Article appeared in the Winter-Spring 2007 Professional Search of Atlanta newsletter


RECRUITED CANDIDATES ARE PEOPLE just like those candidates who are currently unemployed, and as such, should be treated with courtesy, consideration and fairness during the recruiting and hiring process. However, candidates who have been specifically recruited for your position and are taking time off from work at their current companies to explore your opportunity, are experiencing different pressures than those who are unemployed. These pressures, in turn, dictate a different approach if your hiring process is to be as effective as it can be.

First, the pressures:

• Being currently employed, the recruited candidate is busy, and must continue to focus on his/her prime job responsibilities where he/she is working now while simultaneously exploring your opportunity. This can be a source of stress.
• Most of the best recruited candidates are highly loyal and dedicated to their jobs, if not to the company that currently employs them. It is thus to be expected that the recruited candidate will feel a sense of guilt (and perhaps some "fear of getting caught") as he/she approaches the interview process.
• In many cases, the recruited candidate will feel pressure to apply higher standards to any move he/she makes than would be the case if he/she were currently unemployed. This is for two reasons: (1) he/she may be unhappy, but is not totally uncomfortable with the current situation, and therefore not forced to move; and, (2) he or she will be called upon to justify any move to family, co-workers and friends (who would be more tolerant of his/her decision if he/she were searching for a way to put bread on the table).

Because of these pressures, recruited candidates tend to be more sensitive to glitches and delays in the hiring process than unemployed candidates. They also will tend to want to resolve any pending interview or offer situations more quickly, so as to be able to get right back to "business as usual" if things don't work out.

Here's a checklist of actions you can take to address the pressures that recruited candidates feel and to increase your chances of hiring the best of them:

• When you receive a referral of a recruited candidate who you sense is a strong match to the position you are seeking to fill, act quickly to get that candidate into your process. At minimum, make it your objective to set up a telephone interview within 24 hours of receiving the referral.
• When the candidate comes to meet with you and/or your staff, take specific action to make him or her feel welcome. If your hiring process is a complex one involving forms, tests and multiple meetings, greet the candidate first, and brief him/her on what the process will be like. When setting up an interview, be responsive enough to the candidate's fear of discovery to allow the first meeting to take place at an off-site setting.
• Follow up expeditiously and stay in touch. While it is generally expected that a candidate will follow up with you after an interview, remember that your greatest enemy in landing top talent is time. Whether you have heard from them or not, touch base with your best candidates at least every five business days to let them know how things are progressing.
• Move quickly, but do not overreact to the pressure you feel to fill a position by negotiating (or qualifying) from weakness. Great candidates will sense this weakness and will lose interest in the opportunity.

In summary, a recruited candidate IS a little different from one who is unemployed, in that he or she will react more quickly, and with more finality, to perceived hiring weaknesses, snubs or delays. The good news is that the "fixes" offered here will work equally well for both types of candidates, and for that reason should be put in place as a regular part of your overall recruiting and hiring effort.

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