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How to make your job offer irresistible

Posted by: sabine-robinson

Recruitment/Hiring

How you offer the job to your new recruit is vitally important. But why?

Surely, finding the right person for the job is key, I hear you say. And it is, but think about it this way: while you might not hesitate to reach for white chocolate as your favourite treat, to someone else a bar of dark chocolate is irresistible. Picture the scenario.

A survey of over 5000 UK workers, has discovered that an astounding 84% of those currently in employment are planning to apply for new roles this year. Many might still be biding their time and are waiting for the right opportunity. Many companies are struggling to fill their vacancies, and competition for those quality candidates is high.

You are one of the lucky small business experiencing growth in the current economic climate and are now looking for a Finance Director. It’s an exciting new opportunity for the right person.

Any hiring process is expensive and time consuming. But you’ve worked hard to streamline your recruitment process. You’ve written the best possible job advert, attracted some quality applicants and conducted successful interviews. You have made your choice and can’t wait to welcome, Sandra, your new recruit. She seemed keen, and had the right fit and experience.

Job done! What could possibly go wrong?

The Finance Director role is extremely important to you. So, you, as CEO of the company, give Sandra a call. You are naturally outgoing, and you very much hope that your excitement spills over. You tell her that you were hugely impressed with her application, that you can’t wait to have her join the company, and that she will be awesome! You ask her if she’d like to take the job.

But your job offer is met with an uncomfortable silence. Sandra then tells you that she’d like some time to think about it. You feel deflated.

Why does your job offer begin to feel like a huge hurdle?

Could all your hard work come to nothing at the last moment? Where did it go wrong?

Maybe Sandra is in the lucky position to have two job offers to consider? On paper they both look the same. They offer the same scope, wage, and benefits. But when Sandra peeled off the layers, your job offer has just started to look at lot more like sickly sweet white chocolate, when dark chocolate is so much more appealing to her.

Sandra is a very formal individual. She is concerned with rules and safeguarding company policies. This is great news as you are hoping to put her in charge of your finances! She is friendly but also needs time for quiet reflection. She needs to think things through.

The enthusiastic verbal way in which you have offered her the job might have felt a little overwhelming to her. Too much noise and perhaps not enough substance.

The hiring manager of the other company also gave Sandra a call. She too told her that she was impressed with her application and expertise, and that she would like to offer her the job.

However, she then promised Sandra that she would follow up the call with an email containing a draft contract, copies of the company policies and a detailed onboarding plan. She arranged to call Sandra back in a couple of days to take her questions and her final decision.

Sandra came off the call smiling. She told her partner that she felt that this company totally got her and that she would love to work for them. Once she had checked the contract!

Make your job offer irresistible 

The average employer spends more than £3000 and 27.5 days to hire a new employee. Don’t risk losing your promising new recruit at the last hurdle and having to start all over again. Offering a job to a new employee in a way that appeals to their core behavioural needs – rather than your own – vastly increases the likelihood of securing your top talent.

For some people, it’s dark chocolate all the way! (Incidentally, 43% of people who snack reach for dark chocolate)

We’d love to hear your own experiences and best practices around offering, or being offered, jobs.

Photo by Vie Studio from Pexels