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“What new challenges have you faced when trying to convince your candidates to accept a position, and how have you dealt with them?”
WINNING RESPONSE
“Candidates have become very discriminating given the risk in changing jobs in this still shaky environment. The position must not only be a good short-term fit, but the company and the long-term opportunity must be a fit with the candidate’s personal long-term goals. We try to line up those objectives and show how our client’s opportunity meets them so the candidate can make a well-informed decision based on long-term, not short-term needs. We’ve also had multiple final candidates in recent searches be candidates in other searches so it is competitive for talent and we need to do our best to present our client’s opportunity as positively as possible.”
Rod McDermott, Managing Director at McDermott & Bull Executive Search
HONORABLE MENTIONS
“The most important thing is to understand the candidate’s true motivations. It is increasingly harder to uncover them as candidates are able to mask their true intentions through skillful interview responses. Resistance to accept a position may be perceived or real. For perceived resistance, it is important to have open, trusting dialogue so that misunderstandings and communication biases are minimized. For real resistance, the right thing to do is to face it, discuss contingencies and help the candidate make an assessment as to whether they can handle the risks.”
Theresa Goh, ThreeSixty Partnership
“My approach is to talk about the offer with the candidate in terms of what the candidate has already told me that he or she is seeking to achieve from accepting the position. The challenge is to understand the opportunity as completely as possible from the outset. We do that by taking the time to write a great position specification and to calibrate it as we go through first and second round interviews. Candidates who are genuinely interested require very little persuasion to accept a solid offer. They are seeking information about what it takes to succeed in the job so they can decide whether or not the opportunity is right. So, when we get to the decision point, we have already spoken about salary range, location, job deliverables and very importantly, the culture of the organization and style of the hiring executive. My ability to be persuasive is rooted in my enthusiasm for the particular match and the degree to which I think the candidate is truly right for the position. The candidate feels my degree of enthusiasm and when all the pieces are fitting together, it is apparent to the client, the candidate and my firm that the match will be a good one. ”
Keith Kulper, President of Kulper & Company, LLC
OTHER THINKING
“Relocation now is difficult, no matter what.
We were faced with a strong family man from the east coast being required to move to a smaller city in the Midwest. His two boys were avid hockey players and were leaving behind their beloved Rangers. We convinced our client to have four season tickets for the city’s minor league hockey team, in the family name, waiting in their hotel room when they visited for the final “go round”.”
It clinched the deal.It clinched the deal.
Bill Wood, Founding Partner at Wood-Snodgrass, Inc.
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Exceptional Thinking Question of the Month
“In today’s business climate, what characteristics do you see as critical to success for retained search consultants, and why?”
Click here to submit your response.
Exceptional Thinking Past Questions and Responses
July 2010
“What new challenges have you faced when trying to convince your candidates to accept a position, and how have you dealt with them?”
April 2010
“Is it important to solicit constituent (clients, candidates, placements and colleagues) feedback? Yes or no - and why?”
December 2009
“What is the most important factor in building client trust and how have you achieved it?”
November 2009
“What new skills will exceptional search consultants most need to succeed over the next two years?”
October 2009
“What is the most significant change in client expectations over the past two years?”
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