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In a candidate driven market, it’s safe to assume that the talent you’re trying to land is being chased by other organizations as well. So how do you make sure that you’re the company of choice?
Here’s how to close the candidate who could be a difference maker for your organization.
Do Your Research
Before you ever start actively recruiting, it’s important to do your research. Focus on understanding current market conditions. What’s reasonable compensation and what falls firmly in the “chasing a unicorn” category? Do you have the budget for a quality hire? The last thing you want to do is try and land an $85,000 candidate for $65,000. You may get them, but chances are they’ll be looking again 6 months down the road.
Define Needs
Landing great talent doesn’t start when you make them an offer. It begins when you first engage them. Show interest in their career aspirations and personal goals. Ask a lot of questions to help you understand what makes them tick.
First of all, this will give you a chance to determine if the candidate is a cultural fit. It will also enable you to make them a job offer that is tailored to their needs.
Streamline the Hiring Process
Interest has a shelf life. Streamline the hiring process as much as possible. If you interview the candidate by phone and they tick all the boxes, schedule a face-to-face as quickly as you can. Have key people that the hire will interact with at the interview. This will shorten the time to consensus.
Read “These Aren’t the Droids You’re Looking For – The Finance Hiring Process” to get valuable tips on creating a hiring process that attracts and lands top talent.
Stay Informed
Stay connected to the candidate. Follow up by phone. If the candidate lets you know that they are considering multiple offers, it’s not unreasonable to ask questions about them. Keep your tone respectful and understand that you’re simply gathering information at this stage to know how your offer measures up.
And As for the Offer…
If you want to make an effective offer of employment here are a few tips:
- Alignment – Highlight the alignment between the position and the candidate’s goals
- Culture – You’ve gone out of your way to understand the kind of culture your candidate wants. Outline how your company’s culture meets the candidate’s preference
- Leadership – Is the candidate’s manager a leader in the industry? Known for their mentoring style? Does he or she help their team get promoted?
- Compensation – Be comprehensive here.
- Continuing Education – How does your organization invest in its employees? Great talent is typically committed to continuous improvement, so any in-house programs or funds provided by the company to build its employees’ skill set can go a long way to selling an organization.
- Team – Is the team comprised of other top performers?
- Feedback – Once you’ve presented the offer, ask for feedback from the candidate and address questions and concerns
- Counter offer – Prepare the candidate for the possibility of a counter offer
The Timeline
If the candidate offers verbal acceptance, tell them that you’ll have the paperwork emailed or couriered to them quickly. Follow-up to ensure that they received the paperwork. Remind them that there is a date it must be signed and returned by. Keep the lines of communication open. You don’t want to lose your candidate in the 11th hour.
Key Takeaways
Closing great talent who has multiple offers requires a streamlined process that has the candidate’s career goals at the forefront. Ask questions to understand what’s important to your candidate. Determine if there is alignment between the candidate’s preferred culture and the company’s mission and vision. Shorten the hiring process to maintain candidate interest and keep the lines of communication open especially after you’ve extended an offer.
Your Next Step
No one should walk the job search or hiring road alone. At Clarity Recruitment we help others realize their success through a process that marries proprietary technology with unwavering commitment. Contact us today to take control of your career, or to partner with us to hire well.
Clarity Recruitment, connecting exceptional people with remarkable companies.