blogging4jobs

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Candidate Courting & That First Kiss Posted: 08 Jun 2011 05:17 AM PDT This post was inspired over cocktails at the People Report Summer Camp kick off mixer.  Like often times happens at business networking events, I was talking with a group of folks and discussing the role human resources can play in candidate engagement.  I likened it to your first kiss at summer camp no less which is where we are at — the People Report Summer Camp Conference.  Just like that this blog post was born.  I credit the gals at Taco Bell’s HR team for the inspiration.  They were recently featured in Restaurant News for their adoption of social media.  They inspire me, and they should inspire you because this crew is doing great, great things. That first contact with a recruiter is so critical.  Candidate courting, relationship building, interaction, and trust leading to wooing that candidate to a job they’ll love, a job hopefully they’ll love to have.  I liken candidate courting, interview process, and job offer to that first kiss. The relationship that recruiters and company representatives establish with a potential candidate are great.  These are relationships, memories, impressions, and feelings that can last a lifetime whether or not they are a long term employee, termpory worker, or future customer.  The first kiss matters. Your first kiss sets the stage for all future engagements, relationships, and interactions whether it’s with that same guy or gal or a different one altogether.  That first kiss stays with us a lifetime.  Shaping our future decisions and stories we share with our family. My first kiss came in 7th grade.  I was 12 and Ben White asked me to my first junior high school dance.  I remember everything about that night.  The dress I was wearing, how I fussed with my hair, fought with my mom over the bathroom, and my first dance.  I waited in anticipation and wondered, and then it happened.  For me it was magical. Let’s imagine for a moment that this first kiss was actually a job offer that your candidate received.  And instead of a junior high school dance, your recruiter was courting the candidate for a very important position, a position your organization could not do without.  What lengths would you go to make that memory magical?  Does your kiss leaving them wanting more or are ready to walk away? In my mind candidate courting is a lost art.  Instead we treat our top prospects like the last person picked for kickball.  This is the opportunity, the memory, and bar that your organization, your recruiter, and you yourself can set by courting your candidate the right way.  And by making that first kiss magical because this one moment influences all future decisions within your organization as well as their professional career. The memory of that first kiss lasts forever. My first kiss became my steady boyfriend for most of 7th grade, and that summer he moved on to the high school big leagues.  This is where I learned another valuable lesson.  Love hurts but the experience teaches us so much.  My first job was no different except I didn’t get dumped. Do you remember your first kiss? Photo Credit Dale’s Designs.

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