• 
• Training
• Consulting
• Resources
• Store
• About Us

• » Articles
• › The Official Rules for Hiring Top Talent
• › Newsletters

The Science of Recruiting - Part 3: Overcoming Basic Candidate Concerns

By Lou Adler, January 16, 2004

The best active and passive candidates always have multiple opportunities. As a result they need more convincing that the job you're offering is better than the other opportunities they're considering. For passive candidates, they need to be convinced that your job is even worth evaluating. Convincing these top candidates to proceed in the hiring process and then to accept a fair offer is what recruiters need to do to be successful. Recruiting is not about finding and hiring candidates who need another job. Anybody can do this. These candidates will do whatever you suggest.

Read more articles by this author.

Related Topics:

The Science of Recruiting, Networking, Recruiting

Related Articles:

The Science of Recruiting - Part 10: Closing and Negotiating Offers - Advanced

The Science of Recruiting - Part 9: Negotiating and Closing Offers - The Set Up

The Science of Recruiting - Part 8: Influencing Hiring Managers - The Hiring Decision

The key to recruiting top candidates is by maintaining "applicant control." Strong candidates who have other opportunities are always in a more advantageous position that the company trying to hire them. Good recruiters can reverse this position by offering a better job among the competing alternatives. Then they can use this stronger opportunity as a lure to pull the candidate through every subsequent step of the hiring process. This is a more sophisticated form of recruiting and much more effective than aggressive pushing, which is typical of how many recruiters work.

When working with top people expect resistance at each step. First they won't take your calls. Then they won't answer your questions. Then they won't like the job or the company. If that's not enough, once all of these hurdles are passed they won't come in for an interview at a convenient time. Recruiters need to effortlessly handle and overcome these concerns and temporary roadblocks. Don't complain about a counter offer, or lack of interest after the first interview, or anything else that goes wrong. Expect things to go wrong; then deal with them. These are the times when recruiters need to get involved and take a leadership role in the process.

How to Handle the Basic "Making a No Decision with Little Information" Issue

Frequently candidates will stop the process with limited information. It's usually because they're not convinced it's worth spending any (more) time on. Be aware of this at every stage and when a candidate says "no more," determine if the concern is real, or due to lack of information. If it's lack of information it's time to insert some doubt into the mix. First, you need to get their attention, and then you must get them to think about why they're coming to a flawed conclusion.

Try this if the problem occurs on your first call: "It seems like you're making a long term career decision using short term information." This is the attention getter. Now try, "A career move is a critical decision, and even though you haven't given it much thought, a potential opportunity has just presented itself. I'm sure you wouldn't buy a new TV or appliance without spending a few hours comparing models. By you refusing to even consider exploring this situation, you've just basically made a major career decision with less information than you would in buying a TV. When looked at in this light, doesn't it make sense to spend at least five minutes to see if the new opportunity is worth spending serious time on?"

No matter what the candidate says, if she or he doesn't have the information needed to come to a well-thought out conclusion, it's your job to persist and make sure they get the information. You start by making them aware that they could be making a major decision with minor information. Use this line, it will work: Are you making a major decision with minor information?

Here are some other techniques you can use to overcome a candidate's reluctance to move forward in the hiring process.

"I'm already exploring other opportunities and don't have enough time right now."
Your job here is to convince the candidate to explore your opportunity in conjunction with the ones already being considered. Explain that your position might be far superior to one of the other ones and it's certainly worth a few minutes to at least evaluate what you have to offer. Say that the worst thing that could happen is that you waste a few minutes of your time. But the best thing that could happen is that you find a better career opportunity. This is a pretty good trade-off and makes a very convincing case. Then say, even if it turns out that the job isn't a great career move, you'd like to stay in touch with the person to explore future career opportunities when they arise.

"Your job isn't too appealing."
You must anticipate this concern before you ever discuss the job with the candidate. Always obtain the candidate's profile before you tell him or her too much about the job. You can also parse this out in small bites sharing information each step of the way. Start with a vague title with challenging work. For example, "we're looking for senior marketing person leading our new product launch. Can you tell me a little of what you've done in this area?" Ask a few more questions and give a little more about the job. If the candidate seems too heavy, still obtain the complete profile. You'll be able to use this later on for networking. If the candidate still balks before he or she knows enough about the job to reach a conclusion use the lost time vs. opportunity pitch described above. This is especially true if the candidate appears qualified to you. Recruiters need to persevere. You should be determining if the candidate is qualified or not, not the other way around. This is what is meant by "applicant control."

"The money isn't enough."
It never is. Your job here is to demonstrate that the long term opportunity more than offsets a modest increase right now. You'll have to know the job really well and understand what the candidate brings to the table. By creating this opportunity gap you are in a good position to describe the job stretch. You can't talk or BS your way through this one. You must describe actual projects the candidate will work on, and give examples of others who have progressed in similar ways. If the job really offers stretch, the money issue is less important. Here's a good rule to follow - rather than increase the compensation package, make the job more valuable.

"I don't have the time right now."
Who does? The reason the candidate has said this, is to get you off the phone. This is probably because your opening pitch was weak. Go back and review Part 2 of The Science of Recruiting, to learn how to make first contact. If you did this and still get pushback it means the candidate probably does want to talk, but just can't right now. Under no circumstances hang up with a plan on calling back. You must get the person's home number. This is vital. Push for this. Otherwise you'll wind up in VM tag. Once you have the home number you can then say you'll either call at the office or at home. Getting the home number indicates that the candidate is sincere. Without it you lose applicant control. Once you have the home phone number you can schedule an official time to talk. Have the candidate call you. If they do, you know you have their interest. (This is a tip on testing candidate motivation for your job.)

We'll get into more of these issues in our next edition, but for now try these out whenever you're working with top candidates. Monitor your progress. Write down the concerns candidates usually bring up. Indicate what you've said, and the outcome. Also note the quality of the candidate (great or good), and the source. Start injecting some of the ideas noted above. Pretty soon you'll see a major improvement on how you deal with these common candidate concerns. The tracking will allow you to become aware of this critical activity and what you need to do. Before long you'll be surprised to hear candidates say, "I'm not interested," because with you taking a leadership role, they always will be.