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The current hiring market has fallen in favour of candidates over the past few years, and the number of positions available outweighs the number of qualified candidates.
When top performing candidates are in such high demand, you’ll need to ensure your entire offering is favourable and stands out in a crowded market.
As experienced recruiters we always get to know our candidates, their motivations and their salary expectations in the early stages of the process. The more you can understand about your candidates the better you can manage expectations on both sides and avoid any tricky situations around additional offers.
If you’re planning to offer a candidate, but discover they already have another offer on the table, you might have concerns about where their allegiances lie or if they’re going to accept.
Whilst some recruiters want to speed up the hiring process and ask the candidate to hold off on the other offer, others take a less reactive approach.
Unfortunately, top candidates are in high demand and you may feel disheartened or frustrated when they decide to choose another position. When you’re facing a situation like this, don’t rush into making a hasty decision to put forward a competing offer or speed up the selection process.
Instead, take a step back and stay focused on the role and the candidate pool.
Rushing the hiring process because your candidate has another offer can result in a bad hire. Don’t rush or focus all your attention on this one candidate.
Stay calm and slow down the hiring process, investing your time and energy into candidates who are more interested in joining your team.
As a hiring manager, you should be contemplative rather than reactive when learning that a candidate has another job offer.
You should consider where your candidate sits in the hiring process. If you still have multiple rounds of interviews to go and the candidate seems disengaged, it’s probably best to guide the candidate to accept the other offer. This will probably avoid wasting your time if you know they have no intention of joining your company.
However, if the candidate is at the top of your list and has reached the end of the interview process, if you haven’t done so already you should start asking some honest and open questions to identify where they stand.
You can then share this information with the hiring team to see if they wish to speed up the hiring process. If not, you should go back to the candidate and recommend they take the other offer.
Suitable candidates who can showcase a variety of skills are often in high demand, and may therefore receive multiple offers.
Recruiters will want to hire candidates who have multiple offers as it showcases a number of desirable features including personality, work ethic and suitable qualifications.
Different employers are likely to have different hiring processes, and if a candidate is successful in multiple processes, it can really showcase their adaptability to different circumstances and requirements of a job role.
When top performing candidates are in high demand, you will need a strategic plan and techniques to stand out for the competition.
Ideally, schedule interviews quickly after advertising the initial job description.
If necessary, ask for samples of their work prior to doing the interview so you can make a good decision in less time. When you’re considering multiple candidates, you should be scheduling multiple interviews in one day.
The longer you take to make your decision, the more time the candidate has to explore other opportunities.
It is easy to assume that you know what will make a candidate interested in the position, but do you actually know?
If a candidate mentions they need more information on the benefits package, be sure to explore deeper instead of just listing all your benefits.
Ask your candidate to explain the type of workplace they wish to work for, what hours they wish to do, whether they want flexible working or if they want additional training on the job. This will help to identify whether your company aligns with their requirements.
Ideally, schedule interviews quickly after advertising the initial job description.
If necessary, ask for samples of their work prior to doing the interview so you can make a good decision in less time. When you’re considering multiple candidates, you should be scheduling multiple interviews in one day.
The longer you take to make your decision, the more time the candidate has to explore other opportunities.
It is easy to assume that you know what will make a candidate interested in the position, but do you actually know?
If a candidate mentions they need more information on the benefits package, be sure to explore deeper instead of just listing all your benefits.
Ask your candidate to explain the type of workplace they wish to work for, what hours they wish to do, whether they want flexible working or if they want additional training on the job. This will help to identify whether your company aligns with their requirements.
If you have already made an offer to a candidate and they mention they also have another job offer, ask them for details about the other offer. Try not to pry, but ask about the role, the salary, benefits and the work environment.
Don’t make any new offers at this stage; you simply want to gather as much information as you can about the other job roles. Ask questions respectfully, letting them know you want to understand what the competition is.
If you get to know your candidate well enough, then you can use this information to communicate the areas of the role that matter. For example, someone that is moving due to limited career progression will want to know about your management opportunities and the training you have available.
Someone who might be leaving due to lack of company culture might want to hear about your events and internal communication.
Outline all the essential parts of the role, including career pathways, challenges in the role, how the company has an impact and any other factors which may convince a candidate to choose yours over others.
One thing you can do to boost your confidence is by having a strong backup plan. At least if things go awry, you know there are alternative options that you can rely on.
If the other offer is hugely competitive and you know you cannot match it, then you might need to consider your options.
Remember, even when a candidate may not be joining your team, maintain the relationship. The candidate may share their experience with peers or refer a friend and family member.
If you need assistance winning over desired candidates, or recruitment in general, you can get expert advice from our experienced team.
We can help you with interview processes, ensuring you hire the perfect candidate. Get in touch with us today!
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