As you have gone through the interview process with the candidates we provided, it is critical to reflect on many things you have discovered about each candidate. When it comes to getting a candidate to accept your job offer, being able to remind the candidate of their pain points and how the opportunity you are presenting them will relieve those pain points, is of the utmost importance. At AKA Search Group, we have put together this list of ways to get a candidate to accept your job offer to help you increase your odds when it comes to sealing the deal with a candidate.
Getting a Candidate to Accept Your Job Offer
1. How will it benefit them if they accept your job offer?
Throughout the interview process with your team, what has the candidate expressed as their top three or four motivations? In 2022, common answers we see at AKA Search Group are:
- Lack of Learning and Development Opportunities
- Flexible Work Arrangements
- Transparency Provided by the Company
- Increased Pay
To get a candidate to accept your job offer, uncovering their real pain points and reminding them of these throughout the process is crucial.
Do they currently have a boss or manager who fails to provide their employee with feedback and learning and development opportunities?
Does the candidate have a newborn to where working from home 2 or 3 days per week can save them money on daycare costs?
These personal to the candidate details are critical to understand and if your company understands them, it will certainly give you the leg up when it comes to getting the candidate to accept your job offer.
2. Does the compensation package fit their needs?
When it comes to compensation, there are several important factors to understand about your candidate to get them to accept your job offer. We see many less-established companies simply tell the candidates what the salary for the role is and sometimes the bonus opportunities.
At AKA Search Group, we advise our clients to talk with candidates in terms of Total Target Compensation. What does Total Target Compensation include:
- Base Salary
- Bonus Potential
- Profit Sharing
- Healthcare Coverage Provided by Employer
- Retirement Match (typically 401k)
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Equity (for executive search)
When discussing Total Target Compensation with candidates you are more likely to convince them to accept your job offer. Why? You have uncovered what is important to them throughout the interview process. Now you can spend time with them showing how your company listened to their needs and provided a compensation package to take care of them. Reverse engineering our blog post on salary negotiations can help you as well. You can find the blog posts here:
3. What about your company or the position is most interesting to them?
If you can align how the position will benefit the candidate with a compensation package that matches their financial needs, now you can discuss the interesting points of the company and the role with the candidate.
Has the candidate always wanted to work for your company because of your amazing culture they have seen expressed by your employees on LinkedIn?
Have they been looking for a way to break into your industry and you can provide this to them?
Are you a CEO that is very visible on social media and they have been attracted to your speaking engagements and past experiences?
These are all very important factors to candidates and if your company uncovers these, are the personal motivators to lean into to increase the odds for a candidate to accept your job offer.
4. Is there the possibility of customizing the job description?
“So if I am successful in this role, what will happen a year or 18 months from now?”
This is a question we love to hear from candidates. Cringing at this question means you have not thought about the learning and development opportunities for this hire. Candidates are great at detecting BS, so make sure you have thought through this before interviewing candidates for a role.
Has the candidate mentioned moving up into a more visible role within the organization if successful? If so, how can you get the candidate exposed to other departments? If they are in a role where their primary goal is to enhance the processes and systems of your Human Resources department, can they then assist in enhancing these in your sales department as well?
Has the candidate expressed interest in taking on additional responsibilities if they are successful? This question from a candidate is a sign they not only want to grow individually, but they also want to help your company prosper. They are willing to work hard in their current role, with the intention of taking on more responsibility.
Are they being hired to perform due diligence and analysis on potential real estate acquisitions? After a year of strong performance in this role, can you provide a mentor from your leadership team to begin coaching them on capital structures?
5. Meeting the candidate in-person to accept your job offer
Meeting a candidate in-person to accept your job offer may sound like an inconvenience to many busy CEOs and hiring managers. How inconvenient would it be if the candidate declines your offer, leaving you are starting the search from scratch again? Taking 30 minutes for the candidate to meet you for lunch or meet you in the office to present the offer can be invaluable to your company’s time and resources.
During this in-person meeting, present the offer and continue to lean on the candidate’s pain points and what is important to them by referencing the four questions above:
- How will it benefit them if they accept your job offer?
- Does the compensation package fit their needs?
- What about your company or the position is most interesting to them?
- Is there the possibility of customizing the job description?
Conclusion
Understanding the needs of your candidate and how these needs align with the opportunity your company has available, is crucial when it comes to getting a candidate to accept your job offer. Keep in mind that not all candidates will accept your job offer even if you align everything to the best of your company’s abilities. There will always be other employers who are able to offer more and who align better with the intrinsic values of the candidate.
However, following this advice here, will significantly increased the odds of getting a candidate to accept your job offer.