Six steps to win over a candidate with multiple job offers

After many years in recruitment, I have seen so many counteroffers accepted and rejected. It would be very challenging to fill open positions with quality candidates in a candidate-driven job market. With so many other companies competing for the same limited number of candidates, it seems like an impossible task to get top talent’s attention.

candidate-driven market :

• Candidates have the option of multiple job offers plus counteroffers.
•  candidates can demand a more competitive salary base, joining bonus + equity.        \
• Candidates can be more particular with the holistic package including team, culture, investors, flexibility, remote work, perks, and benefits. 

That means candidates have the luxury of being selective in their job search. Unfortunately for employers, this means there are no guarantees that a qualified applicant will accept your job offer. 

What can Recruiters do to ensure an accepted offer?

With fierce competition, you must stand out & think out of the box to attract top talent. Below are six strategies you can implement to win over candidates who have multiple job offers.

1.Be Personal and Transparent: Among employees and candidates, a personal, honest touch goes a long way. Candidates of your open jobs are evaluating your team and organization just as much as you are evaluating their skills. Recruiting teams seeking to improve their candidate experience should be extremely truthful and transparent about job responsibilities, pay & who they will be working with & in what capacity.   Focus on building long-term relationships and real connections with candidates that last.

2. Build your passive candidate pipeline: Building a pipeline of passive candidates who admire your brand and are interested in your company’s mission is a top way to prevent rejected offers. 

• Building an Employee referral network: Try getting your employees to recommend candidates from their existing network and reward them upon successful hiring. When a candidate is referred in through an existing employee in the company, there is a high likelihood that they already have an idea of what the company culture is like and they have decided to join after understanding the working environment. Creating a diverse candidate referral program is a great way to boost your diversity recruitment strategy.
• Candidate Referral: Offered candidates can also help to refer their friends to apply to work at your company too. You can offer candidates a reward (eg. an iPhone, an iPad, shopping vouchers, etc) upon successful hiring of any referred candidate. 
• Develop a Pro-Employee Reputation: As a Recruiter, it is important to build a relationship of trust with a potential job seeker. If candidates know that you are working to benefit their careers, they will feel more confident in leaving their job for the great unknown of a new opportunity. Being pro-candidate also means maintaining good relationships with past rejected job seekers as well. A candidate who did not work out last year might be the perfect contender now.
• Former employees: Not all former employees are disgruntled. Many are likely to have left your company due to a life event, a relocation, or to pursue further growth opportunities. Fast forward several years, and these employees may be interested in returning to work for your company or could be an excellent referral source.

3. Speed up the hiring process: A long interview process, whether it is delayed by slow hiring decisions or multiple rounds of interviews, gives candidates time to connect with competing companies. One of the best ways to secure a signed offer letter is to lead a fast and efficient interview process. To speed up the hiring process without compromising on quality hiring decisions, create a consistent candidate evaluation process. Interviewers to share candidate feedback quickly post-interview. The process needs to be looked at from a candidate journey point of view and any bottlenecks or obvious areas of confusion need to be eradicated

4. Act Quickly, make a Competitive Offer & be creative in your compensation: Any delay in making an offer can cause you to lose the best applicant. Close the deal fast. A speedy job offer demonstrates your desire to have this person join your company. It shows you think quickly and respect the candidate's time.

When it comes time to make an offer, ensure it is your best offer. Any offer you make should be fair to the candidate and in line with the standards of your industry and your company.

 Many employers find it difficult to compete on salary alone. When you cannot offer a high starting salary, consider other financial incentives, such as stock options, profit sharing and performance-related bonuses.\

5. Pump Up Your Business: Presenting an offer is a time to promote the benefits of working for your company. Highlight why someone should join your company. It could be anything, like cutting-edge opportunities, tech-stack, employee recognition, bonus programs, work flexibility, learning opportunity, and company culture.

Demonstrate how your company is the best match for the candidate's life and lifestyle. This is your opportunity to make the candidate feel good about coming to work for you.

6. A call from Senior Leadership Team Member: A call from a Senior Leadership Team will be highly regarded and hugely motivational. It shows that the company is bothered about people and values them as individuals. It takes a very small amount of time but means a lot. Overall remember that it is fiercely competitive out there for good people. Do not let another company poach your new starters by being more proactive and showing more interest.