The candidate is happy. They get a call from a recruiter. Why should they be open minded enough to have a conversation? Well, there are many advantages to discussing an opportunity even when they’re content where they are. Hopefully, this article gives you some insight on why it makes good career sense for the prospective candidate to be a little more open-minded when they get a recruiting call.
Yes, it’s information you already know. I wrote it so you can forward it to the prospect!
First of all, there is no better time for someone to evaluate an opportunity and company with a clear mind without any negative, outside influences or external pressures. The worst time to go to the grocery store is when you’re hungry. You’re more likely to buy food that you know is not in your best long-term interests.
It’s no different when it comes to only talking to recruiters when they’re actively looking for a new job. Opportunities will appear to be more appealing than they really are when you’re currently unsatisfied in your position or company. When an individual looks into an opportunity when they’re happy, they can vividly see how the opportunity would positively or negatively impact their career since they’re not trying to fill a void. An employee is more likely to settle for a lesser position when they’re unhappy than they would have if they were content.
Life is better as recruited candidate opposed to a job applicant. Why? Because they have the leverage when they’re being recruited and referred by a recruiter. When someone “applies” for a position, the company is screening and qualifying them since they’re the one looking for a job. When that same person is “recruited,” they are investigating and qualifying the company and opportunity to determine whether or not it will help them grow professionally. The tables are turned. Since they’re happy where they are, if the opportunity doesn’t provide career growth, they have the leverage of staying where they are. When they’re unhappy or looking, they’re running away from their current situation and more desperate to make a change so the company they are applying to has the leverage.
Even if the opportunity doesn’t entice them enough to move forward, in today’s corporate world, the only job security they have is the security they give themselves. If they don’t look out for their own career, no one else is going to do it for them. Dig the well before you’re thirsty. Having a connection with a recruiter who knows them, their background, and career aspirations is one way to do that.
If they’re happy, then they’re probably performing well in their role and hopefully their company is taking good care of them. There is no other time in their career when they’re more marketable. This is the best time in their career to take their successes and accomplishments to test what they’re worth to another organization, whether that means a more challenging role, a faster-growing company, or exposure to a new industry.
The best time for professionals to keep their options open is when they’re satisfied in their current role and company. They don’t have to consider the recruiter’s opportunity unless it meets the criteria that they set, not the other way around. There is no other way to learn as much about an opportunity without officially interviewing with a company itself other than learning about it from a recruiter on an exploratory and confidential basis. Actively looking for a job can be a full-time job itself. It can also be also be very stressful. People who get ahead don’t wait until there is something that they don’t like in their current role to have an open mind. They are proactive and keep their options open.
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