Tough Managers and Rejected Offers

April Williams (HR expert) tells us how she overcame these challenges to recruit a Head of People on the Coffee with a Recruiter podcast

Some of the toughest moments in recruitment involve CVs getting rejected and rejected offers.

We’ve all been there: you’ve submitted tons of CVs, most of them are getting rejected, you’re a few weeks into the search and your nerves are starting to get the best of you. All of a sudden you find an absolute rockstar of a candidate, and the hiring manager wants to make them an offer! 

Except there’s one problem: the candidate reads the contract you sent and calls you to say they’re rejecting the offer and plan on joining another company. And that's when Impostor Syndrome starts to kick in.

April Williams experienced all of these challenges in her previous career as a recruiter when trying to fill a Head of People role. How did she overcome all these challenges and turn things around?

April Georgia Williams - Candid Conversations

I had the pleasure of sitting down with April for an episode of the "Coffee with a Recruiter" podcast. April is a former recruiter, HR professional and podcaster on Candid Conversations.

Candid came about because, especially during these times I saw a lot of companies just not treating their staff well (..) through redundancies. As an HR professional I felt it was my duty to speak the truth behind what their companies are telling them.

After discussing her experience and podcast, I asked her: what's your toughest placement been?

The Challenge: Head of People - Tech Startup

April had to recruit a Head of People for a small, London-based tech startup.

They were looking for a unicorn. Someone well-known in the tech space as an HR professional and a background in organisational psychology.

She felt more than ready for the role. April quickly managed to compile a list of talented Heads of People for the hiring manager.

However, once the hiring manager saw the list, challenges started to emerge:

The hiring manager was mostly keen on getting people from a limited number of companies. Once she presented a candidate they liked, April somehow had to schedule 4 interviews in 48 hours and handle a rejected offer shortly after!

The time where I had to put my foot down was when I spoke to the candidate (after the interview), and they said they had just received another offer from a company in the industry she works in, and she just accepted the offer (..) and that's when impostor syndrome really came in (..) am I good at what I do?

Find out how April managed to turn everything around in this episode of “Coffee with a Recruiter”.

Podcast episode link: Spotify and Anchor

April's profile:https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/april-georgia-williams-mcipd-86926743/