We’ve struggled recently to fill some important assignments for clients – candidates are telling us that they just don’t want to move. That set me wondering, what are the top three reasons why some candidates won’t get excited about another job opportunity?
One reason, not so surprising, is the reputation of the client. If the company is perceived in any way to be a second tier or difficult employer, candidates are saying no thanks. Sometimes this poor reputation is unfairly applied and not entirely justified. It is part of our recruitment role to try to help where we can to repair that reputation – and simply talking to many candidates with a positive outlook can start that ball rolling. I’m not saying that our soothing words can fix everything – far from it – but by being straightforward and tackling the reputation issue head on, well, that’s a start.
Location is turning into a much larger concern these days. As our cities get more and more congested, travelling times are increasing and people tell us that they simply don’t want to spend hours in traffic. And they are right. Who would willingly sacrifice precious hours travelling to and from work? Time with family and friends has got to be higher on a personal priority list than spending time at the office. If it isn’t, then something is going wrong. Proximity to public transport options, a pleasant office environment in a decent location – in a building that has been looked after (it doesn’t have to be new) – these factors are attractive to candidates.
Finally, budget is always important. If we are trying to recruit – even slightly – under market rates, this last point becomes particularly acute if either of the two other reasons is in play. If reputation and location are both positive, then sometimes the budget becomes less so: not all candidates are entirely driven by money, they look at other aspects of the company and the job (that’s what we like them to do). That said though, money does pay the bills and we can’t ignore the fact that everyone has expenses.
If we have all three in a positive way, then recruitment is easy. Sometimes clients don’t need us at all – they can go into the market and get what they want. Two out of three is a challenge, but one out of three just isn’t going to happen. That’s setting the recruitment project up for failure – which doesn’t reflect well on the employer. We’ll do our best as quickly as possible, but miracles do take a little longer.
As usual, let me know if you have any particular topic you would like to see covered here.
