“Let’s hold off on the offer, I want to meet a few more candidates before making a decision.”
The other day a Hiring Manager called me up to let me know they wanted to hire the first candidate we had presented to them. The catch? They took some extra time to meet other candidates before making a final decision. In the week that passed, our recommended candidate had accepted another job offer and the Hiring Manager was back to square one.
In today’s market, waiting to proceed with a candidate you’re interested in is one of the riskiest hiring strategies. With Canada’s unemployment rate as low as 6 percent in August, candidates are in the driver’s seat as they navigate multiple competing job offers. If you’re a hiring manager, it’s critical that you move quickly with your hiring process if you want to secure top talent.
Ontario, alongside British Columbia and Quebec, have driven up Canada’s job vacancy rate to 3.1 percent over the past year. For employers, this means you’ve likely faced (or will imminently be facing) a huge challenge to find and successfully hire new employees. The fact of the matter is, candidates have lots of options and job offers to pick from, and they won’t stand by and wait for hiring managers to give them the green light.
source: tradingeconomics.com
If you’re serious about filling a role, there are several things you can do to up your chances of securing a great candidate in this red-hot hiring market.
- Make an offer. You can’t place a hold on candidates, and the longer you wait, the better the likelihood your top choice goes off the market. If you like a candidate, hire them ASAP.
- Speed up the process. It’s hard to keep candidates engaged at the best of times, and can become extremely difficult when they have a multitude of offers.
- Commit early. If you meet a candidate that you like and can get the job done, hire them. Taking extra time to look again or meet with other candidates greatly increases the chances of losing the first candidate.
- Work with an expert. Staffing agencies who have a solid understanding of the nuances of your local hiring market can serve as a great advisor and can help you identify the right candidates to hire.
- Be open. When the market is this hot, it helps to be flexible with your hiring criteria and be able to separate your must-haves vs nice-to-haves.
My best advice is to make decisions quickly when it comes to hiring in today’s market. For more peace of mind, I’d suggest working with a staffing agency that specializes in your field (Accounting, Technology, Sales, etc.). Additionally, most reputable agencies include a replacement guarantee as part of their service offering and will provide you with a variety of replacement options if required.
Ready to make your next hire? Email me today at wbanks@procounstaffing.com.
