BEEN STUNG BY THE “TAKE ANYTHING” APPLICANT YET?
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. It happens to the best of us…
‘Take Anything’ candidates are ready to join your business, sometimes with the best intentions of making a go of it, but mostly through desperation. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have heard the words
“I have started a new role but I am interested to hear of anything else you might have”
in the last year. And unfortunately this kind of attitude will not just throw your attrition rates into disarray but it will waste your time recruiting, onboarding, training AND re-recruiting when something better comes along for them.
The ultimate goal is to fill the position with someone who not only envisions him- or herself working at your company for many years to come (and who would succeed in the role), but someone who will also be happy doing so.
So how can we tell the difference between a ‘take anything’ applicant and a genuine one?
Here are 3 tell-tale signs and what you can do about them:
Sign # 1
They are extremely flexible on salary – Maybe they truly are motivated by other factors, but when you dig deeper to find that they are taking a $20, 30 or sometimes even $50K drop, you need to be questioning whether they’ll stay with you when something better comes along.
Tip # 1
The key this is knowing the benchmark. For someone working at their level in that job, what should they have been earning. Either ask for this if it is appropriate, or get advice from the market. We always suggest having the salary conversation before interview. Ask for their expectations. If they give you a large range, don’t just accept it, probe further. You might find someone lowers their guide when you tell them what you’re paying, which is fine for a $10-15K (everyone tries it on a bit) but if it’s more, ask for reasons why.
Sign # 2
They are vague about what they want long term, or even why they want this job. Really? If you’re really engaged with the business, the industry or the job, you know what those reasons are. But if you’re ready to take anything to fill a gap, it’s harder to be convincing.
Tip # 2
Ideally, you want to employ someone who’s genuinely passionate about the role, not just about getting a new job in general. Make sure some of your questions give the candidate an opportunity to show their enthusiasm for your business and the role (don’t just fact-check)…
“What part of the role excites you the most?”
“When would you hope to start with us?”
“What motivates you right now?”
Sign # 3
When you ask that all important pièce de résistance: “Have you got any questions for us?” You get nothing! “No, I think you’ve covered everything” or “what are the hours?”. To make one of the biggest decisions in life, you can’t get all the information you need from a job advertisement and a JD, or even a 60 minute interview. Questions are inevitable, so if it is a one way street and you are doing all the asking, beware!
Tip # 3
There’s a reason why we always advise you to end with this question. A candidate who’s passionate and committed to taking on the role will already have a bank of sincere and investigative questions ready for you.
They’re likely to ask questions that reveal how well they’d fit into the position, the team and the culture and will attempt to find out more about the depths of the business. (As opposed to someone who asks about holidays, hours and pay.)
More importantly, the passionate candidate will be able to expand and adapt their questions, improvising as fresh topics naturally arise and you’ll be able to check their reaction every step of the way!
Now remember, as a 3rd party, we can uncover these insights before you waste time on interviews, and we can also direct these applicants to something that is going to work for them in the long term, which is probably not your business. Read here how we helped Varian find the right match after an unsuccessful direct recruitment campaign.
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