I remember dating.  Sometimes it was fun, and other times I think I remember feeling like I would rather be locked in my room than to be on that date.  Usually I knew pretty quickly if there was chemistry or a match.  I can’t imagine doing it again.  I am so grateful to be married- I can’t even tell you.

When I was dating, I remember saying and being told “I think we should date other people”.  It sucked.  Sometimes I felt like everything was “perfect”.  I felt like we were made for one another.  The person dating me didn’t feel that way AT ALL.

You know what I am saying right?  You have been there?

Of course you have been there.

See, the fact is they were “just not that into me” or  I wasn’t into them.  There was something missing.  It wasn’t their fault or mine, but there wasn’t interest in moving forward with one another.

Last year, I saw quite a few people (and more than in years prior) who were telling employers “No”.  Call it a great economy.  Call it the candidate’s revenge.  Call it egos.  Call it entitlement.  I don’t care what you call it.  It happened.

Companies are hiring like crazy.  It has been this way for a number of years, but there aren’t any signs of it slowing down anytime soon.  Candidates are getting poached by every Tom, Dick, and Harry recruiter out there.  Yep, candidates are feeling indestructible.

I don’t blame them.  Sometimes I feel like we almost need a recession to reel back in reality.

Let me say this. In 2018, companies that are going to have successful recruiting efforts are going to have 5 things:

  1. a good product
  2. a good reputation in the marketplace
  3. good leadership
  4. good pay (at market or above)
  5. good culture & work life balance

Seems simple right?  Well, it is not.  If you can’t offer those 5 basic and simple things, you are going to get your ass kicked by the competition.

See, through the interview process, companies are getting rejected by candidates as often or more than companies are rejecting THEM.  Why is this happening do you ask?

The answer is simple.  They are JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU.  They have other opportunities that are more intriguing.  They have another company that offers them the 5 things that YOU DO NOT.

If you are having a hard time getting this, go back to the dating analogy because at it’s core- that is what is happening.

If you are having cancelled interviews, difficulty filling roles, candidates saying “No” after an interview process, then you may want to look at what your company is doing and make a few changes.

You will need to be different and spectacular to win the best of the best this year.

It can happen.  Look at your leadership, pay, company reviews and make sure you can answer objections because these will be the determining factors for the candidates to finally say “YES” to the hire you have been trying to make.