Cleared candidates today have trust issues. And for good reason. When you find out that personal details from your sex life to your credit card debt were compromised, you start to get a little wary of any unsolicited communication.
They can’t verify your identity.
When reaching out to candidates for the first time or reconnecting with your pipeline, it’s important to always give them a way to verify your identity. This can be as simple as making sure your message includes a link to your company website. In general, keep in mind the more information a cleared candidate has, the better. Use an official company email address for correspondence rather than your personal account, and include a phone number. In chat and social messages with character limitations, make your links count and direct job seekers back to official company resources.
They don’t know anything about your company.
Some employers have the benefit of easy name recognition. But most do not. Even if you think your company reputation should proceed you, don’t go on that alone. Give candidates information about your company (video profiles and testimonials are great for this). You should also keep your company’s online profiles updated. Employer profiles on the Cleared Network, for instance, allow companies to post both a profile and cover photo, as well as external links and job announcements. Fill out every field possible to increase a candidate’s trust – and knowledge- of your company.
You’ve got a bad profile photo.
A profile photo can be an easily overlooked element of your personal networking page. You spend so much time crafting the perfect position descriptions. Spend just a little bit of that time updating your profile photo. Too many recruiters use profile photos that are either so old they’re unrecognizable (which creates a trust issue), or no profile photo at all (which is even worse). With no profile photo you’re basically sending candidates a clear message – you don’t really care if they can put a face with a name. And if you don’t care about that, why should they care about responding to your message?
You’re vague. Even for the defense industry.
Cleared candidates get it – many employers are limited in what they can reveal about the position up front. But even from your initial correspondence, a candidate should know the location of the opportunity, a basic job title and cursory description of duties. You build trust by communicating value-added information. For in-demand candidates, the more descriptive you can be about an opportunity, the more likely they are to consider it not just for themselves, but possibly for a friend or colleague.
You’re trying to create a one-sided relationship.
Cleared candidates are in demand, and increasingly have the upper hand in job negotiations. And they know it. They will see right through your one-sided, urgent pitch about an opportunity. It’s great to make a candidate feel wanted. It’s not good to sound desperate to fill a position. Trust is about rapport, so even if you’re scrambling to find the perfect hire, it’s best to treat every cold call with a new candidate as if you’re looking to add them to your pipeline, and not just fit them into this one job. Cleared employers today face an uphill battle. Data breaches, a dwindling cleared workforce, and the continued push toward lowest cost acceptable contracts makes for a hiring headache. But don’t fall into the trap of spinning your wheels reaching out to every candidate possible. Focus on building relationships, not just making hires, and you’ll find you’ve created the trust you need to get cleared candidates to make a move onto your team.
