The Problem of Candidate Dropout

For many companies, candidate dropout is a real problem. Indeed, candidate dropout is, itself, a warning sign that something may be wrong with your hiring process. Usually, when someone receives an interview for a job they are happy, and stay in contention until the moment they are either hired, or told that the company is going to go a different direction.
If someone is turning down interviews, or has decided they are no longer interested in the position in some way, it may mean:

• You’re losing out on great applicants.
• You’re doing something wrong that is affecting their interest.
• Your company may have some type of negative PR, etc.

Perhaps the greatest issue is the first one. The most likely candidates to drop out of contention are those that feel they can get a job elsewhere, and often that implies that they know they are good candidates for other positions.

How to Reduce Candidate Dropout

Luckily, there are many different techniques, strategies, and tips that you can use to reduce candidate dropout. If dropout has become a problem in your hiring process, consider the following tips:

• Make Yourself Available at Better Times – Not all dropout is due to something your company did or didn’t do. Sometimes it is caused by simply not being able to take time off for the interview. One strategy to consider is to make yourself available at times more convenient to the applicant, like after work. This helps ensure that you can hire those that are employed at demanding jobs.
• Communicate With Them Often – Dropout sometimes occurs as a result of a lack of communication. Many companies spend weeks at a time failing to communicate whether or not the person got the job (or even the next interview). Frequent updates go a long way towards ensuring that the candidate retains their interest.
• Respect Their Time – Similar to making yourself available, you should also make sure you’re respecting their time. That means trying to bunch interviews together, rather than forcing the individual to travel for 3, 4, or 5 interviews. It means knowing that they are taking time off work, and not dilly-dallying around and wasting their valuable sick days. Respect the time of each candidate you call.
• Shorten Your Hiring Time – The longer it takes for you to make a decision, the more likely the candidate is going to move on. Try to hire quickly and efficiently to keep interest level in the position high, and reduce the risk of the applicants finding other positions they get more excited about.
• Know What the Employee Sees About You Online – If you have negative reviews of your workplace, or any PR that may turn people off from working for you, the applicant is going to see it. Be aware of this feedback and address it in some way, because everyone that is applying for your job will do their research.
• Give Them Reasons to Work With You – We discuss this a lot here at Recruit Shop, but as a company, it’s important to make sure you’re offering something that other companies are not offering. They should have a desire to work for you, because you represent something more than just a salary. Try integrating strategies into your business that will turn on possible talent.
• Show Them How You Match Them – Sometimes all you need to do is make sure they recognise how well you fit their needs. Consider what you have learned about them through the interview process and show them that you’re the employer best suited both for their abilities and their personality.
• Make the Interviews Engaging – When an interview is too rigid and formal, it can be an intimidating and discomforting experience for the applicant. Make the interviews more engaging. You can do this by having them take place at a coffee shop, telling them more about the great parts of your workplace, etc.
• Offer Jobs Fast – If you think you may hire them, don’t waste any time letting them know. One of the greatest mistakes companies make is taking too much time. The applicant is looking for an answer, because they need to move on with their needs as well. Companies that take too long to offer the job tend to cause applicants to look for better work.

Each of these strategies has the potential to reduce candidate dropout, which should be a priority for all companies. The more likely someone is to withdraw their name, the more you’re losing out on potentially great contributors.

Types of Candidates That Do Not Show Up

There are a number of different reasons why a candidate may not show up for a job interview. Just a small sample of the reasons include:

• Anxious – Interviews can cause people to become extremely anxious, and in the time leading up to the interview, the person may simply feel like they aren’t ready to go and skip it. It may seem uncommon, but anxiety can bring down even the best of applicants, and those that are too nervous showing up for an interview may simply not bother to show up at all.
• Not Properly Prepared by Company – This is a very common reason that people do not show up for job interviews – they weren’t well informed by the company. For example, the company may not have done a good job communicating the time, or the location. It’s also possible the person forgot about the interview because it was scheduled too far in advance. If that happens, even if they realize they missed it, it is likely they would not bother showing up at all.
• Working – Working candidates often struggle to fit in time to go to job interviews. In many cases, they may sneak out of work or take a long lunch because they do not want to upset their employer. If something comes up at the last minute and they can’t leave their jobs, they may simply have to skip the interview and be left knowing that they have no chance at the job.
• Lazy/Negative Quality – Finally, of course, there may be a negative quality that causes them to skip the job interview. That’s one of the issues you’re trying to watch out for the most, which is likely why a missed job interview damages someone’s chances so thoroughly.

Often there is no way to know which factor was involved, but if it was the first 3, then you may still have a good candidate that you’re missing out on if they do not follow up with the interview.

How to Make Sure Your Candidates Show Up

It is in your best interests to do everything you can to help applicants show up for the interview, because you don’t want to miss out on some of these great candidates. Consider the following tips:

• Help the Candidate Be Organized – Yes, you want a candidate that is organized and professional, but sometimes scheduling and managing job interviews can be challenging. Make sure that the candidate knows where to go, how to get there, what the interview will entail, what time it is, where to meet, and more. You may even want to follow up with the candidate once or twice in the days leading up to the interview to make sure they remember it, especially if it is scheduled in advance.
• Be Friendly – Find a way to make sure that you sound friendly to the applicant to reduce their anxiety, and use strategies that make sure they are not too anxious. One way is to have a brief phone conversation between the lead interviewer and the candidate before the interview starts, so they are less nervous. Another way is to provide them with a few questions to prepare for. Little things like this can help reduce applicant anxiety.
• Be Flexible with Scheduling – If the applicant is currently working, you may want to find a way to be more flexible with scheduling. Make time available after work hours, or let them know that you’ll be able to reschedule as long as they call in advance. These little things can help working applicants a great deal.

There is a limit to what you can do to make a candidate show up for the interview, but the one thing you can do is “your part.” Make sure that you’re doing whatever you can for the applicant, so that you know that when they show up that it’s probably for the best.