Wednesday Wisdom: Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do

Dear Claudia,

I placed a Director with a new client less than a year ago. It was a classic case of headhunting a passive candidate away from the competition, and before we were done there was a messy counter-offer and some hard feelings on the part of the old boss. Since I stay in touch with all of my candidates, I wasn’t surprised to get an invite to lunch this week from this new Director; I was surprised to learn that the sale of her division is about to be announced – and the buyer is her old employer. She was nervous about leaving her old job to begin with, and rumor has it that her old boss isn’t over it yet – so she’s concerned about what will happen next. What advice would you give the candidate under these circumstances?

Middle Man

Dear Middle Man,

It’s hard not to see the handwriting on the wall for this candidate: new boss (sort of), old score (for the boss, anyway), and a candidate who was nervous before the last showdown (but at least in control of her destiny). Now it seems that the pendulum has swung the other way, and the right of refusal has shifted back to the boss. I smell another job change in the air for your candidate, my friend – and the kindest thing you can do as a recruiter is to speak the truth to her about it, and lend a hand to connect her with a new job.

Speaking of the truth, you might also consider your own role in this mess. If I understand you correctly, this passive candidate was nervous about leaving her former employer and vascilated in the counter offer. My take? You saw a fee instead of a person and put your own interests ahead of hers on the way to the bank. Your reluctant bride had some inner conflict about loyalty to her employer vs. opportunity for herself, and you didn’t explore it with her. So the truth was that she hadn’t made the emotional decision yet to leave her former employer, and you influenced her to act before she was ready. No wonder she’s nervous about the situation at hand: she’s dealing with issues that should have been put to rest before she started her new job, and they're a year older and uglier now for having hidden in the back of the closet. No, my friend – I’d say you hold a lot of responsibility for the situation she’s in today.

In every life-changing decision there are three body parts that must be aligned:

The heart, where we give ourselves permission to change; the head, where we figure out the logistics; and the feet, where we carry out the intentions of the heart and mind. If any of those three aren’t committed and involved, the change won’t stick.

After you've been a recruiter for a while, it's easy to put deals together; the harder part is knowing when to say "no" to someone who hasn't committed. And since recruiters are the brokers of major life changes, it’s imperative that we poke hard at fear, which is often disguised as nervousness, concern, bravado, or even delay.

I think you have some ‘splaining to do – and another placement to make for this candidate. But this time, I suggest that you watch and listen more carefully to the language of commitment.

**

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on June 3, 2009 at 9:31am

Sorry Claudia - I'm gonna disagree. Counter offers have been labled "The Road to Career Ruin" in the past and it still holds true today.

If recruiters were to throw their hands up in surrender each time a candidate got a little uneasy during what in many cases is a hugely traumatic time in their career - where would we be? Our job is to help these folks through the self-doubt and mental fatigue of "finally" leaving a position they should have left long before..........

This recruiter (from the limited info we have) did nothing wrong or inappropriate in my view. It is what we do, isn't it? If these things just "naturally/painlessly" came together - they wouldn't be paying us $20,000 to just "hang out - in the middle" would they? No. We make big bucks - or should - because we help make hires happen.

"After you've been a recruiter for a while - it's easy to put deals together."

Easy? .......Really?

Might be "easy" to put one or two together a year. Sure it is. But to excel in this world is anything BUT easy. My first mentor use to remind us frequently "This is the lowest paying "easy" work and the highest paying "hard" work in any career field. Sales. That's what this is. It's sales. Not social work.

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Faust on June 3, 2009 at 10:15am

That's ok Jerry, but I think you missed my point.

The issue wasn't the counter offer; it was the rush to making a deal when there were still unexplored issues on the table for the candidate. A year later those issues are still there: am I disloyal? am I selfish? what does this choice say about my values? For some candidates the pain isn't found in their inability to push through the glass ceiling; it is tied to self-confidence (I've found this more true of candidates stepping into their first Director level role than any other).

You indicated that it is the recruiter's role to help the candidate through the transition. I agree, and think that in this case the recruiter (as the middle man) should have poked harder to explore this inner conflict with the candidate before the offer was even on the table. This lady needed to come to one of two conclusions: either "I want this job so bad because it is the next step in building my career," or "I'm not ready to leave my current employer because I haven't explored all of my options there yet." Either would have been a good choice; it is the recruiter's job to ask the hard questions that move the process to conclusion.

Regarding how easy it is to make a deal, I think you said it better than I did - but we're both a little bit right. We don't get paid because it is easy. But after you've been down the path a few times you begin to recognize the mile markers: interest, commitment, negotiation, close. If that progression were a mountain, commitment would be the high point, and everything that comes after commitment follows the laws of gravity. My point was that it is sometimes harder for a seasoned recruiter to stop a deal when the signs of commitment aren't there, or are very sketchy, and we know we have the ability to influence the candidate to accept. So what is the right thing to do?

Jerry Albright said:

Sorry Claudia - I'm gonna disagree...

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Permalink Reply by Steve Levy on June 3, 2009 at 11:26am

Ah nothing quite like your best friend getting a divorce - which you pushed for - and now this person is dating your ex.

As the World Turns...

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on June 3, 2009 at 11:54am

Dear Claudia,

Please post the "other" letter you must be getting this great insight from. All I see is this person recruited someone (passive, active, agressive - whatever) and then there was a counter offer which was turned down.

I'm not seeing the:

"rush to make a deal"
"unexplored issues which are still there a year later"
"disloyalty"
"values"

I enjoy these discussions but in this one - you're reading far more into it than the words I see in front of me. So the candidate said no to a counter offer. Now the old company is buying the place she went to work.

The real question is this - is she any good?

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Goldman on June 3, 2009 at 12:11pm

Your own role in this mess? What mess?

My job is to hold a candidate's hand through the process, and if a candidate isn't sitting on the fence at some time during the process, I'm working with someone that nobody wants.

This is life. THe candidate may feel uneasy about the merger, but guess what? Everyone is uneasy. And the biggest, uneasiest situation of them all is the boss's situation. He/she may be let go, management duplication and all that.

This candidate needs a little hand holding through the stress. Nobody needs to explain anything. Except the facts of life.

It's about filling jobs an collecting fees. Everyond is scared, if I froze, or stopped closing people who are uncomfortable about the move, I'd starve. I'm paid to bring the candidate to the table, and close the deal. The candidate's uneasiness is just what I deal with on a daily basis.

This article would scare the 'you know what' out of new recruiters. Recruiting is for the brave, not the people who stand on the sidelines and second guess.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Ceccarelli on June 3, 2009 at 1:19pm

It's common knowledge and the facts are well publicized out in the market that when an employee accepts a counter offer from their current employer and stays, they are typically gone within a year. 90+% are NOT there one year later. And the reason? Because they were ready to leave but money clouded their original intent and motivation to make the move. Or.......the employer stopped trusting them (and the trust issue was most likely always in the background but never brought out into the open until the resignation/counter offer happened) and when that happens it's fairly simple to performance manage someone out of your organization.

So the moral of the story is this. If someone accepts a new job offer, tenders their resignation, and then accepts the counter offer to stay, they never wanted to leave in the first place. But if they did leave (as is the case in this situation), and made the move, they ended up doing what was right for them and at the end of the day we are not social workers. I believe as we grow and mature as recruiters we read the cues all through out the process, but we can't ever be held responsible for someones choice to refuse the counter offer or take the counter offer and then as is the case here, deal with the consequences (odd as they are in this one) down the road. I wouldn't feel obligated to re-place someone who was afraid of retaliation because their fear was most likely there with the old boss and most likely one of the reasons they chose to leave in the first place. Just a hunch, but there is always more to the story than what one tells us from the candidates side of the fence.

Most people make job changes for leadership distrust, or boss issues AND then money is somewhere down the list somewhere, but rarely is it ever the number one motivating reason to leave your current job. So in this case, this person needs to throw caution to the wind, work at peak performance and let the chips fall where they may. End of story!

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Faust on June 3, 2009 at 1:40pm

ROFL :)) Guys, we're on the same page about counter offers! But here's the thing: it never should have gone to offer until all of the issues and objections were addressed. If that had been done well, a counter offer never would have happened because an offer would not have been extended in the first place.

When candidates show tentative behavior in the interview process (especially those who weren't looking before you came along), I think it's the job of the recruiter to explore the issues and put them to rest. Offers extended to people with unresolved issues become another problem for your client: turnover.

In this situation, there was no turnover. It sounds like the candidate transitioned well, and yes I'm reading between the lines. But here we are, a year down the road, and this candidate is once again facing not just her boss, but her concerns about the decision in the first place. And I think the recruiter could have done a better job of putting those concerns to rest BEFORE the offer was extended.

Just my .02

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Faust on June 3, 2009 at 1:46pm

Agreed, agreed, agreed!!!

Peter Ceccarelli said:

So in this case, this person needs to throw caution to the wind, work at peak performance and let the chips fall where they may. End of story!

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Faust on June 3, 2009 at 1:53pm

Aren't offers supposed to go to real candidates? I mean the kind that are ready, willing, and able to do the job? A candidate who hasn't fully committed isn't ready for an offer yet - and it's the recruiter's job to sort that out. Up front.

Rayanne said:

What problem is this of the recruiter?

Claudia Faust said:
ROFL :)) Guys, we're on the same page about counter offers! But here's the thing: it never should have gone to offer until all of the issues and objections were addressed. If that had been done well, a counter offer never would have happened because an offer would not have been extended in the first place.

When candidates show tentative behavior in the interview process (especially those who weren't looking before you came along), I think it's the job of the recruiter to explore the issues and put them to rest. Offers extended to people with unresolved issues become another problem for your client: turnover.

In this situation, there was no turnover. It sounds like the candidate transitioned well, and yes I'm reading between the lines. But here we are, a year down the road, and this candidate is once again facing not just her boss, but her concerns about the decision in the first place. And I think the recruiter could have done a better job of putting those concerns to rest BEFORE the offer was extended.

Just my .02

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Permalink Reply by Claudia Faust on June 3, 2009 at 1:54pm

Sandra, this is the best of all possible advice for the candidate I think -- once again, you've nailed it! :))

Sandra McCartt said:

If this director was happy in the new job until she found out the company was being purchased by her old boss the only thing to do when the old boss takes over is to walk in and say, "It really is a perfect world, i was torn about taking this job and leaving you, as you know. " "Now i can have the perfect world, the job i took and working for you again."

Then get the resume up to date and hope for the best.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on June 3, 2009 at 2:10pm

Claudia - again I request that you post the letter YOU are reading. The one you've shown to us is leaving out all these details you seem to have in your back pocket......

How are you determining that "all of the issuses and objections" were not addressed?

We must see this in 2 very different ways. To me - the candidate who has "no concern at all and is all about accepting the postion no matter what" is the one who is going to bail out. They are not in the same reality plane as you are. They know they aren't going anywhere - so they're not going to have a real life discussion with you. The candidate who DOES have concerns to look into, issues to explore - THAT is the candidate who is REALLY thinking about this change.

So you're looking for the exact OPPOSITE scenario than my instincts have always guided me towards.

If my candidate has concerns, questions and real life "fear of the unknown" then I know this person is REALLY in this with me. (As much as the recruiter can be "in it")

The candidate who never brings up a concern or objection is going to bail almost always. The phrase "too good to be true" never rings more true than in the "easy placement" we all dream of......

So please Claudia - give us the real letter.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Tidwell on June 3, 2009 at 2:23pm

The candidate left her old position for a better opportunity. She would know the reasons why she left and this is where her concerns can be addressed. I'm going out on a limb here but it wasn't for the money.

The old boss recognized her value to the company any did the right thing to counter and try to save his talented Director. Usually these counter offers don't last long without other changes addressing her reasons for leaving. This old boss knows that during the acquisition and the integration of the two divisions/companies that she could be a tremendous value. The rumor that the old boss isn't over it doesn't play very loud for me.

My recommendation is to remind her of her value and put her back in control. She should embrace the change and work towards a successful integration. She should continue to evaluate those reasons why she left the old company and communicate openly with the old boss.

So as a recruiter, you now have a passive but potentially motivated candidate that will evaluate a good opportunity. I would hold her hand. It's good business. Take her to lunch and make sure she eats right too! In the future she may be paying the recruiting fees...you never know.