Hiring Teams: never negotiate salary/rate before doing THIS first | 3 reasons Recruiters don't respond to your LinkedIn Messages

Happy Monday all - and to my American friends, Happy Memorial Day!

On today's edition of my Newsletter exclusively on LinkedIn (don't forget to hit "Subscribe"!):

• Hiring Teams: first do THIS before you enter salary/rate negotiations
• Why Recruiters don't respond to your LinkedIn Message

Hiring Teams: first do THIS before you enter salary/rate negotiations

"We increased the offer we initially presented to an Applicant because they received a higher offer elsewhere, but they still turned us down!"

This scenario can often lead Hiring Teams scratching their heads - especially in those situations where the Candidate they're interested in STILL declines moving ahead, even when your offer is higher than another they've been presented with!

Which brings me to my point:

Salary/rate wasn't the primary issue in the first place!

If it really was, your Candidate would've confirmed that they'd like to move ahead with you as you've addressed the key issue - i.e. meeting or exceeding an offer they received elsewhere. I see Hiring Teams make the mistake of going straight to increasing their offer as the first reaction response to this. While I certainly applaud any Company who sees the value in paying premium for great Talent (they should), there is a key step which needs to be completed before we get there:

Identifying other key issues which might need to be addressed.

Now I'm certainly not saying just because you identify what the REAL key issue is, you'll be guaranteed to get this Candidate on board with you. Sometimes you'll identify the key issue, address it, and still lose out to competing Organizations. What's important here is that you're able to identify what the key issue really is so you can at least address it or clarify it for the Candidate. At least you're now having a conversation about the actual defining item. Simply offering a higher salary/rate will not help anything if the real issue is in regards to something else.

So what could these other key areas be?

Aside from Salary/Rate, some other key deciding factors for Candidates I've personally seen in the past are:

• Working hours/work-life balance
• Position title (a friend of mine who is a Corporate Recruiter was beyond confused when a Candidate turned down an offer to work with their Organization because a competing Organization was offering a fancier job title to the Candidate although the pay was around $10K less. In this case, prestige was of utmost importance to this Candidate. Some of you might roll your eyes to this but hey - to each their own!)
• Career growth/progression opportunities within the Organization
• Ability to learn or work in new areas in their field
• Whether working with you will increase their "market value" professionally
• Which Organization would make their Resume look good
• Investment into career growth - i.e. being sent to workshops/conferences, receiving allowance for certifications, training, etc

And the list could go on and on - every individual is different, so don't ever assume you know what any Candidate wants.

Throughout your Interview process, get to know the wants and needs which are important to Applicants you are interviewing.

Did they mention a flexible working schedule is important because they have to take care of an ailing parent? Well guess what - if that's not something you're able to offer, a higher offer package won't do anything for that particular individual!

Whatever it is, you need to identify what the REAL key issue is before you even get to the part of increasing or adjusting the compensation package you're offering. See my point?

Identify the key issue, see if its something you can address or clarify, THEN you can determine if a better compensation package really is the determining factor.

If you're an Organization looking to recruit Tech Talent in Canada, reach out to me for more information on how I can help. Message me directly here on LinkedIn or email [email protected]

Why Recruiters don't respond to your LinkedIn Message

Sending out introductory LinkedIn Messages to Recruiters on LinkedIn but not getting any responses?

As a Recruiter myself, I get a lot of messages on LinkedIn so this is certainly an area I can speak about.

Here are the top 3 reasons why Recruiters aren’t getting back to you:

1. The Recruiter simply does not have any relevant positions for you. Simple as that – this is most probably the reason why you’re not getting a response in 95% of cases. Most Recruiters, myself included, place the highest priority on active opportunities with our Clients/Hiring Teams which we are recruiting for. The extent to which we can assist is largely dependent on active orders we’re working on. Now, we certainly do market profiles to prospective Clients, however our core focus is what’s on the table. Although I personally do my best to respond to all messages/emails sent my way, not all Recruiters do - and don't take that personally. Just keep following-up periodically!
2. Your message has no intention or a clear "ask". This is a major pet peeve for most people on LinkedIn who receive messages. You’re not clearly and concisely explaining why exactly you’re reaching out and what exactly you need from the Recruiter. Do you want to find out what roles they’re working on? Are you writing in response to a specific role you saw them advertise? Do you simply want an introductory meeting? Be clear on what you want. Even worse than this is, if your message only contains a “Hi” or “How are you?” with no other content in it. This isn’t chatting on WhatsApp with your friends, folks. Write a complete message and get to the point when reaching out to Recruiters. My digital course Applying to Jobs Online 101 teaches you the 4 components to an effective direct message. Check out the web page for more details.
3. The Recruiter does not see the connection between the opportunity they’re recruiting on and what they see on your LinkedIn profile. Make sure the role you're reaching out to them about is relevant to the experience or qualifications you bring to the table. If not - they probably won't be compelled to respond. Its also possible your message didn’t do a good job getting the Recruiter’s attention and showing them how what you bring to the table is exactly what they’re looking for in an ideal candidate. And perhaps in addition to this, you haven't put much effort into your LinkedIn profile. Why exactly would they reach out? There's nothing which really captures their attention. It astonishes me when someone reaches out asking me to consider them for future opportunities, but when I visit their LinkedIn profile - its completely empty. What exactly are you expecting here folks? Put some effort into your LinkedIn profile.

Now, there may be many other reasons why a Recruiter won’t respond to you, however these are probably the 3 most frequent reasons and broad categories as to why.

Whatever the case – don’t take it personal when you don’t get a response. Keep moving forward, keep taking action, and keep putting yourself in front of those who can get you those interviews and ultimately that Offer Letter.

If you’re a Tech professional in Canada, be sure to message me with your introduction to find out what I’m actively recruiting on!

That's it for this week - see you next time!

Any topics you want me to cover in a future Edition? Let me know in the comments - don't forget to Like + Subscribe if you haven't already!

Dean Kulaweera - IT Recruiter | Director, Recruitment & Sales |?Tech Recruiters 360

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