Getting Candidates to Accept Job Offers

The “Great Resignation” has been one of the hottest topics in the Recruiting world for 2 years now. March 2022 saw another record number of people quitting their jobs in the US, with the US Labor Department reporting 4.54 Million quits. On the flip side, March 2022 also saw a record number of employment openings (11.55 Million).These two statistics are expected to continue going in opposite directions throughout the rest of 2022, leading many to call the next phase of the pandemic’s impact on talent acquisition “the Great Rehire”.

As companies across the country look to quickly fill their openings, worker confidence in finding new jobs is at an all-time high. 35% of job seekers believing it will be easier to find a new position this year than it was last year, and they know they have a lot of options.

So how can employers make themselves stand out to the top candidates in the market and secure the most in-demand talent? Here are the top 4 tips for getting candidates to say yes to your job offer.

1) Meet Overall Compensation Expectations

Brunel’s own Energy Outlook Report found that salary was the #1 factor employees in the Energy Industry consider when seeking new roles as well as being the #1 reason workers are planning to exit the Energy Industry. Additionally, Employ Inc.'s 2022 Job Seeker Nation Report found that compensation was the top reason given for candidates declining job offers in the past 12 months (38%). This applies to the total compensation package (including benefits), not just salary.

There has been a steady increase in workers’ comfort with negotiating salaries (up 19 percentage points since 2018), so it is important to have clear compensation ranges/expectations established before you get to the offer stage. By avoiding surprises you’re much more likely to get that coveted “yes” from your top candidates.

2) Improve the Candidate Experience

Greenhouse found in their reporting that 84% of respondents were looking for/open to a new job in the next six months; however, 60% of those job seekers were “unimpressed by time-consuming recruitment processes”. Other surveys have found that some 58% of job seekers have declined a job offer because of a poor experience in the hiring process. So it’s crucial that your talent acquisition strategy emphasizes improving the candidate experience from beginning to end for all candidates in order to ensure success.

Some of the most important pain points of the job seeking process that candidates want addressed, according to Employ Inc., include:

• Making interviews easier to schedule (52%)
• Making job applications easier to complete (51%)
• Improving communication and shortening feedback/follow-up time (47%)

3) Create a Flexible Workplace for Work-Life Balance

Flexibility is more important to job candidates than ever these days, especially the Gen Z employees beginning their careers. Gen Z engagement with company LinkedIn posts increases by 77% when those posts mention flexibility. But it doesn’t stop there, LinkedIn found that work-life balance was actually the top priority for the professionals seeking a new job (63%) above compensation and benefits (60%).

Bankrate found something similar, reporting that 55% of job seekers they surveyed said flexible working and/or remote work are more important to them now than before the pandemic.

With this in mind, it’s essential that your company finds ways to offer flexibility and work-life balance on par with/exceeding the top employers in your industry. Then you should make sure that flexibility is emphasized to candidates in the hiring process.

4) Demonstrate a Clear Development Plan

As Rhett Power put it in his Forbes article earlier this week, “many people have realized that life’s too short to stay in jobs that aren’t fulfilling, especially when staying doesn’t allow them to grow. An increasing number of employees now want future-oriented job opportunities…”

This sentiment is backed up by our industry research as well. Our Energy Outlook Report found that the second most important factor for Energy Industry workers when considering a new role was career advancement opportunities (50%) behind only salary. In addition, LinkedIn found that professional development opportunities were the top area employees want to see their employers invest in company culture.

For your company to get the top talent in the door and to retain them long term, your company is going to need to establish a robust Learning & Development plan that invests in employees and offers them clear opportunities for professional and personal growth.