Interviewing Applicants
Reserve Lists
It is sensible to include some contingencies at this stage. Usually, where a specific number of graduates are required, you will end up with a group of preferred candidates (hopefully at least as many as you have vacancies). You will probably also have other candidates who may not be your first choice but whom you would be prepared to take on, in the event of your first-choice candidates not joining your organisation. This often occurs as candidates keep more than one offer open then decide which one they want, or alternatively take up a better offer which comes along. Sometimes they decide to take a postgraduate qualification, or they may decide that accountancy/ergonomics/mining is not for them after all!
Whatever the reason, you can expect to have a dropout rate, so it is wise to keep some of these other candidates in the background. Keep these reserve list candidates properly informed of the situation so you can call on them if they are needed, and so they can make informed choices about other offers. You may lose some of these reserve candidates too, but those who stay in your process will welcome your honesty. This does not imply any dilution of your standards for these recruits, but is an acknowledgement that there are more high-quality candidates than there are positions available.
Reserve lists should be also carefully considered according to the individual needs of a recruiting organisation, as they can mean a great deal of extra administrative work which will not always be beneficial when compared to the time and resource costs. Also, it is important to ensure that risk management is a high priority with the maintenance of reserve lists – delays to responses can in some cases result in an applicant giving up on an organisation and focusing their attention on another.
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