Getting a candidate to sign is also an art. I’ve outlined the process as I’ve run it at a recent role, which I’ve found fairly successful.

Selling never really stops

  • Selling starts at the beginning, since the candidate is evaluating you at every step.
  • The offer stage is where that work pays off. By now you’ve ideally learned what the candidate is indexing on, and you can lean into the qualities that matter to them.

The closing stages

  • Recruiter conversation. Provide feedback on the interviews, ask for references and express enthusiasm.
  • Reference calls. The hiring manager reaches out. Ensure the resume is correct, look for tepid referrals, and look for possible new red flags (growth areas) that didn’t surface in the interviews. Get a sense of how you can help the candidate onboard effectively.
  • Offer conversation. The recruiter walks through the offer details, answers questions, gauges how they feel about the offer and sets a timeline to follow up.
  • Love bombs. The team sends emails of congrats to the candidate and offers to meet other members of the team.
  • Questions and sell deck. The hiring manager focuses on answering questions and asks what data they still need. Provide a sell deck with a 30/60/90 plan (role, projects, responsibilities and a company pitch).

Running a reference call

A rough template for the conversation:

  • Context. Who am I, what is the company, the role description, and that the candidate did great on the interview.
  • What was your relationship with them? What projects did they work on?
  • In what ways do they excel?
  • What are their biggest growth/learning opportunities?
  • What can I do as their manager to help them succeed?
  • Would you re-hire them?

Running the sell conversation

Intro

  • The interviews went well (specifics on what the team liked are good).
  • Your offer is to join my team! (Sometimes candidates aren’t clear on where they are going.)
  • How’d the interviews go? Who did you enjoy talking to?
  • How can I help you with your decision? What questions can I answer? Try to get them to list a bunch of questions so you can pick and choose answering to be efficient.

Conclusion

  • Make sure to share your email (if they don’t have it).
  • Follow up with an email summarizing the conversation. You can also offer opportunities to meet members of the team, or to talk to others.