How to Keep Candidates Engaged (Without Chasing Them Every Five Minutes)

How familiar is this? Great CV, strong screening call, nailed the first stage… and then? Radio silence. After all that effort, it’s nothing short of frustrating. Recruitment agencies can lose thousands in missed fees when strong candidates disengage mid-process.

Candidate engagement is the buzzword here, but what we’re really talking about is preventing drop-off, and reducing the chance of miscommunication and lost revenue. When your pipeline vanishes into thin air, it’s a waste of time and resources.

According to LinkedIn, candidates drop off for three key reasons at the sourcing stage: they identify with different job titles; a competitor contacted them first; or candidates aren’t given an opportunity to engage with you.

The real problem is that recruiters still rely on hope and hunches or manually remembering when to chase. And what does that look like from the candidate’s point of view? “It’s been 10 days since I submitted my CV and I’ve heard nothing. Do I chase? Move on? It’s exhausting.”

Here’s how to fix that, and keep candidates genuinely engaged from first contact to three months after their start date.

Ditch the “Just Checking In” Messages

You’ll get ignored if your follow-up messaging follows the tired format of “just checking in”. Remember that candidates aren’t necessarily avoiding you because they’re absolutely bombarded with messaging from all over.

Remember that 60% of job seekers have been badly treated during the recruitment process, so you need to make them feel safe.

Instead of chasing, set up automations to provide meaningful nudges.

• Share a prep video before an interview

• Send a “what to expect” guide for the final stages

• Automate check-ins at specific milestones and after a period of inactivity

You should never be manually sending these check-ins. Consider this three-step automation as an example.

• Day 1: Thanks for applying message and timeline for next steps

• Day 3: Interview prep and video link with accompanying FAQ document

• Day 7: Reminder - still on track for Wednesday?

These automated processes both speeds you up and provide a better experience for your candidates.

Treat Candidates Like Clients

While there is a clear distinction between candidates and clients, the only way to secure repeat business is to offer a standout experience. You most likely treat your clients like VIPs, but why shouldn’t you also do that for your candidates?

81% of candidates prefer continuous updates after they’ve applied through a recruitment agency in order to alleviate anxiety. Shouldn't they also deserve some VIP treatment?

Try to see the experience through their eyes:

• Do they know what happens next?

• Do they get updates even when there’s nothing to update?

• Can they easily reply reschedule or ask questions?

The easier you make the process, the more of a standout experience they’ll receive. Use tools that centralise communication, automate feedback loops and store notes you can actually use - nothing should ever be buried in an inbox.

Before: A candidate applied, heard nothing for 9 days, then got ghosted post-interview.

After: They received an automated thank-you, interview feedback within 24 hours, and a follow-up about future roles.

It’s the recruiters who show up constantly that build trust, not just a shortlist.

Speed Isn’t Optional. It’s Expected.

Let’s be real here: your candidate isn’t just interviewing with you. 

The longer the recruitment process goes on for, the higher the chance that they’ll get poached by someone else who’s acting faster. A lot of the time, candidates simply want less uncertainty instead of an unreliable process. Consider the time when Domino’s added a pizza tracker to its ordering system. They realised that customers didn’t want a faster experience; they wanted certainty.

While you can’t do anything about slow clients, you can do everything in your power to fix what’s in your control.

• Cut internal back and forth by using automated workflows

• Nudge hiring managers at key stages

• Use pipeline visibility tools so no candidate gets stuck in review

We’re not talking about rushing here; more about removing friction. The less resistance there is in your hiring process, the quicker it can move.

According to MarketSearch, top candidates are off the market within 10 days. One of our clients started to fill 100% of the vacancies they were given to work after implementing automations from the ground up.

Personalisation at Scale (Yes, It’s Possible)

You might think that making use of bulk emails and templates feels lazy, but on the flip side, doing everything 1-2-1 simply isn’t scalable.

Instead, you need a middle ground. One that’s rooted in personalisation and feels human.

• Use personalised information within email campaigns 

• Allow for human tone without starting from scratch

• Trigger messages based on candidate behaviour, not just time passed

It’s the only way for top recruiters to balance both quality and speed at the same time.

Take another of our clients. Across 90 days, they saw a 54% decrease in time-to-fill across contracts thanks to a combination of new automations and effective training. By engaging with their candidates in a more personalised way, they’re doing their jobs more effectively.

Feedback = Engagement

Of course, you want candidates to stay in your pipeline, don’t you? So close the loop.

“Even when I didn’t get the role, I appreciated the feedback. I’d still apply with that agency again.”

A quick sentence is a hundred times better than silence. And if you can automate that, even better.

If your candidate doesn’t get this job, set the stage for the next one. Make feedback part of the journey rather than an afterthought.

Build a Process That Works While You Sleep

Don’t get us wrong - candidate engagement isn’t about being “on” all the time. There’s a very fine line between enough communication and too much. What you need to do is set up a system that works, even when you’re not refreshing your inbox every 10 minutes.

RE:STACK helps recruitment teams cut the faff and tighten the candidate experience. By helping agencies automate the boring stuff, your candidates can stay warm and your consultants sane.

Ready to stop chasing and start converting?

Let’s automate what slows you down, and keep your best candidates engaged to the end.