Frustrated candidates often talk about the lack of follow up they receive from recruiters.

Knowing the kind of req. loads (or candidate loads) corporate recruiters carry at any given time . . .  I somewhat understand the reason for the lack of follow up.  Talking to my partner the other day, he said that a recruiter he was talking to had over 60 candidates in process!  That is a lot to follow up! 

But I am sure you all would agree that no matter the number of candidates and/or how busy we are working; we owe them the common courtesy of timely feedback/status.

It shouldn't be that difficult if you have the discipline to do four things (that honestly, I need to develop the discipline to get back into the habit of):

1. Whenever you talk to a candidate, make sure you set an SLA (Service Level Agreement) for the next time you will provide feedback/status/talk next.   To manage your time, try and set this as far out as possible so you are not talking to each candidate every 24 hours.
2. Set a reminder (in outlook or your ATS) to contact them. 
3. Set aside time to make these calls (see above).  If possible, have a certain time each day for this activity. (lunch, end of day, etc?). 
4. Make use of email for routine "check ins" which allows you to do this in off hours if necessary. 

This process is pretty simple but can relieve frustration for candidates and for you.  If you are already in the habit of doing this?my hat is off to you.  From my experience, you are not that "common"! 

For those of us that are struggling to form (keep) this good "habit", discipline is the key.