How to Get Top Candidates to Say Yes to Your Offer

It’s been said that “money makes the world go ‘round.” But in many years of recruiting and speaking to thousands of prospective candidates, we can confidently tell you that for many, money falls lower on the priority list than you might think.

If you are looking to entice your top candidate to say “yes” to your offer, there are non-money motivators to throw into the mix. This is good news for employers as generally, it’s easier to offer candidates other “perks” than it is to increase a base salary.

Here are some of the most effective, non-monetary ways to land your top recruits:

1. Flex Time

This is by far the number one requested perk we hear from candidates every day. This could mean an earlier start time/end time to accommodate a long commute or childcare responsibilities, a partial work-from-home schedule, or a combination of the two. If this is something you can offer, it’s important to set proper expectations from the beginning. This could mean the new hire must be in the office five days a week for the first month of employment while he/she is coming up to speed before moving to the flexible schedule.

2. PTO

Are you able to offer an extra week of paid time off at the manager’s approval? Our culture has become one where working 50+ hours a week is the norm, especially since technology has made it easy to connect to work from anywhere at any time. The ability to take some extra time off to spend with family or to decompress is a big motivator for many candidates.

3. Paid Training

Could you offer your new hire the ability to take some training or certification classes to keep their skills fresh? All candidates want to stay current and marketable, and keeping up with advances in their field of work is a great way to do that.

4. New Projects

Can you enable this hire to take the lead on a new, exciting project of interest? Allowing a candidate to pursue his or her professional interests, even if it’s slightly outside the scope of work, is a great way to not only entice a new hire, but also to keep an employee happy long term.

5. Early Review

Does your company normally perform annual salary reviews? Offering a candidate the opportunity to be reviewed for performance and a salary increase in six months instead of twelve can be a great incentive. This shows the prospective hire that you see a lot of potential and are willing to reward him or her earlier for performance and met objectives.

6. Sign-on Bonus

While this perk is less common now, offering a sign-on bonus can help seal the deal between the salary you can offer and the salary the candidate was hoping for. This can be a good option if you are facing internal equity issues when it comes to salary as it won’t conflict with defined salary grades.

7. Equity

If your company offers equity, adding additional shares to the offer package can be another way of showing candidates you value them and want them on your team.

Of course, every candidate is motivated differently. Find out what’s most important to the standouts early on and start thinking about how you can weave those things into an offer that will get a yes!

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