More than ever before, a successful recruitment strategy requires looking inward as well as looking outward. The days of employers keeping their cards close to their chest during the interview process are long gone. While you’re pouring over a candidate’s credentials and personal history, they are likely doing the same for you and your company.
The fact is that many fresh grad job candidates are members of the millennial cohort, and grew up with a refined ability to search out any detail on any subject. Search engine expertise is a hard thing to argue with if there are aspects of your company you want to keep hidden.
Job candidates can double-check a potential employer’s answers, research job titles, connect with past employees online, and even explore workplace reputation long before they cross the threshold for their first interview. If they’re this tech-savvy and transparent, it’s only natural they want their employers to be as well. If you’re looking to level up your recruitment game, especially your millennial recruitment game, improving company transparency might be the best place to start.
Why Transparency Gets You the Best Candidates
Company and workplace transparency means everything from honesty to efficiency, and will surely help you hold onto the best job candidates during the hiring process. A hiring process that lacks transparency can be tedious, overwhelming, and ultimately feel unapproachable due to the perceived level of confidentiality. This may end up turning off the best talent right from the start.
On the other hand, a transparent hiring process might look like this: When you ask for a round of interviews, job candidates will be getting information at each step of the process, and not in the form of impersonal mass emails. They will know where they stand and what the next step might be, without having to chase human resources or waste time in what may not be a job match.
Company gestures even as simple as timely and personal email responses will show your candidates that you are present and open just as much as you’re asking them to be. Even more importantly, it will show them what to expect once they are hired. Transparency during the hiring process tells top fresh grad job talent the following:
Your Company Has Integrity
Your candidates can count on you to keep your promises, whether they’re regarding a bonus or a promotion after a probation period, or even holding firmly onto attendance to a weekly scheduled meeting. Companies that make empty promises—even if they are well-intentioned—appear less trustworthy.
To maintain a level of trustworthiness and integrity, make sure that your reputation online does not diverge significantly from what is presented in the interview. Be open, and honest. Trust us, savvy job seekers will be able to tell. Ultimately, your directness and sincerity may mean the difference between a candidate accepting or rejecting your offer.
Your Company Approves of Transparent Social Connections
For a group of people that grew up with an extensive array of social media sites that bring about constant personal connections, millennial job seekers know how to network. They expect instant communication and the ability to find meaningful answers from the people they are working with.
If you are transparent with your candidates during the hiring process as well as in your workplace, it will also encourage this activity with your employees. Clear inter-departmental communication and openness between hierarchical levels of your company will mean happy, productive employees. If you expect transparency on their end, it has to come from both sides.
Question: What are some other examples of companies being transparent?
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About the Author: Alex Goldstein is a Social Media and Marketing Design Intern at FirstJob, and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Art History and World Arts and Cultures.
This article originally appeared on FirstJob.com and has been republished with permission. Reach out to Millennials in a way that attracts top talent with FirstJob.com.
