Is it okay to be excited AND nervous about a new job?

Quite often when an interview process gets close to offer and acceptance, the candidate begins to get just a little nervous.  No matter how excited they are to make a job transition there are always nerves when considering a job change.  That is just human nature as most of us don't like change.

My best advice for a candidate in this situation is to sit down and think about the decision from three different perspectives - the past, the future, and the present.  All three likely play into any decision to make a job change or consider a career move.  Here is how:

The Past - you are shaped by your past regardless of whether it was good, bad, or otherwise.  When considering a job move your recent past probably weighs more on the decision, but I would argue try looking farther back as well.  Don't just base your decision on how well you like your current boss, current company, or current job.  Think back further.  Why did you take your last job?  What were your goals even back to graduating from college?  Have your ideas about your career changed in the past two years, five years, or even twenty years if you are my age?  This thought process and internal Q&A session should help cement in your mind if this particular job opportunity in front of you is the right one to take.

The Future - where do you really hope to be in two years, five years, or twenty years?  And will taking this job help get you there?  Some people are motivated by money.  While others are motivated by work/life balance.  Occasionally people want recognition and are looking to climb the corporate ladder.  Regardless of the reason, if you are making a job change just for a temporary short-term fix, it probably isn't going to last.  And you likely have more reason to be nervous than excited because you are making the decision for the wrong reason(s).

The Present - is your gut telling you this is the right move?  Some people make job decisions with their head while others with their heart.  Neither is necessarily more right, but 100% of the time I tell candidates who are weighing an offer to go with their gut.  There will be advantages and disadvantages that go along with every job change.  Most times you would hope the good outweighs the bad, but maybe it is only 60/40 or 70/30.  When this is the case, however, I would argue your gut is still telling you to make the move.  So do it with excitement, not nervousness, and take the plunge!

The bottom line is that it is always okay to be nervous about a new job.  Heck, I've been in my current role for 12 years, am less than two weeks away from embarking on year number 13, and I still have some nerves about what the future holds.  But if I weren't nervous at all I would probably be stuck in a rut.  Just like the performer that doesn't have some butterflies before a big performance, if you don't care or if it doesn't mean anything to you, there is no reason to be nervous.  It is the important things that really impact our mindset.  Reflect on the past, look forward to the future, and be thankful for the present.  That will give you the big picture every time.

True or False - The Recruiting Process is Complete at Acceptance of an Offer

I used to think this statement was true 100% of the time.  To get to the point where you extend an offer to a candidate you have thoroughly vetted their candidacy, feel there is a good match, and have spent time, money, and resources to confirm the match.  So they're going to gladly accept your offer and always come to work for you, right?  But then a funny thing happened - I had several offers accepted that were subsequently turned down for a variety of reasons.  I actually just had it happen again on Friday, which led me to write this blog post.

Of the multitude of reasons why this statement is false, some are understandable and others are not.  We can, however, learn from all of them.  Here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you are never caught off guard after having a candidate accept an offer:

1)  Ask the candidate directly if upon acceptance they are going to call all other prospective employers they spoke with during their search.  The difficult part about this is that you have to first admit the candidate was talking to other employers.  Some of my clients hope that they are the ONLY company a candidate would consider.  It is a fool's errand, however, to hope for that.  If a candidate is leaving a company (for a good reason or not doesn't matter) then they are likely going to have more than one conversation to find the best long term career move.  Which means them accepting an offer with you does not guarantee they are going to tell all of those other companies they are off the market.  Unless, of course, you ask them to.  We have found that once a candidate does comply with this request it is a great way to confirm their commitment to the offer and subsequent employment.

2)  Ask the candidate directly if they are susceptible to a counter offer from their current company.  I ask that question EVERY time at offer stage and somewhere between 90-95% of people respond to me with something along the lines of, "No, that won't ever happen."  Fill in the blank after that for whatever the reason may be.  Just like the stock market, past performance is no guarantee of future results.  There are a million reasons why this situation could be the exception and a counter offer is difficult to say no to, even when we know the stats show that it seldom works long term.

3)  Keep in touch.  All. The. Time.  There is really no exception to this one.  Oftentimes employers fall into the trap of thinking because an offer was accepted the candidate has no additional questions and is cool as a cucumber.  The reality is that many questions can still be floating around in a candidate's head, but they don't really know who to ask.  And asking too many proverbial questions without any answers can lead to doubt in a candidate's mind.  You don't want even a shred of doubt to creep in.  Find a reason to check in a few days after an offer is accepted.  Check in again a few days before the first day to make certain all forms are completed or ready to complete on the first day.  While you can certainly communicate too much and freak someone out, I have found that it is pretty difficult to do unless you call every day, twice a day, for three weeks leading up to a start date.  I could see how that might be a tad overboard.  But only then!

4)  Check in frequently AFTER a candidate begins employment.  This is where the absolute biggest surprises can come if you are not prepared.  If you were lucky enough to gain acceptance, get the candidate through the resignation process, and have them start, do not for a moment think they are still not susceptible to some doubt.  Maybe they keep in touch informally with an old colleague.  Or perhaps they stay in touch with one of those other prospective employers that didn't have an opening at the time, but wanted to check in occasionally.  Candidates need to be reminded why they made a good decision and be re-assured they are in the right place.  Then when that call comes to try and pry them out, they appreciate it, politely decline the conversation, and start on the path to becoming a really good long term investment.

I spoke recently with a candidate of mine that I placed with a good client about eight years ago.  We still talk today about his decision to join this client and to see if he is still happy with the transition.  Fortunately for everyone his is and has been incredibly successful.  It is never too late to keep asking that question and never assume that the recruitment process is complete at acceptance of an offer.

Have you ever experienced either end of an acceptance turning into a declination?  How did you learn from the experience?

Recruiting Strategy - Building a Pipeline

Google the phrase “Building a Candidate Pipeline” and you’ll get 19,000,000+ results describing oil and gas pipelines. It’s like the discussion about The Keystone XL Pipeline. Both sides argue points related to impact, cost, resources, risks and aesthetics. The analogy works for the topic of proactive recruiting and is the subject of the second installment in Capstone’s Summer Series.  

Having a stable of qualified talent for future positions is low on the priority list compared to sales, marketing and management, yet when its crunch time to fill a position you drop everything. Scrambling to make a hire doesn’t feel good. It costs more money than you set out to spend. Sometimes you have to settle for a candidate that isn’t ideal.

Here are a few ways your company can start building an effective talent acquisition pipeline.

BUILD YESTERDAY FOR WHAT YOU NEED TOMORROW

My team often connects with remarkable candidates for whom we have no immediate opening, but we still spend significant time vetting them for future positions. You should do the same. Get introduced to quality candidates and learn about their skills. It pays dividends in the future.

INTERNALLY ADVERTISE YOUR RECRUITING STRATEGY

Employees are your best bullhorn to the masses. Don’t rely on one person or department to build the entire pipeline. For consistency create advertising using employees from different departments to explain why they like about your firm and their job. Have a formal review on a website like Glassdoor. Incentivize through an employee referral program. Earn a spot on a “Best Company” business list.

TRACK AND ORGANIZE DATA

Avoid paper pipelines. Applicant Tracking Systems are extremely valuable and document candidate information, correspondence and EEOC data. Smaller companies use an Excel spreadsheet or Outlook folder(s) as a substitute. Keep in mind data entry is just an important as the system. Candidate information is useless if you can’t find it in the future.

As always please reach out if you want to explore these ideas further. We’ve learned from our own mistakes and the mistakes of others when building pipelines. I’m happy to share the good and bad to make certain your experience is a positive one!