Speaking to candidates, as I work in an Australia Recruitment Agency, in the last week has been an eye-opener for me!
It’s been over 3 months since Asha went on mat leave. Due to excessive amounts of caffeine I’m enjoying taking on her work and doing my best not to let her down!
Recently, I’ve been mostly working with senior candidates. So head-hunting less tenured candidates again has been interesting, especially in this market.
Senior strategy folks tend to be open-minded about the opportunities a specific role could bring them and curious about the broader market in general.
They see the value we bring long-term and build a relationship with us as that one role could change their lives.
They’re interested in the content of the roles, who they’ll be working with, what career options lie beyond the role and senior exposure available. All very important stuff to know!
Only then we have a conversation about salary.
By this time, we may have identified through the conversation, that this one role we had in mind may not meet their needs however we may have 3 others that do.
All of this can take as little as 15mins (caffeine dependant).
What’s surprised me in the last week is the number of more junior candidates who have responded to my approach with “how much will they pay me?”
Just that! 😲
This has really shocked me.
Whilst I understand the current economy means we all need to ensure we are being paid our worth, the lack of interest in the nuances of a role or more importantly the market holistically was concerning.
As experts in this space we;
a/ Know what market rates are
b/ Educate clients who are not aware of market rates to lift their bandings or lower expectations
c/ Don’t take on roles our candidates will not be interested in or who can’t pay market rates
d/Have a plethora of interesting roles at any given time, we just need to understand what “a good opportunity” means to you
With the market being talent short, you’ll always find companies that want to throw money at the problem if they cannot attract quality candidates at market rates.
I’d suggest you ask yourself why that may be.
I’ve spent hours speaking to strategy execs whilst recording the Strategy Bites podcasts, all of them point to reasons you should consider taking a role.
None have said they made any move for money!
The podcast I did with Joshua T. VP of Strategy PepsiCo a few weeks ago echos this, he says “slow down and ensure you enjoy the journey!”
This is the reason we started doing the podcasts, so less experienced consultants can get advice from senior leaders on how they should be thinking about their careers and the opportunities they are presented with.
We’re not here to push you into one role, but to give you options based on what makes you tick, and what is best for your long-term career.
Please, think beyond “what are they paying” and have a holistic conversation about you and your needs.
The firm that will pay you the most isn’t always going to value you the most!