What is the Value of Silver Medalist Candidates?

Oftentimes it’s the case that recruiters with several years of experience don’t have a database of candidates with whom they had some touchpoints in the past. This makes for a large pool of candidates that aren’t considered for future hiring purposes but should have been.

For that reason they are unable to provide the experience that the candidates deserve and ultimately expect. While candidates are provided with a poor candidate experience, recruiters and the company are wasting time and money looking for candidates from various sources which could have been done with a simple look into a Talent Pool. This goes to show that without rediscovering a great talent it is a lose-lose situation for candidates, recruiters and the company.

In order to deal better with this issue and maximize your hiring success we decided to write an article that will display everything you need to know about these so called silver medalists; who they are, what is their value, and what you could do to leverage their potential.

Who are “Silver Medalists”?

Every time you are hiring for a new position, there is a sea of applicants with diverse backgrounds and skill set. Some of them are far from what you were looking for, and some that reach the final step of the hiring process are great potential candidates that were few details away from being hired for the role. Both of these categories might be beneficial for the future if their information are stored properly. Silver medalists in this case, are candidates who were only details apart from being hired in the first place.

What Makes “Silver Medalists” so Important?

There is a specific characteristic to silver medalists that makes them even more valuable than you might have originally thought. Not only that you are familiarized with what they have to offer to you, but these candidates are also sold on working for your company. They already did their research on the company, learned the selection process and at least at one moment saw themself working for your company. For that reason they represent one of the most valuable, yet the least leveraged talent pool out there.

In addition to the real silver medalists – the candidates that reach the final step of the recruitment process, there is a significant value to the other candidates that applied for a position at your company and might have been disqualified even earlier in the process. Such candidates have a significant value if we consider that all their data can be stored, categorized and searched through when hiring for another position at the company. Storing, sorting and organizing such information manually can be extremely difficult, but with the right tool to help you tackle your day to day work faster and easier.

The ultimate importance and benefit of such candidates lies in providing a memorable candidate experience to your candidates and making sure you are building strong relationships with them that would translate into potential hiring in the future.

How do I Engage My “Silver Medalists”?

Everything we’ve said so far might get you thinking how great it would be to start maximizing the potential of silver medalists, but at the same time the important question of “How?” could arise. The information that silver medalists are a valuable asset is probably not such news if you have been in the industry for a while, yet it is quite difficult to put these words into practice.

For that reason, the powerful AI technology made quite a breakthrough and advancement in this area. Thanks to such technology your ATS has become an incredibly powerful sourcing tool. Not only that your sourcing on social media can be more accurate than ever, but you can really use the potential of the silver medalist.

The benefits of AI in the area of silver medalists go both ways for candidates and recruiters. On one hand, recruiters receive recommendations for suitable candidates that could be rediscovered for new positions, and on the other, candidates will receive recommendations for similar jobs in case the original ad isn’t the best fit for them.

More specifically, the tool stores candidate information in a database where it learns all the relevant attributes for a specific position based on a large pool of data. The more silver medalists are stored in a database, the more accurate technology becomes. For a recruiter, this starts to look like a list of candidates that are sorted based on their relevance for a specific job.

While in the case of hiring a new web developer, a person who applied for a marketing position will be far down the list, next time the company hires a new marketing manager the situation will be reversed. This goes to show that the tool learns as time goes by and more applicants become a part of the database making these recommendations more and more accurate.

Make the “Silver Medalists” Choose YOU

On the other hand, just like you are being recommended some great talent to revisit for all future hirings, the tool works in favor of candidates rediscovering new opportunities at your company, that might fit them better. The other side of the medal are the candidates who managed to reach the final step of the recruitment process at your company, probably still interested in working for you and looking for a new opportunity to join your team. From their perspective, it is important to keep their spirits high and encourage them to keep applying in the future, making them still feel like a great potential addition to the team.

For this reason, having a tool that would recommend and display relevant job openings to them is highly beneficial. Concretely, this time the marketing manager from the previous paragraph will only get marketing-related positions recommended, while a web developer will get web development-related positions recommended by the tool. This will increase the chances of them applying for the positions at the company and save everyone’s time.

Meaningful targeting and timely communication are keys to great recruitment. When we talk about silver medalists, this becomes even more important. Therefore, having a tool that will help you master all of it is somewhat a ‘dream come true’ in the world of HR.

If you wish to learn more about all candidate rediscovery potentials of an ATS solution we invite you to request a free trial or sign up for TalentLyft free trial!

Frequently asked questions

Who are silver medalist candidates and why are they valuable?

Silver medalist candidates are runner-up applicants who were almost hired in the final stages of the recruitment process. They are valuable as they are already vetted, highly qualified, and can save time and resources in future hiring needs.

How can companies engage silver medalist candidates for future opportunities?

Companies can keep in touch through personalized communication, provide feedback and growth resources, and inform them of future opportunities that align with their skills and interests.

What are the best practices for maintaining a talent pool of silver medalists?

Best practices include regular communication, offering career development advice or resources, and ensuring they feel valued and part of the company’s talent community.

Can silver medalist candidates be a fit for different roles in the company?

Absolutely, silver medalist candidates can be considered for various roles within the company, especially those that align closely with their skill set and career aspirations.

How does keeping silver medalist candidates warm benefit the company’s employer brand?

It demonstrates that the company values talent and maintains a respectful, candidate-centric recruitment process, enhancing the employer brand and attracting more high-quality applicants.