Keeping candidate rejections at bay

The number of rejections, counter offers, 👻  is on the rise from the side of the candidates. Even deducting the cases of unsuccessful applications, poor recruitment decisions, slow recruitment processes, one cannot help but feel a little unprepared for candidate rejections for key roles, especially considering time critical positions that hold responsibility over your revenue, speed of development and product overall.

Thought one cannot completely secure oneself from rejections, we can do all that we can to minimise those. Here are top 3 tips you can follow to prepare for potential difficulties and to maximise your chances of getting the key person on board.

Openness and transparency

Establish trusting relationships and the environment where potential new hire feels welcome to share his/her concerns. The headhunter will usually mediate that conversation. In practice recruiters who work on multiple roles and are not attached to the specific company offer a greater unbiased insight to the talent, thus candidates are more candid about what they like and don’t like in the team, offer, interview process etc. This gives a good amount of feedback the company can improve upon.

Pre-close the offer

Going through hypothetical scenarios will give you an early indication how the offer will look to the individual, how it potentially compares to other offers in discussion and what in essence is the early response. Needless to note that it’s essential to line up the compensation package in detail - base, bonus, equity, perks, flexibility - to make this conversation successful. Ideally you will get to the point of understanding that given the offer outlined there will be an acceptance.

CX = candidate experience matters

The process counts as much as the reputation. In a survey by HBR, 84% of people stated they’d leave their job if offered the chance to work for a company with a stronger reputation, one cannot really afford to have a poor one. Which is why a spray and pray strategy is so detrimental - not only is it higher on the actual cost, but also impacts you in the long term. Having one single voice of the company on the talent market pays off in dividends throughout your growth, especially when commencing at seed/series A. Time pressure is a poor excuse for poor processes and the process can make or break your relationships with a potential new hire. Invest in establishing smooth hiring flow and ensure it’s transparency for all who go through it.