3 Tricks to Get the Most Out of Existing Candidates in Your Database
Like making candidate placements? Your candidate database is your greatest asset and your secret weapon. Recruitment professionals ranked existing candidates from a database as the number one source of placements. Like anything else, you’ll get as much out of your database as you put into it. That’s why we put together 25 Tips to Manage Your Candidate Database. Download the guide or check out the tips below.
Find and replace holes in your candidate data
You may have great candidates whose records lack critical information, like an email address. Perform database searches to find any candidate records without crucial information. Assign recruiters or interns to reach out to these candidates to fill in the holes.
How to take action: Run a search in your ATS that excludes all candidates with an @ sign in their email address. This will help you identify candidates in your database without a valid email address.
Engage with Inactive “active” Candidates
Do you have candidates in your database marked as active but who haven’t had a submission or note for years? They’re not serving much use in your database in their current state. Double-check that these candidates aren’t actually placed or otherwise unavailable (e.g., retired). Reach out to these candidates if you find a great opportunity for them in the future.
How to take action: Use your ATS’ search feature to organize candidates who haven’t had an activity since a set date (e.g., January 2018).
Archive truly inactive candidates
Do you have permanently inactive candidates in your database? Don’t delete them because you’ll lose all the notes and history attached to the candidate. Instead, file the candidate away using your ATS’ archive function. This prevents the candidate from clogging up your searches without permanently erasing potentially valuable information.
Don’t forget: Hide archived candidates from your search results to make sure you only encounter qualified, active candidates.
