Candidate Fallouts

Question:

Market is heating up. We know it because we have never received so many offers from our clients in the last few months. I should be jumping for joy but not quite. Just the last week - we had 3 (three!!!!!!!) fallouts. I yell at my guys to pre-close all the candidates and they do by following your scripts. “Yes I will accept $120K.” “Yes I can do the job.” “Yes I want to work for the company money aside.” But then last minute candidates don’t want to come to our offices to sign. They ask us to email the offer and want to read the complete offer (salary + bonus + benefits + vacations + sick days + etc.) and want to take a day to think about it. And then almost always take another offer.

So if I ask: So at $120K you will accept with $50K bonus, 4 week’s vacation, etc. - they say we want to see it on paper and think about it.

What are we doing wrong??? Should we take it away from them when they tell us they need 24 hours to think about it? 3 failed deals which amounts to $70K+ (big money I know) 3 candidates, all of them took other offers which had salaries slightly higher. Of course these were deals that were 5-6 weeks in the making. Our clients are pissed of course - cause they wanted them - but nothing we can do. Let me know - I am lost…

Danny's response:

I long ago tabbed “my candidate took the other job” as both part of the new normal of recruiting, and a sign of a healthy economy. Our fall out rate, historically very low, crept up a bit as we ended our last fiscal year. But it was our best year ever, and when you are making a lot of offers and closing a lot of deals, there are going to be more turndowns. And yet you should be making more money!! I have a specific Webcast on the subject in our archives and I recommend you take the time to watch it, given the $70K you have lost. Ouch, I feel you…

For now, though, without being able to hear how you have handled each of these candidates, I am going to make a pretty safe assumption. That you are closing on your job only. You are doing the “if, then summary close”. “If I get you $120K and they want you in two weeks will you accept?” In THEIR minds, they are not lying or playing you if they say yes or “nearly yes”, meaning they give you a positive response and then want to buy time when you actually make the offer. You are asking them to think about your offer ONLY and not asking, or brushing past, their other offers.

Most of the time recruiters with your issue are saying this to candidates… “Do you have anything else going?” And when the candidate says no, or says, “nothing like yours”, you let it go…Uh NO! We need to go deeper. But lose the question and replace it with this after the first interview debrief.

“Let’s compare this to your other opportunities, both internal and external…” And shut the hell up! If they say, I don’t have any other offers, you say, “What about other interviews? Referrals? Places you have sent your resume and are waiting to hear back on?”

So now the summary close gets whittled down to… “So if I understand correctly, nothing you have will match the timeline of the offer we are expecting, and you will be able to make a decision on that offer when we receive it, is that right?”

This makes your candidate ACTIVELY lie. Most people, (he said, channeling Anne Frank), are good, and will not actively lie, but many are weak, and will allow you to misinterpret since you didn’t ask a direct question.

Question:

Market is heating up. We know it because we have never received so many offers from our clients in the last few months. I should be jumping for joy but not quite. Just the last week - we had 3 (three!!!!!!!) fallouts. I yell at my guys to pre-close all the candidates and they do by following your scripts. “Yes I will accept $120K.” “Yes I can do the job.” “Yes I want to work for the company money aside.” But then last minute candidates don’t want to come to our offices to sign. They ask us to email the offer and want to read the complete offer (salary + bonus + benefits + vacations + sick days + etc.) and want to take a day to think about it. And then almost always take another offer.

So if I ask: So at $120K you will accept with $50K bonus, 4 week’s vacation, etc. - they say we want to see it on paper and think about it.

What are we doing wrong??? Should we take it away from them when they tell us they need 24 hours to think about it? 3 failed deals which amounts to $70K+ (big money I know) 3 candidates, all of them took other offers which had salaries slightly higher. Of course these were deals that were 5-6 weeks in the making. Our clients are pissed of course - cause they wanted them - but nothing we can do. Let me know - I am lost…

Danny's response:

I long ago tabbed “my candidate took the other job” as both part of the new normal of recruiting, and a sign of a healthy economy. Our fall out rate, historically very low, crept up a bit as we ended our last fiscal year. But it was our best year ever, and when you are making a lot of offers and closing a lot of deals, there are going to be more turndowns. And yet you should be making more money!! I have a specific Webcast on the subject in our archives and I recommend you take the time to watch it, given the $70K you have lost. Ouch, I feel you…

For now, though, without being able to hear how you have handled each of these candidates, I am going to make a pretty safe assumption. That you are closing on your job only. You are doing the “if, then summary close”. “If I get you $120K and they want you in two weeks will you accept?” In THEIR minds, they are not lying or playing you if they say yes or “nearly yes”, meaning they give you a positive response and then want to buy time when you actually make the offer. You are asking them to think about your offer ONLY and not asking, or brushing past, their other offers.

Most of the time recruiters with your issue are saying this to candidates… “Do you have anything else going?” And when the candidate says no, or says, “nothing like yours”, you let it go…Uh NO! We need to go deeper. But lose the question and replace it with this after the first interview debrief.

“Let’s compare this to your other opportunities, both internal and external…” And shut the hell up! If they say, I don’t have any other offers, you say, “What about other interviews? Referrals? Places you have sent your resume and are waiting to hear back on?”

So now the summary close gets whittled down to… “So if I understand correctly, nothing you have will match the timeline of the offer we are expecting, and you will be able to make a decision on that offer when we receive it, is that right?”

This makes your candidate ACTIVELY lie. Most people, (he said, channeling Anne Frank), are good, and will not actively lie, but many are weak, and will allow you to misinterpret since you didn’t ask a direct question.

So watch the webcast, but start addressing this problem by remembering to close NOT just on your job, but your job relative to their other opportunities.

So watch the webcast, but start addressing this problem by remembering to close NOT just on your job, but your job relative to their other opportunities.