How to Close a Candidate who has multiple offers!

Closing a Candidate with Multiple Offers

“Thank you, but can I have a few days to think about the offer?”

“I’m currently looking at a few other offers at the moment, I’ll get back to you by Wednesday”

Or our personal favorite! A candidate accepting the offer but then calling you back to say they’ve accepted another offer elsewhere!

Sound familiar?

We’ve all faced the pain of losing a promising candidate to another employer. But to be fair, if your candidate is receiving other offers, their skill-set and expertise are definitely validated. So, how do you close a perfect candidate that has multiple offers?

Well here are 4 tips to help you secure and hire any candidate:

1. Always Be Closing!

‘Closing’ a candidate is normally associated with the final stage of the interview process when an offer is made. But is this really where closing should begin? We would argue that closing should begin the first time you meet them and you’ll soon understand why.

Firstly, what do we be mean by closing? Well for starters, we don’t mean offer them the position right away – but rather selling them the brand. How? Brand your company as the employer brand of choice! From the moment a candidate lands on your job ad and career site they are evaluating your brand so make sure that it is beautifully presented to be their brand of choice. 

At every stage, always reiterate the value of working at the company, the benefits, the potential to grow and so on. Even if you aren’t completely sure that you want to hire them just yet, continue to close them throughout the process of hiring. When you do eventually present them with your offer, this puts you on top of their list of offers as they thoroughly understand the value and benefits that your company has to offer.

2. Communication Is Key

Open and honest communication during every stage of the hiring process is another key to closing a candidate. This helps the candidate feel like they will be supported when they begin their role. Make sure you are always ready to answer questions every step of the way. Speedily answering questions allows the candidate to feel secure about any insecurities that they have about the job.

A well developed Applicant Tracking System will allow you to easily stay in communication with your candidate during the interviewing process. Many recruitment software platforms have the functionality of automated personalized email responses and easy interview set up so make sure you’re current ATS has this functionality too.

3. The Candidate Experience

A smooth and enjoyable candidate experience plays a crucial role in the candidate journey. Put yourself in the shoes of a candidate. Is their interviewing and onboarding experience smooth and easy? How easy is your application process across different devices e.g. mobile? Does it meet all their needs? Do you have a smooth interview and on-boarding process set up? Think about it – If a candidate got offered 2 similar roles; one with a smooth paperless onboarding process and another that requires them to print, scan and upload a bunch of paperwork…… Which option do you think they will choose? Learn more about the benefits of paperless on-boarding here.

4. Re-visit Your Hiring Process

Revisit your hiring process – do you really need a 3 step interview process? Or can you gather all the information you need from just 1? A short hiring process decreases the potential of losing your candidate to other employers. Just remember that while you’re taking the time to slowly and carefully consider the qualities of each candidate – they are considering offers from others too. Schedule initial and final interviews close together and as always keep in constant communication with your candidate during this hiring process.

Losing candidates can be painful when you consider the time spent managing, interviewing and analyzing potential candidates. So along with the tips above, make sure your ATS offers easy personalized communication and your recruitment platform offers paperless on-boarding! If not, try a  free applicant tracking system like My Recruitment Plus today!