Best Practices for Communicating with Online Candidates

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

The 21st century has seen a dramatic shift in the way organizations, big and small, hire for their open positions. The internet is driving this evolution with its ability to facilitate unprecedented communications and business transactions. In fact, more than 4 million Americans research employment opportunities online everyday.

“In the space of less than a decade, the Internet has gone from a techno-novelty to an integral component of the recruiting profession. In HR-speak, it has become a core competency of what staffing professionals do.”
— Peter Weddle, The Internet and Recruiting: A Whole Different Ball Game, February 7, 2005, CareerJournal.com

With the global hunt for human capital emerging as a major trend in business, many companies are now finding it necessary to evolve their once informational job postings into highly-targeted and information-rich communication pieces that speak directly to the most qualified candidates. This creates increased pressure on recruiting professionals and is forcing many of them to revisit the way they communicate with online applicants. The experience these applicants have when visiting career pages and commercial job boards is a major influence in their decision whether to apply for a job, or not. This white paper will address the issues and best practices surrounding online candidate communications.