Do you often find yourself passing up on great interviewees because they aren’t a fit for your current openings? Just because a candidate may not be the best hire for a position right now, doesn’t mean you should dismiss them altogether. In fact, these individuals may end up being prime candidates for future positions. As you grow your talent pipeline, here are some tips for establishing and maintaining connections with prospective candidates.

Keep Top Candidates in Mind

Remember, candidates aren’t mind readers. If a candidate has the potential to excel in another position in the future, be sure to clearly communicate this to them after the interview and stay in touch in the following weeks. This will establish a positive line of communication between you and the candidate, as you’ll be able to keep them top-of-mind for other positions as they arise. Additionally, candidates will appreciate your interest in their qualifications and be more inclined to maintain contact with your hiring team.

Maintain Up-to-Date Candidate Information

As you conduct interviews, you’ll discover that some candidates have skills that are better suited for other jobs. Once you’ve met candidates and learned more about their qualifications, it’s good practice to take note of their specific skill sets and keep their resumes on file for future reference.

Chances are when a job comes up that aligns with a candidate’s profile, you can have past candidates in mind by staying in touch and knowing who has the right skills! This can greatly improve your time to fill open positions. Make sure you have the candidate’s most current work information stored in order to make a quick connection when openings arise.

Commit to Staying in Touch

In today’s digital age, there are many ways to easily stay in touch with prospective candidates who you’d like to consider for future opportunities. After interviews, make a habit of connecting with candidates on LinkedIn so you can maintain contact and have easy access to them for future job openings.

Email and text communications are becoming more prevalent today as companies look to maintain direct lines of contact with top candidates. Establishing this connection will also give prime candidates the green light to reach out if they’re interested in a future job opening posted by your organization.

Is your hiring team looking to partner with a staffing firm in Houston? Carlton Staffing has remained committed to providing innovative staffing solutions to Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth companies for over 39 years. Building a trusted partnership with Carlton Staffing will help you reach your current and future workforce goals.