How to keep your job candidates engaged over the Christmas period

Christmas is a tricky time for all industries. People break up early for Christmas, half the office is out with flu, and everybody’s just kind of ready for the year to end.

As recruiters, we know the importance of keeping job candidates engaged and interested in the job hunt, and the festive season poses a particular challenge.

Here are some tips to keeping candidates warm so you don’t lose out on all the hard work you’ve been putting in.

Set their expectations

Make sure you keep the jobseekers on your books in the loop about your availability during the Christmas break.

While it might seem obvious that everyone has wrapped up for Christmas and you may not be in the office, the extra time off gives people more time to catch up with life’s endless admin. This might result in an influx of calls and emails from candidates looking for updates or information.

People often expect pretty instantaneous replies to emails, and the failure to do so can make your candidates feel unimportant or forgotten. Let everyone know in advance when you will be in the office, and update your out-of-office automatic reply.

Catch up and plan ahead

Before you finish for the year, schedule a meeting with your candidates to recap what you’ve done this year, and what you’re planning to do next year.

This will keep you in their mind and give you the opportunity to be proactive, which is one of the key qualities that jobseekers want from a recruiter. It will also ensure that you are both on the same page about what they are looking for, as people’s requirements can change over time.

You can make this meeting more personal by inviting them to your office to catch up in person, or try using Skype video call instead of the phone.

Embrace the spirit of giving

Christmas is a time for giving, and giving something to your candidates over the holiday will make them feel special and show that they are more than just a statistic to you.

You don’t need to go all out with bouquets of flowers or boxes of chocolates. Something as simple as a Christmas card wishing them luck with their job hunt in the New Year can really make an impression.

This is a very cost-effective way of showing that you care and has more impact than an email, especially if you hand-deliver your cards in that end-of-year catch-up!

Encourage them to do their homework

A little time off work can help to clear the mind, and those who have been passively looking for a new role may find those extra free days useful to start an active search.

Encourage your candidates to work on their applications over the Christmas period while they’ve got some free time. This might be looking for jobs, rewriting their CV, or a little bit of interview practice.

You could even put together some handy hints and tips and email them to your candidates before you break up for Christmas, so they’ve got some useful insights to keep them motivated.

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Looking to hire new talent in 2020?

If finding that dream candidate is one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2020, then get in touch with us and we’ll help you to find what exactly who you’re looking for.