Winning over the candidate you want

At least once, if not multiple times in your professional career, you’ve gone to a job interview before landing the perfect position. You hand-picked the sharpest suit in your closet, researched the company inside out and tracked down the hiring manager on LinkedIn. You did your homework, came prepared, sold your skills and landed the job. Now the tables have turned and you’re the hiring manager. What is expected out of you? What can you do to attract the right candidate? It is just as important for you to sell the job as it is for the candidate to sell themselves.

Here are 12 tips to successfully sell your job to the candidate:

Tip 1: Familiarize yourself with each candidate

Once your human resources department identifies candidates that are qualified for the role, read through each resume and get to know each candidate’s background. This allows you to plan questions around their prior experience and is a great way to get specific about qualities or experiences that may relate to the position you are filling.

Tip 2: Evaluate the job attractiveness

To sell the job think about the following questions: Why would anyone want this job? Why would they want to join this organization? What are the perks? Get the specific on benefits, flexibility, how this person will meet their social needs, discuss self-development plans, resources and where they can see themselves going in the future with the company.

Tip 3: The first impression is the last impression

Just as candidates should always arrive early to ensure they are on time, so should the hiring manager. Making a candidate wait past schedule sets a bad precedent on you and the organization.

Tip 4: Make them feel comfortable and welcome

When you meet the candidate, smile, be professional and treat them the way you would treat your own customers. Start out by offering them a cup of coffee, bottled water or a soda.

Tip 5: Ease into the interview

Start off by sharing the mission statement, values of the company and details of the product. Then discuss the tenured individuals who have made an impact in the organization resulting in their own growth and accomplishments. This gives the candidate a chance to feed off your conversation in order for them to explain why they would be a good fit for the role and company.

Tip 6: Set clear expectations and be candid about the hiring process

Set clear expectations during the interview, what you are looking for and inform the candidate of the hiring process and related next steps.

Tip 7: Involve the team

After selecting top candidates to move further into the process, include high-level individuals who have moved up quickly to join in on the final interviews. Have each person share a specific feel-good story about their experience with the organization and the reason they look forward to going to work every day.

Tip 8: Seal the deal

Take the candidate on a tour of your office, plant or working space to help them visualize themselves in the space. Share the growth plans and strategic initiatives of the organization. Talk about any projects that they might get involved in. The main focus is to get the candidate thrilled about the opportunity to make a direct positive impact. Also, take a few minutes to learn about motivations other than money. Why do they want the role? Try to identify any pain points in their current position and see if it’s something that you can work with.

Tip 9: Follow-up after the interview

Send a thank you note to all candidates for having an interest in your organization. Even if it’s not your top candidate, you want to show appreciation because you never know if an opportunity could open up for them in the future.

Tip 10: Act quickly when making the offer and make it personal

As soon as you and your team decide on extending an offer to your top candidate, act quickly because chances are they are also interviewing elsewhere. You don’t want to lose them and have to repeat the search process. As the hiring manager, call them directly to share the good news and that an offer is forthcoming. This will add a personal touch and allow them to feel comfortable enough to bring up any pain points that the company can help address. Be open to an informal coffee meeting afterwards in case they have additional questions or concerns that were not brought up during the initial interview. This will also give you the opportunity to sell your company one last time and share your excitement for them to join the team.

Tip 11: The offer has been accepted, now what?

Congratulations! You’re offer was accepted and a talented new individual has joined your team. It was the right fit on both ends and they will start in two weeks. Now you have to switch your focus to the onboarding process. Have each person who interviewed them reach out welcoming the new member to the organization. Set up a coffee meeting with team members that were not involved in the interview or provide their LinkedIn profiles. Lastly, be sure they know where they are going by providing a first day agenda.

Selling the job is as important as finding the right candidate

Getting a candidate excited for your job and company is just as important as finding the right candidate. The excitement will result in eagerness to learn, motivation to contribute, and high levels of productivity. There’s a chance of losing the candidate if they don’t feel that they are shown interest by their potential employer. So be prepared, share the good stuff and show the love!

For more information on this topic, or to learn how Baker Tilly specialists can help, contact our team.