Rappid Rapport! How to Quickly Build a Relationship with Your Applicants!

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Find yourself struggling to connect with newer generations of police officer applicants? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

You’re not alone…it’s a pretty common feeling amongst recruiters of all experience levels and especially for those of us who are more seasoned in life.  Well, when it comes to problems, you know I’ve got solutions…I like to call this one ‘rapid rapport’…and it’s going to send your relatability factor with younger applicants to the moon...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and this week, we’re talking about one of the most important facets of police recruiting and getting people, especially younger ones, to choose your agency and that is mastering the art of rapport. 👯

You can talk about salaries, hiring bonuses, location, benefits, overall agency culture, and anything else you feel is the “big one” that sways candidates all you want…but the simple fact of the matter, is that newer generations are really no different than ones from the past in that when all things are equal, which they often are in the eyes of a candidate because they don’t see the little nuances between agencies that we do, more often than not their choice of determining if people like them work for your agency, comes down to whether they like and trust you as their recruiter. 💯

So, if you’re still stuck in the thought process that applicants must prove themselves to you as opposed to the other way around…this newsletter is here to rehabilitate you and help you learn how to get out of your own way so you can start converting more applicants into more new hires…or, as I like to call it, winning with recruiting.  🙌

Now, there’s a million ways to build rapport, but I’m going to focus on three rapid ones that you can start implementing right now to help you accelerate this whole process of being relatable to younger applicants…

#1.  Be normal when you talk

First things first…notice…I didn’t say talk how you think a younger applicant normally talks.  This is such an easy trap to fall into and it has been a long-standing idea that to be more relatable to younger folks, you should use the same language they do so they think that you get them. 🙄

Here’s the thing…while I have zero problems with slang talk and use it quite often myself, when it comes to building rapport with younger applicants it’s not about being their friend…it’s about being someone they feel good about talking to and asking questions of.  🤯

Trying to portray a younger, hipper version of yourself actually takes away from the wisdom and experience they will be seeking from you.  Just talk as you normally would and never sacrifice being genuine.  Your applicants will really appreciate that. 🫶       

#2.  Be personable

Much along the same lines of talking normally, how you behave around and interact with younger applicants greatly affects your likability factor with them. 🥰

If you’re yelling at them out at testing, being stern with them during face-to-face interactions, or are composing cold and very serious emails to them, here’s a spoiler alert: they’re not going to like you very much.  And when someone doesn’t like you, it’s really easy to choose another agency where they do like their Background Investigator or Recruiter. 👋

Don’t be afraid to have some fun with your applicants.  Smile and laugh with them. Think about how good it feels when you’re hanging out with friends or family, and you let your guard down and they see the real you.  Bring that person to your applicant relationships and watch how they respond!  🤩 

#3.  Be understanding

It’s easy for patience and understanding to get lost in a sea of no-shows, testing failures, withdrawals, lies, and any other things that happen along the way where we lose people in our process.  It can really leave you jaded, and I don’t blame you one bit. 🤷‍♂️ 

But if you want to build rapport with younger applicants, you’re going to have to realize that you’re dealing with people who don’t have a lot of life experience.  They’re real human beings though…who have real problems, real emotions, and real feelings.  Never lose sight of that.  🤔   

I’m not saying you should be excusing poor behavior here, lowering your standards, or overlooking things.  What I am saying is that you should remember those times in your life when you were a knucklehead too…and use those experiences to educate and help your applicants be able to move forward.  Whether that means today, or two years from now when they meet requirements again.  🔮

When you’re open, understanding, and upfront with people, it becomes a million times easier for them to trust you.  And what happens when people trust you?  They tend to like you and see you as someone who is looking out for them.  You can’t build much more rapport than that. 🏆

So, what do you think?  Ready to put these rapid rapport builders to use?  You’re not going to believe how effective they’re gonna be!  Give them a try and let me know how it goes. 🚀

Now…if you thought these tips were going to change your police recruiting forever…wait until you see what you’re going to learn in my Road to Better Recruiting course which is enrolling right now! 💪

I’ve loaded this thing up with everything you need to take control of your police recruiting, get rid of those outside companies who have more interest in filling their pockets than your vacancies, and get you on the path to recruiting like it’s 2025!  Check it out now on my website by visiting forcopstraining.com/rtbr and never struggle to attract applicants again. 

Have a friend at another agency who really needs some help with rapport building?  Share this newsletter with them so they can learn too!  Trust me…they’ll thank you later.  🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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