I'm not an ‘arm twister’!

If you feel like you’re being pressured into employing a candidate, or taking a job offer….that is a red flag.

If the match is as good as you think it is, you’ll be the ones doing the chasing.

As a recruitment partner, if you ask the right questions throughout a recruitment process, be transparent, and share the right information at the right times…people will (most of the time) make the right career/ business decisions for themselves/ stakeholders when it comes to accepting/ extending job offers.

If all has gone to plan, and your headhunt specialist has shortlisted correctly, the person most likely to accept the job offer, perform in the role and stick around for the long run, is the person that will make it to the finish line.

‘Occasionally’ a person doesn’t accept a job offer, takes a different offer, or decides to stay put/ take a counter offer.

There will always be a small % of timewasters/ anomalies, and that’s life. (and it’s not just the candidates at fault).

As long as people are open, honest, professional, and ethical during the process, I’ve got no real issues if we hit a few bumps along the way, as it's to be expected.

What becomes tricky however, is when you’re working in a niche-skilled talent sector…and there aren’t many prospective candidates in the market that are open to a move.

The search for 'Hen's teeth' is the industry lingo (Or rocking-horse 💩)

Suddenly options are very limited, your long list already ressembles a shortlist…..and the urge/ pressure to arm-twist/ over influence the few matched people available creeps up!

When working on a recruitment headhunt/ search campaign, what this means is it's time to reevaluate/ consult with the client (employer), bringing the conversation back to the B & C plans.

We look to make adjustments to the search parameters, salary package, the client’s value propositions, and/ or their expectations in general regarding the accessible talent out there.

This forces the client (and us) to think outside the box.

More often than not, this leads to the discovery of some fantastic professionals that would otherwise have been overlooked had we just looked in the usual places for the ‘hit the ground running’ types.

Often, I also get to help the other candidate prospects (that have been open to a chat, but not matched) with a different job opportunity now that I know what they’re really after (I have a very extensive overview of the market's vacancies/ company offerings you see).

So, whether you’re looking for proactive support or an ear to the ground approach…I won’t be arm twisting along the way. I will however, be making a lot of notes to ensure I CAN help you when the best match presents itself.

(It goes without saying, all communications are confidential)