In candidate driven market, retaining control during the recruitment process is vital. Here are four basics every recruiter should be doing.

Fact Finding & Needs Analysis

Put simply, how well do you know your candidate?

What is their motivation for taking a new role and what do they want from their new position?

Each of the following aspects will impact on the candidate – building a solid understanding of their needs will help you to control the recruitment process and manage potential issues more efficiently.

Role – What do they like about the role, what does it offer that their current role doesn’t, and perhaps most importantly, what don’t they like about it (Could this become an issue later if they are counter offered or have multiple offers)

Salary & Rate – A large motivator, but not always the crucial aspect to pursuing new opportunities. it is important to know the value they place on themselves. How much do they think they should be getting paid and what will they accept? Find this out and feedback to the client, thus reducing the chance of a client under offering and wasting your time.

Location – Is the job in a suitable location for them? If they are spending five hours a day travelling how will this impact on their personal life. Commuting time/distance can often be overlooked in the initial recruitment stages as the role and rate “entice” the candidate towards the role. Spend time checking the commute is acceptable, especially if large distances are involved. Don’t let a deal drop because the candidate suddenly realised they don’t want to spend two hours a day on the tube.

Personal Situation – Briefly mentioned above, finding out the candidates personal situation is vitally important. Again, this is about extracting information from the candidate and using it to reduce issues later on. For example, new parents might be less willing to spend days away from home.

Meet With Your Candidates

Whether its at initial qualification stage or pre/post interview, meet your candidates. it is not always possible to meet a candidate, however, if you can, the benefits far outweigh the effort involved as getting face to face allows you to conduct more in depth fact finding, needs analysis and get greater engagement.

FInd Out About Other Opportunities

While you might know the motivations behind the candidate showing interest in your role, what are their motivations behind any other roles they may have been put forward for. Think back to the role, rate, location and personal situation information discussed earlier – what do the other opportunities have that your role doesn’t, and likewise, what does your role have that the others don’t. This could be something small such as being a top employer, or it could be something larger such as pay rates and perks.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking your role is the only one your candidate is involved with….it won’t be.

Remember Your ABCs

‘Always be closing’ – Words etched into the psyche of many recruiters and still as relevant today as they ever have been. Think how many touch points and interactions you have with each candidate as they progress, each one of these is an opportunity to sell and get buy in for either a role or client.

Close your candidate at each opportunity, not doing so could lead to a nasty surprise.