By Lorie Corcuera

“I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” – Brené Brown

The traditional way we are recruiting is not working.

Companies are now more consciously aware that a list of accomplishments is not enough to make the cut. In a world where we are facing talent wars and have to find creative ways to attract and filter resumes and online applications, we are missing an important part to “our” recruitment process: connection.

Last fall, I interviewed with five organizations in various sectors from travel and tourism, high technology, retail, food production and non-profit. What I learned from this experience is that it didn’t matter the industry or size of the company. Every organization I met with did not focus on providing the candidate a memorable and positive experience.

Some of these companies also worked with agency recruiters to help them manage the process. My experience with these recruiters? They, too, were surprisingly not focused on the human experience.

As a recruiter myself for many years, this threw me off and the experience was shocking and humbling. You don’t really know what it’s like until you are in the hot seat.

Here’s what I experienced:

1. Lack of follow up. If candidates are asked to go through multiple interviews, they deserve a follow up to close the loop. A thank you for the time they have invested to meet with you is common courtesy.
2. Long interviews. People are busy and time is precious. When you ask a candidate to come in for a one-hour interview and three hours later, you are still meeting with the candidate, what does that say about your culture? Respect for people’s time and schedules is necessary. To not stay within the scheduled time may leave the impression that you or your company don’t place value in the person.
3. Inconsistent behaviours. When I met with one of the recruiters, he was extremely attentive in the beginning of the interview process. He would sometimes call me three times a day to ensure I knew exactly where I was in the process and how things were coming along. It was great and I felt cared for. When I learned that another candidate was also being considered, he went radio silent on me. Was this the same person I met at the beginning of the process? Showing up consistently and authentically is very important.
4. More focus on what you do versus who you are. I believe it’s important that we qualify people to know they have the proper skills for the job. To ask the candidate to provide examples of their work experience is essential. However, it is not enough to only focus on their skills and not include their character. Some good questions would have been: What are your core values? What risk would you take if you knew you could not fail? What are you most grateful for? If you had unlimited time and resources, what is the one thing you would create to improve the world?

This was my experience. I know that there are many organizations who truly understand that the candidate experience is significant. That every individual should be treated with respect and integrity even if they may not be considered for the position.

Five reasons why you must consider connecting versus just recruiting:

1. These human beings may be your customers now and in the future.
2. These human beings may be connected to your ideal team member. The world is smaller than you think.
3. These human beings may be your ambassadors promoting you and the amazing experience they went through as a candidate. Remember, word of mouth and social media are powerful tools.
4. You’ll feel satisfied that your interaction with the individual was done in a caring and respectful way.
5. The energy, care and attention that you share and send out to the Universe will help to attract the same energetic, caring and attentive people into your organization. Yep, it’s the Law of Attraction!

Remember, on a molecular level, whether you believe in metaphysics or not, we are all connected.

And bottom line, if you want to hire people who are “good” people with strong core values and purpose, then you need to—I mean you must—create a humanly connected experience and treat candidates the way you want to be treated.

Considering how fast the market is changing, you may find yourself on the other side one day.

Who can you starting connecting with today in a more meaningful way?

Lorie Corcuera is co-founder and creative essence originator (CEO) of SPARK Creations.