I am breaking up with you. Thanks for your time….

I could not have come up with a different subject line for this post, but if you happen to stick till the end of it, it may provide you with some food for thought.

 Do you think Recruitment is a dating game in itself? Will you take the decision to break up with your candidate even he / she is a client select, especially, for a niche skill? Well, the intention is not to pose an array of questions for the readers' but here’s an experience, wherein we called the relationship off, that too, in the last leg of the offer process. Read on if you are still curious…

In my team, we usually pick on all sorts of not-so-easy skills to hire; Big Data, Full Stack, Core Java (all possible combinations); just name it and we go cracking.’ One such salvation was to hire some super cool talent in C++ with Multi threading, Design Patterns, Data Structures, Algorithms, Problem Solving, and what not!!!! Like I said, we don’t work on things that are easy.

We started our searching, sorting and hashing ‘pun intended’ and became Level 1 interviewers ourselves as well, at least, I like it to look at it that way. Our efforts showed results and in a few weeks, one of the candidates went through multiple rounds of discussion and was shortlisted. The candidate had about 7 years of experience with a product background; not a 100% fit but the panel felt that he had the gumption and willingness to pick up and work on the gaps. It always feels good when you get to play cupid and the chemistry works out between a candidate and panel.  

But as the saying goes, ‘you don’t marry the person just after your first date’. We shared an offer break-up with quite a decent raise and the candidate circled back expecting a revised compensation citing market standards, and personal aspirations. Instead of getting into a “Negotiation Mode”, we tried to reason him with Why are we hiring for this role? What will he get to do? How this role makes him awesome? We tried to play cupid for the second time by hooking him up for an informal meeting with the stakeholders.

Eventually, the candidate intimated that although the role is challenging, he would not be much keen to go ahead if his salary expectations are not met with. Without much back and forth,we wished him good luck for his future endeavour and informed that we would not able to revise the compensation further. We felt that the candidate was prioritising compensation over the role and more so, even if we revised his offer, there was no guarantee that he would not go to the highest bidder. So, in a romantic parlance, we Broke-Up. Mutually.

It was difficult, rather heart wrenching for that moment, to let go off a Hire, all the more for a niche skill, but we chose to avert a bad divorce by calling the whole thing off, rather than add a number in the score-card. For that moment, the decision to let go seemed tough, but in the end from a long term, it is our Choice if we want to be Recruiters or Talent Advisers' wherein every single day, WE:

Create and Make an Impact

As Talent Advisers', we are Creating an opportunity for both prospective Job Seekers and Stakeholders from Business. We Make an Impact when we are able to match the right talent with right opportunity and Stakeholders’. In the above case, we chose not to hire someone, simply because, the person could not relate to the role nor to the impact he can make, although we tried to create an opportunity.

Take Difficult and Right Decisions

The candidate in the above scenario spoke to various panels who clearly explained the role in each occasion but since the candidate was still not convinced, we thought it’s better to shake hands and part ways.

Also, as Gatekeepers we need to look at the Big Picture and understand what amount of salary & compensation we are paying while hiring Talent. It’s always easier to offer whatever salary the candidate was asking for, but whether the candidate deserves it or not, the Decision lies with us.

Provide a 'WOW' experience

‘Do not listen to reply. Listen to understand’. We often get carried away and in cases such as above, our emotions tend to get better of us. Talent Acquisition / Hiring Team are Brand Ambassadors of an organisation and we all have a choice to build the brand individually as well as for our organisation with a 'WOW' experience. In the example shared above, we chose not to react to the situation, instead we usurped the right of choosing not go ahead with an offer. Whether it is a great moment a candidate will always cherish or an experience the candidate will regret to have gone through, choice is with us. Those 2 lines from your new hires, saying you helped them take the right career decision / find the right opportunity are a morale booster on any given day.

As the saying goes, 'In recruiting, there are no good or bad experiences - just learning experiences'. On this note, I end my post hoping that I have been able to strike a chord somewhere and leave it further up to the readers' discretion if such a break-up works....