The One Thing You Can Do Today to Bring in Talent
Roberta Matuson
Strategic Advisor on Talent | Global Executive Coach | Public Speaker I Brand Ambassador | HBR Contributor I Helping organizations attract & retain the best people.
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No doesn't always mean no. Here's what I mean by this.
My 20-year old son was interviewing for his first co-op job and was rejected from a company that is now his employer. This never would have happened had he not reached out to them and reapplied. When he did, the company immediately contacted him and extended an offer, which he accepted. He later learned he was considered an alternate candidate, meaning he was next in line if another co-op student turned down their offer, which is what happened.
You're probably hearing a lot of "no's" these days when extending job offers to candidates, given how hot the market is for talent. Most of you have accepted this and moved on. This is a huge mistake and one that can be easily rectified.
Keep this in mind:
"No" isn't forever. It's no, for right now.
Let's say you made a job offer about a month ago and the candidate declined. These days, it's easy to reach out to people through LinkedIn's In-mail with a "Hey, how's your new job going?" message. Followed by, "Any chance we can grab a coffee?"
Candidates accept positions all the time, only to find that the job they thought they were accepting doesn't even closely resemble the job that was described. In fact, in a recent Korn Ferry survey, one of the top reasons new hires gave for leaving a company is their role isn’t what they expected and working for the company was different than they thought it would be.
So what does this mean for you?
You've been given a second chance. Take it!
Here's what I want you to do today:
- Make a list of every candidate whose declined a job offer from you in the last six months.
- Call, email, or text two of these people a day, and inquire how their new job is going. Tell them you'd welcome another chance to have a conversation with them.
- Reach out to these people every six months, so that you remain top of mind.
You may be thinking, "Roberta, this is way too easy." And if that's what you're thinking, you're right. However, to be successful at this, you have to have discipline. Do this weekly. Let me know how you fare.
? 2019, Matuson Consulting.
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Program and admin officer at Mbryan Consulting, Independent creative writer, novelist, poet...
5 年Super educative, thanks a great deal.
Jobles at Left nestle
5 年Nice
Account Executive at Air Systems Service and Construction
5 年Can you please explain what a co-op job is ??
Business Intelligence | Innovation Management | Finance & Analytics | Power BI | ORACLE EBS | PMP | #StandwithUkraine ????
5 年The flexibility on all sides goes a long way. Often, we are too rigid with our perspective.?
Cyber Swiss Army Knife. Bit of a "purple unicorn". Usually the guy who solves the wierd problems. And first to admit that I don't know everything, but **will** find out. . .
5 年With a caveat: you need to remember ***why*** they said no.?? For example: me.? There are locations I simply won't work, and companies I refuse to work for.? And I simply am not interested in relocation, especially to the NYC, Seattle, or Silicon Valley areas I'm always getting hit up for. . .