In this market more candidates feel that they can’t risk saying ‘no’ to offers – in case nothing better comes along – and that means accepting jobs that they’re not serious about and, in some cases, subsequently turning them down just before signing the employment offer, or even one week into the employment.

 This type of situation can’t necessarily always be prevented, but MACRO can minimize the risk of it occurring. This is how we do it, and you can use many of these actions as well.

 First, ask them what they are wanting in their next role. The common motivators that we regularly get here are: career development, proximity to home or transport to work, training, salary and salary potential, life balance, a leader they admire, a stable company and a good team of people.

 Many times candidates ‘flavor’ their answer to match what they know about the employer and the role. At MACRO we have access to the candidate’s behavioural and motivations psychometric reports. These reports allow us to get behind the mask and ask loaded questions to pull out the candidate’s real or unvoiced motivations. Our position as a recruitment agent allows us to use the line “if this job is not a good fit for you, let me know, we may have others that are a better fit and therefore not waste your time taking on a filler role.”

 Second, find out where else the candidate is applying and what other recruiters they’re using. The reason for this is that if your applicant is sending their resume around town blindly, not only does it indicate desperation and therefore a likely short-term hire, it also shows who your competitors are so you can compare your company’s and job’s unique selling points and present a case that plays to your role’s strengths.

 Granted, many candidates will not want to tell you where they are applying as they will be concerned that it will affect their job hunting prospects.

At MACRO we spend a significant time researching for the answers to “why would somebody be attracted to work for our client” and “what would attract someone to work in this role”. We have a process that traps the answers to this and how they match up with the candidate’s motivators listed above. This process allows us to weed out the tyre-kicker job applicants.
Employers and recruiters wanting to solve a problem fast may be blind to some of the signals coming from the candidate that they’re not super keen. Even when candidates are saying all the right things, recruiters and employers need to pick up on signs that all is not well.

 Some of their indicators are:

• Their voice, perhaps, doesn’t contain enthusiasm,
• There’s hints in the way that they ask questions or pause,
• Are tardy in returning phone calls.
• Use the weekend as an excuse to “think things over” or talk with mentors.

 Statistically, 70-80% of the candidates that request the weekend to “Think it over” do not take the role. If they are asking for the weekend, then they are not sold on your company. Most likely you are their plan B and they have another role that they may even not have told you about. In these cases we simply ask “In my experience candidates that use the weekend to think things over have a choice to make between two possible employers. I’d like to work though your decision making process before the weekend so that you have all the information you need to make the right decision.”

At MACRO we use a negotiation technique that is a modification of the classic Ben Franklin Close. Simply put we refer to what we know the candidate has indicated as important in their next role via a list. We read off each list and explain how our role matches their motivators, and then ask how the other role matches these. It may be that our role does not match – in that case we have saved wasting our time and we can move to locating a better fit. In more cases then not our client’s job is a better match because the job seeker has not got all the information on their new role. For the candidate it then boils down to the “devil you know”.

Many employers and recruiters miss this step; the recruiter can be blinded by the prospect of a placement and the employer blinded by prospect of an “ideal candidate” that will solve their pressing problem. When this happens and the candidate falls off at the last minute – they blame the candidate.

At MACRO we can as we follow a systemised process that has lead to us placing all of the retained work we have taken on from employers. In some cases we will all get fooled, but in a lot of cases the signals are there.

Looking for staff? Check out MACRO’s Shortlisting Servicies

Daryl Keeley
B Eng, Dip. Journ
Managing Director
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