You sense that the candidate may be interested in the opportunity. He seems to be a fit, and in the course of uncovering a possible motive to move, you feel he is extremely open to looking at your client’s position. But when you ask him to send you a resume, he says, “Well, under normal circumstances I would want to interview there, but I think that I’m going to wait until things get better with the economy.”

How do you overcome that objection? He has a point, right? Can you really overcome this? Is there anything you can say to show the candidate that he should interview with your client right away?

Follow this four-part process to overcome candidate concerns about the recession and move them forward in the placement process. In fact, I’ve even provided you some word for word verbiage that you can use starting today:

1. Ask them why they are saying that. Say, “There’s a reason why you are saying that, John. Would you mind sharing with me what that is?” They’ll tell you that they don’t want to leave and jeopardize their career if the economy gets worse. So the first thing is to probe.

2. You want to establish the fact that it is security which is the issue, not the economy or the recession. You want to ask them questions so that you lead them to this core issue. “So what you are telling me, Joe, is that you really want security, is that right?” They will respond affirmatively.

3. Ask them a ‘yes leading question’. (If you look on my blog, you’ll see a recent post on little ‘yes leading questions’.) Then ask them, “Do you think there is a possibility that there could be something out there that would offer even more security than your current situation?” They’ll say, “Yeah, probably.”

4. Then present your case and move it forward. Then say, “Then that’s exactly why you and I should be talking right now.” When they ask what you mean, say, “Because the very fact that I am calling you is the best indicator of a company’s security. If a company is looking to hire right now, that means they’re growing. And the fact that they are hiring a search firm to conduct the search means that they’ll make an investment in that candidate. And that means there’s a financial commitment to growth. Does that make sense to you, Joe?”

By asking questions, which are closed ended questions, you are leading them forward. Closed ended questions are binary, either yes or no. They are a tool that you can use to move people forward. (Open ended questions are based on the model of W5H and are used to investigate. Who, what, when, where, why and how. You use those in your exploratory conversations with candidates and clients, such as “Why do you feel that way?” and “How is this affecting your career?”) . Remember, use ‘little yesses’ to move candidates forward and allay their fears about making a move.

Copyright © 2009 Scott Love

Scott Love improves recruiter performance by teaching a system of big billing success so that average people can achieve above average production. Nearly 2,500 search firms and staffing agencies from sixteen countries have invested in themselves through his training tools and online programs. Visit his online recruiter training center for free audio downloads, free videos, training tools, quizzes, instruments, and articles at www.GreatRecruiterTraining.com