Greatest challenges

- Have you ever had a candidate ask questions you couldn't answer? There's no faster way to lose credibility than not have an answer. If you want the opportunity to represent this candidate, you must take the time to learn the challenges, career path and selling points of each opportunity that you present. There are issues and challenges in every job and most candidates appreciate knowing what those are before they accept an offer. Candidates are often interviewing with multiple companies and they want to uncover the differentiators between companies and opportunities. You need to be ready to share this information. So before you begin recruiting or interviewing perspective candidates, spend time uncovering the greatest challenges of the opportunities you represent. One of your candidates might lose interest in a position because of the impending challenges while another could view the challenges as opportunities to excel. Preparing your candidate for the challenges up front prevents them from being blind sided and sets them up for success. It also helps improve the retention of the individuals you place which impacts your reputation. Next, take time to understand and share the possible career path of each position. There are interesting differences between candidates of different age groups. For example, millennials list the potential career path as one of their highest priorities. Many of the candidates not only want to know about the current opportunity, they want to know what they can look forward to in the future. Ask your hiring managers to explain the possible career path of each requisition. If you want your hiring managers to take their time to share this information with you, they need to understand how it benefits them. Explain that you are recruiting top talent who are interested in advancement and the potential career path. Of course, when you talk with candidates, it's important not to guarantee advancement because additional responsibility and raises are based on individual performance. However, it's wise to understand the various options that might be available for your candidates when you're asked. There's another advantage to understanding the possible career paths. If your candidate is on the fence when considering a job offer, the potential career path could entice them to accept your opportunity versus other offers they might be considering. Finally, ask your hiring manager for unique selling points. Your candidates want to know more than the basic information they find on the web. If I asked you why should someone be excited about the opportunities that you're representing, could you answer with unique selling points? Your hiring manager can share inside information and success stories that show why someone should be excited about their opportunity. They know what makes them, their company, the job and the team unique. For example, one of our hiring managers occasionally allowed his employees to leave early, but clock out at five o'clock. We were told that this improved attendance, retention and happiness on the job. When he agreed that we could share this information in our recruiting process, it was easy to attract the best candidates. This was a great selling point. Who doesn't want to work in a happy environment? You're judged on your ability to recruit and place the best talent. You will be more successful when you take time to learn the challenges, career path and selling points of each opportunity.