What is influencing a candidate’s decision making while accepting an offer ?
Whenever there is an economic downturn most organizations large and small quickly resort to employee layoffs in the effort to reduce over head costs which results in a spike in job losses and increasing unemployment rates.
In such times, it is quite easy to assume that the job market is more employer driven rather than employee driven.
Early last year, the impact of Covid-19 became visible with widespread retrenchment and companies freezing any new hiring.
It became obvious that there was a surplus of talent in the market and with the imposition of lockdowns and most airports closed (to contain the spread of the pandemic) it meant that if an employer wanted to hire, it had to recruit candidates locally available.
Due to travel restrictions, candidates were left with no option but to settle with what was available within the country which was limited.
This inevitably gave employers more power to negotiate compensations and hire talent even at salaries as low as 40% below market standards.
Is the job market employer driven ?
The answer is yes and no. It is employer driven under current circumstances given the above mentioned scenarios but it isn’t for exceptional talent and for certain rare and niche skills.
Employers will still hire candidates at full rate if they need to particularly recruit specialized skills or leadership positions that require exceptional talent for outstanding business turn arounds in times such as this.
Then comes the question of candidates’ decision making when an offer is rolled out.
Though almost all markets have been hit due to the current crisis and various other socio/economic factors exist, candidates are still exploring opportunities outside of their comfort zone partly due to the fact that a number of businesses are in turmoil and their respective workplaces are no longer stable.
Furthermore, the introduction of several new restrictions , regulations and laws being implemented across the region has resulted in widespread sifting of talent where long serving employees who have been in positions for over 10-15 years are being shuffled.
Once the offer is on the table, you would assume that a candidate looking to move or wanting to be employed would accept the offer straight away but this really is not the case.
Even long before the pandemic or the economic crisis, many other factors including families, spouse, work environment and market standing of the employer have played a significant role in influencing a candidate’s decision to accept or turn down offers.
Given the current situation, I would say that none of these factors are absent just because there seems to be plenty of desperate candidates seeking employment.
I would like to propose to you that skepticism and hesitancy have increased in these times when it comes to relocation of workforces with several apprehensions surrounding a candidate’s decision to move.
It will require double the effort and convincing to persuade or attract good talent into a new position.
It’s time that employers see beyond the obvious and employ new strategies to attract and hire exceptional talent. The question always remains : are you looking to just fill the position with someone who can do the job or are you interested to recruit exceptional candidates who will truly make a remarkable difference to your organization?
As the saying goes “great companies are built upon great people” and the opposite is true if you hire mediocre people.
Let me know what you think about this content , more to follow on this topic…