Sometimes applicants fail to complete all the necessary steps of the screening process. They can become unresponsive. In such cases, the Screener may need to create a timeframe for withdrawal. The following outlines the predeadlining and deadlining strategy for such applicants.

Predeadlining Applicants

What is a Predeadline?

A predeadline is a soft attempt to rally an applicant that has been hard-to-contact or inconsistent. A predeadline email is both a soft-check in and an informal warning that we noticed an applicant is not following through with the screening process. Its goal is to gently urge an applicant to actively participate in the screening process.

When should a screener Predeadline an applicant?

1. After about receiving at least 3 follow up emails and a phone call since their last engagement, if an applicant has not taken any action they should move to predeadline. This is a templated email in Salesforce. The date sent should be reflected in its respective Salesforce field.
2. Consult with your manager about numerous missed appointments, as coaching out may be a more appropriate step. Please see the coaching section at the end of this article. 

Deadlining Applicants

What is a Deadline?

A deadline is a time-bound, final attempt to resuscitate an unresponsive applicant. The deadline is a formal warning that if the mentor applicant does not act, their application will be withdrawn. This email includes a hard deadline for applicants to complete their remaining steps. The goal of a deadline email is compel the mentor to actively reengage in the screening process.

When should a screener deadline an applicant

1. A deadline email should be sent a week after the predeadline email if the applicant did not respond. Screeners should make an additional phone call before deadlining.  The deadline email is also templated in Salesforce. The date sent should be reflected in its respective Salesforce field.

Deadline with Action

Sometimes a mentor applicant responds to the deadline process with very little context about their timeline and lingers on next steps.  If this occurs, we send them an email called “Deadline With Action.” Rather than simply asking them to respond to confirm their continued interest, we require that they take a certain screening step by a set date. If they do not complete that step by the proposed deadline, Screening withdraws the application. They have been informed of this withdrawal in the email, so no need to reach out notifying them of that. If an applicant is clear about a special circumstance that affects their timeline, screeners may work with them accordingly, logging all comms.

Other considerations

• While these procedures are the general strategy for dealing with unresponsive mentors, remember that each mentor applicant is unique. Please speak to your supervisor if you have any questions or concerns about applicants, or if you think a different strategy may be more appropriate. 
• Remember to log ALL contact attempts in activity history.
• If an applicant has been deadlined but then responds, they are not automatically considered a viable mentor candidate. Their behavior does reveal something about their ability to be a consistent mentor. Take this into account when continuing screening. It may be appropriate to ask questions about their schedule and their ability to commit.

Clarifying Emails

Sometimes a mentor applicant responds to the deadline process but becomes unresponsive for a second time. In these cases, we send a clarifying email for these applicants which outline the importance of consistency in our program.  Given the lack of engagement up to this point, the screener will make a yellow flag. If the applicant responds with self-awareness and can move forward efficiently, the flag can be resolved. If doubts are raised, update the flag and chat with your manager.  If the applicant does not respond to coaching within one week, send them a short but personalized deadline kindly asking that they respond by an assigned date before we withdraw their application.