A True Candidate MUST Meet These 3 Important Criteria

People ask me all the time if there was one most important rule or trick that you would apply to your desk what, would it be?  For me, the answer is SO simple.  It’s this question: “What really makes a good candidate?”

For over 20 years now, I’ve watched what we as recruiters go through every time we start to put a candidate in front of a client—the hours of talking, wheedling, begging, and convincing, all in search of the grand prize known as a placement.

All of it is so unnecessary if you simply understand and define what makes a good candidate.

Remember, a candidate isn’t just someone who has the skills the client requires.  To be a true candidate, that person has to be willing to accept the offer!  This is the part that most recruiters simply want to ignore, and it’s ultimately the cause of way too many sleepless nights.

If you want to end those sleepless nights, enjoy more placements, and put more money in the bank, you need to redefine what makes a good candidate.

To be a TRUE candidate, the person you intend to submit MUST meet these three criteria simultaneously:

1. They must have at least 85%+ of the skills the client requires.  (Think of it this way: list the top six things the client has asked for and your candidate better be solid in at least five of them.)
2. The money the candidate wants is within the salary range the client has given.  (I know clients sometimes have wiggle room when it comes to salary ranges, but the reality is that it’s not nearly as much as we think.  Use this as your guide: if your candidate wants more than $3,000 over the high end of the range, your candidate wants too much.)
3. The candidate must be motivated to accept the position by one major factor OTHER than money.  If making more money is this candidate’s prime motivator, they will accept a counter-offer!

Take a look at the last couple of deals that fell apart for you.  Did the candidates pull out at the final interview or turn down the offer?  If you honestly analyze what they were saying before you submitted them, I’ll bet ALL of them didn’t meet at least one of these criteria.

Try using these three criteria for every candidate you submit, and you’ll see two things happen.

First, you’ll be submitting fewer candidates because finding candidates who meet these criteria is more difficult than simply finding someone who has most of the skills for which the client has asked.

The second thing you’ll see happen is that you WILL absolutely make more placements!

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Greg Doersching is managing partner and founder of The Griffin Search Group, a national search firm working in the direct hire placement industry.  Recognized as one of the most cutting-edge voices in recruiting, Doersching has presented training sessions for the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS); the American Staffing Association (ASA); and the Association of Canadian Search, Employment, and Staffing Services.