Recruitment Closing Strategy: Why Closing Starts at the Beginning

When people talk about closing a candidate, they tend to think about the end of the process. The final interview is done. An offer is on the table. Now you need to get them to say yes. For us, if you try and do it at the end, you’re already too late.

Closing starts at the beginning.

You need credibility, not just rapport

You build your credibility throughout the process. And when people talk about building a relationship, they often think it means asking what someone does at the weekend or getting to know them personally.

When actually, that doesn’t really matter.

“No one has ever taken a job because someone’s nice to them.”

People take the job because you’re able to hold up a mirror and say: you said this, you said this, this is inconsistent with that. I think you mean this. What do you think?

That’s about becoming a trusted advisor.

And you can’t become a trusted advisor at the last minute. You have to become a trusted advisor at the start.

That’s an important part of our process at Barrington James. We’re not just finding someone whose experience matches a brief and moving them through interviews. We’re trying to understand what they actually want, why they might leave and whether the opportunity in front of them gives them that.

The trigger isn't always the root cause

Someone might initially tell you they want to leave because of compensation. But by the end of the process, they might take another job for exactly the same money.

“The trigger is not always the root cause.”

There’s rarely one thing. It’s normally a combination of smaller things, and what matters to someone will change depending on where they are in their career and their life.

That’s why we ask the hard questions.

What do you enjoy about your job? What don’t you enjoy? What do you actually want next? How urgently do you want it? Is it important enough for you to leave your current position?

Sometimes what somebody thinks is their biggest motivator at the beginning of a conversation turns out to be something completely different once you challenge it and talk it through with them.

For our clients, that matters.

By the time we introduce someone, we want to understand more than whether they can do the job. We want to know why they would take it, what might stop them taking it and whether it genuinely makes sense for them.

Have the difficult conversations early

Think about when people normally speak to their family or friends about a job they’re considering. Usually, it’s right at the last minute.

They get an offer and then say: “I’ve got this offer from another company. What do you think?”

Why are we doing that then?

From the moment someone interviews, ask people in your network about the role and the company. 

• Ask your family. 
• Ask your network. 
• Ask your mentors 
• Who’s your old boss? What do they think about that company?
• Who do you trust in your industry that you could speak to? 
• Ask them what questions you should be asking and what you should know about the business.

By the end of the process, the candidate has had all of those conversations.

That’s why we start these conversations from the beginning, so candidates can bring everything to the table while there’s still time to properly talk it through rather than raising issues when they’re only a couple of days away from making a decision.

By offer stage, closing shouldn't feel like closing

If you’ve signposted the process properly from the beginning, closing at the end isn’t really closing anymore.

It becomes: What is the best decision for you, and how do we navigate what the decision is?

This is my advice. These are your options. We’ve discussed this option and, based on what you’ve told me, I don’t think it’s right. This one could be an option, but you’ve already told me X, Y and Z.

Is there anything different? Have I missed anything?

You talk it all through.

That’s why, for us, it’s not about convincing. It’s about advising.

And ultimately, that process is just as important for the client as it is for the candidate.

Because the aim isn’t simply to get someone to accept an offer. It’s to make sure that when our client makes that offer, it’s going to someone who has properly thought through the opportunity, understands why they want it and is making the move for the right reasons.

The right hire doesn’t start with the offer. It starts with the first conversation.

Read the full Global Life Sciences Workforce Outlook

This is just one of the conversations shaping hiring across life sciences.

For more insight on why people leave, why they stay, what candidates really value and how businesses can attract, hire and retain the right people, download the full Global Life Sciences Workforce Outlook.