Selling An Opportunity

People are leaving organizations for all kinds of reasons, and it is a challenge to find replacements.

When it comes to recruiting, hiring managers and recruiters must do a good job of selling their organization to candidates. Unfortunately, selling your open position and your organization frequently gets overlooked in the recruiting process.

There is a lot of competition for talent these days. In the interview process, the candidate is primed to “sell” themselves to you. They want you to know all about them and share why they are the perfect person to fill the opening on your team.

That’s great, and you certainly want to ask good questions and listen carefully to their responses. This is the part of the interview where you get information that you can use to make a hiring decision.

But don’t forget that there is another part of the interview where you “sell” the opportunity and the organization—where you give information.  Candidates today want to know about your organization and its culture. They want to know:

• how you measure success, and how your reward your staff members.

• why you joined the organization and what keeps you there.

• what growth plans you have.

• what challenges your organization faces and how you plan to overcome them.

Candidates want to be “sold” on the opportunity to come to work for you.

Go into an interview thinking about what the candidate needs to know about you, your team, and your organization. Review the mission, vision, and values of your organization so you can talk about them during the interview. Share how you keep your values alive, assuming you do so.

Before an interview, think about what you like about your organization and your job. Candidates can easily spot an insincere answer. So, if you aren’t happy yourself, how will you be able to convince someone that they should join you?

Finally, talk about the benefits and perks you offer. You don’t need to know the intricate details of your benefit plans, but be able to sell the great things your organization does for its people. For example, you’re great at providing work/life balance, so share examples of how your make that a part of your culture.

Doing an excellent job of selling the opportunity means being familiar with a candidate before the interview. Spend time reviewing their resume and LinkedIn profile to get a sense of who they are so you can tailor your questions and comments to them.

Bottom line—don’t overlook that hiring managers and recruiters must sell the opportunity to the candidate who is selling themselves to you. Prepare for the interview and see if your acceptance rate increases. Good luck.