The crucial new candidate tactic – above all else

There is so much angst about random candidate behaviour right now.

‘Erratic, mind-changing, counteroffers, ghosting.’

The response from most recruiters has been predictable.

Change nothing – yet hope for candidates to change.

Good luck with that plan.

If ever we needed proof that recruiting requires a dynamic, evolving skill set, Covid provided that.

The boot is firmly now on the other foot, and candidates have choices. They are in demand, and they know it. They have aspirations that they intend to see through.

I have explained with some vigour that as recruiting gets more remote, recruiters must become more engaged.

It goes way beyond what even a good recruiter thought was enough when it comes to candidate management. Avoiding assumptions and asking, ‘what has changed?’ is just entry into the field of play. It’s no guarantee you are going to win anything.

For years I have been begging that savvy recruiters triage their jobs and prioritise the most fillable. This is truer than ever right now, but we also need to rank and assess our candidates.

Yes, on skills, qualifications and experience, but that is not what I am talking about.

We need to assess, calibrate, test and measure … their commitment!

‘Commitment to move’ is now the significant candidate metric.

Most recruiters assume that a candidate who says, ‘I am looking for a new job’, will take a new job.

An understandable assumption, but not true.

A highly placeable candidate is one who has the profile that a client will like enough to offer a job, and who also has the motivation to accept it!

From today, every candidate you interview, you must rank according to ‘motivation to accept’.(MTA)

And decipher precisely what it is that will encourage them to accept. That will be a heady cocktail of salary, employer brand, flexibility, workstyle, responsibilities, opportunity, and much more.

The point is you, the recruiter, needs to know all that. Do you?

Oh, and if you think that’s hard. Well, think again. It is actually much harder! Because it is dynamic and constantly evolving, as the candidate moves through the job search.

This is rough and ready, but it’s a start. And it is important. Candidate shortages are a good thing! If you are a world champion at managing the candidates you do have.

The candidate will be at one of these levels. But they can and will move through the levels. They can go back a level too. The point is firmly this. Do you know what level they are at—all the time?

Flirting.

The candidate is toying with the idea of moving. They may even say, ‘I am looking to move’. But are they? Are they just dipping a toe in? Typically, a move is conceptual at this stage. Hypothetical. An idea. Real goals and consequences are not understood.

Considering.

The candidate is seriously planning a move. They are upgrading the resume and LinkedIn profile. They are doing research. They have made a list of ‘must haves’ and ‘must not have’s’. They can articulate the ‘ideal job’.

Engaged.

The candidate is actively ‘looking’. Applying. Going for interviews. Researching recruiters and employers. Getting salary data.

Committed.

This is key. There is a massive difference between ‘committed’ and ‘engaged’. The committed candidate has worked through the pros and cons of leaving. S/he has addressed the counteroffer possibility and rejected it. They know exactly what salary is suitable for the move. They are taking recruiter advice. Returning calls. Giving feedback. They have semi ‘checked out’ from the current role. And you can hear the excitement in their voice.

As I said, there is no science in these four ‘levels of commitment’.

But recruitment is more art than science as you know

The skillset of today’s recruiter is the subtle art of real discovery. Going beyond the resume and probing, questioning, checking, confirming, scenario-pitching.

It used to be that recruitment was about ‘finding candidates’. That’s our job still, of course.

But managing the process through offer and acceptance is now the critical skill, and what separates a good recruiter from average.

AA has its ’12 steps. Grief has its ‘7 stages’. Now candidates have their ‘4 levels’.

Levels of commitment, that is.

Do you know what level of FCEC your candidates are at? What is their MTA?

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