Hiring Managers, if a candidate does well in your interview and is a reasonable fit for your opening, and they want to join your team, my advice is, make them an offer. In today’s insane talent market, you absolutely can not “keep a candidate warm”. They will be gone. And they will be gone by tomorrow. It is not “kind of” a job seekers market…it is the biggest “job seeker” market I have ever seen in 20+ years in this industry.
So here is the brutally honest truth, you are NOT the only game in town. Far from it. No matter how great you think your company is, no matter how unique you think your company and position is, no matter how desperate you think people are to come work for you, there is always another company with a great offering out there…that is moving faster.
“The fact is the matter is…in today’s market…especially in the market for skilled and talented professionals…the war for talent is fierce. In many cases, YOU need the Proven Professional, they do not NEED you. You drag your feet, they are on to the next dozen or more opportunities available to them in a market where EVERYONE is hiring.” Jason says.
- Be aggressive and don’t delay. You have your process, and that is fine. I am not suggesting you cut corners in whatever your interviewing process is. But speed up the time that it takes for you to complete that process. The standard process that we see is a phone interview, then a face to face interview, then testing and assessments, then another face to face interview, then maybe a field day. If you want a true chance at hiring the best talent, this process shouldn’t take more than two weeks start to finish. (Trust me, this can happen. Some of our largest clients, Fortune 500 companies, make this happen.) If the phone interview goes well, schedule the face to face before you hang up the phone. And don’t push it out 2 weeks. Set it for the next day. If that next meeting goes well, get the testing in their hands immediately. And then keep it moving from there with as little downtime as possible in between steps.
- When delays do arise, touch base with the candidate and talk with them about the reason for the delay. Reaffirm to the candidate that you are still very interested in them…that this delay has nothing to do with your interest in them as a candidate.
- Important fact: Candidates, even the best of the best, want to know throughout the process that the company they are interviewing with IS in fact interested in them. This may sound like common sense, but so many times we lose a candidate in the interviewing process because they have not been told they are a top candidate. For a job seeker, every day that passes without word from the prospective company, is another day the candidate is left to wonder what is happening in the process. Does the company have a true interest, are they interviewing a million other candidates, do they really need to fill this role? If doubt creeps in, and this candidate feels that another company is showing them more love, that another company is showing true interest, you will lose this candidate. The remedy for this is…keep in touch with the prospective candidate, and make sure they know you are truly interested.
In different times, and different job market conditions, that can sound like a “sales pitch” coming from a 3rd party Recruiter. I promise you, today, it is not.
My advice, our advice, any Recruiter’s advice to you…today is not the day to wait for the next best candidate…when you have a pretty good match sitting in front of you. Make the offer, make a strong offer, and get that vacancy filled!
Founded in 2002, AllSearch is a privately held direct hire recruiting firm. AllSearch recruits and places skilled professionals on a direct hire basis in the fields of Manufacturing, Building Products & Construction, HVAC Sales & Mechanical Services and Industrial Sales & Management. AllSearch has a national reach, recruiting and placing skilled professionals in nearly every state and major market in the US, as well as internationally including Canada.
Contact: Jason E. Connors, Principal
Phone: 888-427-2977 x106
Website: www.AllSearchinc.com