In recruitment, the “no show” is the absence of the candidate at his job interview. On the day of the appointment, the selected candidate does not show up, without giving a reason. And that’s panic.
Still, the hiring process seemed to be going smoothly. After extensive research, the headhunter and candidate had agreed to an interview with the employer two days earlier. The candidate was delighted to meet with the Director.
So why? The skills were the right ones. The experience too, the financial conditions were met, and then hop on the morning of the interview, no one on the other side of the table… What happened? So many frustrations! So many questions! So much wasted time!
Preparing for an interview is long and demanding. This is true on both sides, that is, for both the candidate and the manager. Because the candidate also invests “normally” a lot of his time to prepare well, including a few hours less sleep.
A social phenomenon?
Not showing up for an interview or an important appointment is not a phenomenon limited to recruitment.
In some industries such as restaurants or hotels, “unfulfilled reservations” are currently a real scourge that causes financial losses to owners of establishments and headaches to chefs in their kitchens!
According to an in-house survey conducted last year among members of the Association des restaurateurs du Québec, 47% of homeowners say they occasionally undergo no shows, and 21% experience them frequently. There are no comparable statistics in the world of recruitment, but we hear more and more about it.
General practitioners’ and specialists’ offices are also facing the same phenomenon. Moreover, the number of times a patient can refuse a first appointment with his doctor or not attend is now limited to two, failing which he will be removed from the waiting list of the Family Doctor Access Desk.
If restaurateurs cannot ask for a deposit that they would keep in case of cancellation of the reservation, this idea is unthinkable in recruitment. In the end, that’s a lot of time and effort wasted.
Is it the fault of virtual interviews? Of our rhythm of life? Labour shortage? There’s probably a little bit of all of that.
The digital apps used to make restaurant reservations are designed to be user-friendly, fast and engaging. Is it too easy to apply online or meet potential candidates through virtual platforms?
When virtual interviews were the exception and face-to-face meetings were the rule and the unemployment rate was lower, a potential candidate’s personal commitment to an employer was significantly higher.
Leaving a job was also riskier, and finding another one quickly wasn’t as easy as it is today. The acceleration of digital exchanges has also decreased the number of social interactions and increased “distancing”.
Bad tongues would say that this is just a fair return of things since as a job seeker, everyone has already remained on the sidelines, without news or feedback from a possible employer.
In a hiring process where employer and recruiter are partners, and given the amount of work required to identify a candidate, at least make sure to increase the chances of meeting candidates for interviews.
Here are 3 mistakes to avoid the no show in recruitment.
# 1. Never change the date of an interview
The following anecdote comes from a colleague who was very disappointed when a candidate did not show up for the interview. In this case, this colleague was “fortunately” notified a few hours in advance.
This recruiter experienced great frustration given the significant efforts invested in the hiring process and the qualities of the successful candidate. And I sincerely believe that this situation can happen again at any time. Of course, the employer also paid the price. Here’s what happened.
After a rigorous selection, the recruiter had scheduled the job interview 48 hours later with the full cooperation of the employer. We are talking about an executive position in a dynamic sector where, you guessed it, there is a shortage of manpower and a lot of professional back and forth.
Regarding this ideal candidate, he seemed very motivated. All stakeholders found the match between the position, remuneration and professional experience of the candidate to be perfect. The candidate also demonstrated excellent motivation for a job change. He said he was very well prepared for his interview and given his track record, he presented the best chances of success during a job interview.
So what happened?
Unfortunately for everyone, a misguided manager who had not been involved in the hiring process until then wanted to attend the job interview. Since he couldn’t attend on the agreed date and time, he had it moved two weeks later!
Informed that the date of his appointment had been moved, the candidate decided a few hours later not to show up for the job interview.
First, he did not like the employer changing the date. As they say, he took it personal. For him, it was like a signal that the employer could change his mind for other things at another time, once he was employed. In other words, it demonstrated a certain versatility that did not bode well for the future.
There is also the fact that this candidate had set aside time for this appointment and taken a leave of absence at his own expense.
# 2. Reduce the time interval between selection and interview
In the same way that changing the date and time of a scheduled interview can create uncertainty in a candidate’s mind, too long a time interval between the invitation to an interview and the job interview itself is another mistake to avoid.
If you change the date of an interview, try to bring it closer, not postpone it. If you are scheduling a job interview, set the date no more than a few days apart. From the candidate’s point of view, it is more reassuring to know that we want to meet you and get to know you quickly.
It is inevitable that the candidate will ask questions if the date is far away. ̈it gives a lot of time to think. Could my skills be questioned? Are there other candidates who will be met in the meantime because they are more interesting? Am I wasting my time? All sorts of questions might come to his mind.
The best thing is to avoid sowing doubt in the mind of an exceptional candidate.
According to some studies, there is a link between scheduling a job interview beyond a 72-hour window and an increase in “no shows“. Often, in the current context of labour shortages, if the job interview occurs too far in time, the candidate will have had time to take other steps elsewhere — perhaps even having already taken them.
# 3. Make reminders if you are doing an in-house recruitment
The absence of the candidate from the job interview is not always a matter of malice. It can simply be an oversight, an unforeseen event or any other setback.
Recruiters know the importance of properly mentoring potential candidates. If you are an employer who is looking to fill a position yourself, you must make sure to make reminders to the candidate.
The sometimes hectic pace of life that is ours and the growing number of digital communications on mobile (texts, emails, alerts, calls, internet browsing, social media, etc.) make today’s digital citizen seem more distracted than before.
The article The lost art of concentration: being distracted in a digital world, published in the Guardian newspaper, provides an interesting review of the phenomenon of fragmented attention that seems to be gaining momentum.
The article highlights the fact that researchers have found for several years that persistent digital interruptions and distractions have a real effect on users’ intellectual faculties. Thus, people constantly solicited and distracted by emails and phone calls would have seen their IQ drop by 10 points, double that found in studies on the impact of marijuana use.
More than half of the 1100 participants in the study said they always respond to an email immediately or as soon as possible, while 21% admitted they would interrupt a meeting to do so. Constant interruptions in the flow of attention can have the same effect as losing a night’s sleep.
This phenomenon has a name: Continuous Partial attention (CPA), an expression coined by Linda Stone, a former consultant… of the it companies Apple and Microsoft.
By adopting an ever-reactive digital behavior (responding to one’s messages anywhere at any time), we would gradually enter a state of constant vigilance that encourages us to constantly scrutinize the whole world, but without giving our full attention to anything, here and now.
In the short term, we would adapt well, but in the long term the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol would create a state of physiological hypervigilance making us look for more and more stimuli. This feeling of digital dependence would be temporarily soothed by consulting your cell phone “just to see if you missed something”.
It is certain that the standardization of social behaviors related to the use of smartphones has changed our relationship with others. However, “work”, in addition to the “skills” facet, is essentially composed of social relations. In general, distraction has become more present in our lives and unfortunately remains the cause most often mentioned by police officers in their accident reports.
The consequences of a no show
The first consequence of a no show is a loss of confidence. But you also shouldn’t make a whole dish out of it. Missing an interview doesn’t automatically make someone a bad worker.
In general, it is important to properly supervise a candidate until the interview and not to take anything for granted. It is important to realize that a valuable candidate can make such a stupid mistake as missing an appointment out of distraction.
There are several precautions to take to prevent a candidate from not showing up for a job interview. Establishing good communication with him, understanding his motivations and being flexible at the time of the interview are very important points.
Should we offer a second chance to a candidate who missed an appointment because he forgot? It is up to you to answer them.
If you ever had the idea of meeting a candidate who missed their interview by distraction without notifying you, do a real-world test to find out how you interact in an unforeseen situation.
One thing is for sure and we have already discussed it in our blog 5 tips to hire the best candidate. In today’s world of work, marked by a labour shortage, it is necessary to accept the fact that a candidate who is interviewed also chooses the company where he wants to work. You often have to roll out the red carpet.
So we summarize?
The headhunter or recruiter who selected a candidate for an interview did so after a long selection process: search for CVs and relevant profiles, contact with the best candidates, interviews and discussions with the most motivated candidates and finally, selection of the best candidates.
It’s a huge amount of work and a big investment in terms of time and energy.
Don’t put them at risk unnecessarily and follow these three tips:
· Avoid changing the date of an interview.
· Reduce the time interval between selection and appointment.
· Make reminders if you are doing in-house recruitment.
Put all the chances on your side.
An experienced headhunter will be able to guide you through preparing for a successful job interview. Do not hesitate to contact us.
