely pick calls. They mostly aren’t even actively applying for jobs because many recruiters like you have been chasing him.
All that you can do is have a strong, really really strong, creative and impressive job description and company benefits pitch. Send them mail, messages, or even better hunt for them on social media. 73% recruiters say social media is helpful all the time. So, don’t just leverage it to reach a particular candidate but to find other gems also.
#4 Reason- They don’t like impromptu calls
There are times when people don’t even pick calls of the persons they know. Moreover, the human race, especially the millennials are more inclined towards not responding to much of the calls. They like to run their world, their own way. The other reason for the rejection of calls by candidates maybe, because they don’t like cold calls. They want to be prepared for what they answer. Basically, some people just don’t pick the call in despair.
Solution- Resort to sending emails first
A warmer approach to making such candidates pick your call is to intimidate them about the job and the call via a short email. You can also give the candidates a gest of the telephonic round. This will leave the candidate better prepared, and less scared.
The final takeaway
The market is candidate-driven and not employer-driven according to 90% of the recruiters in a study conducted by MRI network. The percentage speaks volumes about the current market scenario. Most importantly, they are not recruiters who need to attend or make a specific number of calls. After all, unlike you, they don’t have any KPIs based on calls they pick or dial.
So, change the way you initiate the recruitment process to get your hands on that purple unicorn before your competitors do. Share your views on this blog in the comments section below. Also, let us know if we have forgotten any of the reasons. You are most welcome to suggest more solutions too!