When you’re recruiting a top candidate to work at your organization, the end of the interviewing process is the most critical phase, because that’s when you “sell” the candidate in an attempt to close them.
However, some companies “sell” these candidates incorrectly . . . and it costs them.
How should organizations try to “sell” their opportunity and their company to the best candidates in the marketplace? LinkedIn’s recent “Why & How People Change Jobs” reports, one globally and one for North America, have the answer.
Since we’re in North America, we’ll primarily concern ourselves with the results of that report. Of particular interest are the top reasons that people gave for accepting a company’s offer of employment and starting work for them. Those reasons are as follows:
- Stronger career path/more opportunity—63%
- Better compensation/benefits—60%
- Better fit for my skills and interests—50%
- More ability to make an impact—46%
- The work sounded more challenging—45%
- I believed in the company’s overall direction—45%
It must be kept in mind that better compensation and benefits played even less of a role in people’s decision to leave their current company than it did their decision to join another one. In other words, money was far from the primary reason they wanted to leave.
For example, when asked what contributed to their decision to leave, 48% of respondents in North America chose “I was concerned about the lack of opportunities for advancement” as their answer. Compensation was a distant third.
So—what can be surmised by the data contained in this report?
First and foremost, more money and benefits do NOT comprise the major motivator for top candidates. They’re not the major reason they leave their current employer, and they’re not the major reason they decide to join another company.
Second, opportunity is king in both instances. That is what top candidates want. They want more of an opportunity within their organization to grow their careers, and if they don’t feel as though they’re receiving it, they will leave.
Third, there are a whole host of other, related reasons that candidates choose to work for another company, including the challenge that’s involved, their belief in the organization’s direction and brand, and the potential for them to make their presence felt.
This means that the job of the hiring manager is to “sell” the candidate on the opportunity—both the opportunity that the new position and the opportunity that working for the company offers. The candidate has to be able to connect the dots between what you’re offering and their future career advancement.
Yes, money and benefits are important, but keep in mind that these candidates are more than likely receiving multiple offers consisting of roughly the same levels of compensation. That’s why for them, it’s all about the opportunity first and foremost, not to mention a host of other things, including challenging work, the company’s direction, and company culture.
Does your organization focus on the opportunity when trying to hire top candidates? How do you communicate the benefits of the opportunity and of working for you? If necessary, perform an audit of your interviewing and hiring process and make sure that what it emphasizes is in line with what the best candidates want.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of organizations. If this is something you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.