Objections

I talk to multiple recruiters per day, I'm not coming in the office just to meet you...

How often do you hear from these recruiters? I speak with my candidates whether I have a new opportunity, or I don't. A good recruiter can present you with more than an opportunity. They can provide market intelligence, analysis on your salary, benefits/salary negotiation, resume feedback and help coaching you.

That company has a bad Glassdoor Review

What kind of research have you done on Glassdoor? What departments left negative reviews

I will come into the office if I get an interview request.

Can you tell me how your job search is going? Wouldn't you rather have options when you are making your decision on what job to take? I expect that you are interviewing for multiple opportunities right now to make sure you are finding the right role for you. If so, I would love to have you in the office now to discuss the ins and outs of your search because the best role for you might be one we receive tomorrow. If we meet today, you will have a significant leg up on the competition by having your information in front of the hiring manager first. Let us expedite your search by fully understanding what you want next.

My company came back and gave me a counter offer, I'm going to take it instead of your position...

Have you or anyone you know taken a counter in the past? How long did you/friend stay with the same employer? What are the terms of the counter offer and how has it changed your 9Steps? How are they going to fix what was broken in the first place if money is the only counter stipulation? Once they realize they can get the same work out of someone for significantly less money, how do you think they will handle paying you X amount more than market value? If they were to replace you 3, 6 or 12 months down the line do you think you would be able to find as strong of an offer as we have with our client? It is much easier to find a job when you have a job.

I talk to multiple recruiters per day, I'm not coming in the office just to meet you...

I completely understand that someone with your skill level is highly desired in the market. How many of those recruiters have been able to secure you a new position? How well do you think a recruiter who has not been able to understand your motivations, technical expertise and future employer desires has been able to represent you and advocate on your behalf to their clients? Would you buy a car from a dealership over the phone who is selling you a sport car when you need a minivan?

I haven't used the specific technology, so I don't think I would be right for the job.

I have met with the hiring manager directly in regards to this position and they have been very clear that as long as you have experience with a related technology you will be able to pick this type of role up very quickly. They understand that this is a hard technology to find so they are completely fine with someone needing initial training coming in.

I'm really not looking for new opportunities right now and it doesn't seem like the scheduling is working out.

I totally understand that you aren't actively on the market and appreciate that. I think you should have a conversation with them and see what they have to say. If you don't like the opportunity after that, no problem we will pull you out of the process. If it turns out this is a great opportunity you could be pleasantly surprised, but you won't know unless you speak with them.

When asked salary expectation, the candidates responds with "Depends on what my job duties and responsibilities are. If I have to manage people, I want a lot more money"

I totally understand where you are coming from. What would be the salary for management role vs a non management role? What rate do you believe is competitive for each type of position?

I am too under qualified for the position

I totally understand why that might be a concern for you. That being said, I will present your profile completely as is. We won't embellish your skillset whatsoever and we will let the manager decide if they still want to speak with you. That last thing I want to do is put you into an interview situation where you and the manager have a completely different set of expectations.

I'm not going to wait for your client to take their time, please take me out of consideration...

I understand that it can be frustrating to wait. Please understand they are trying to find the right fit for this role as you are trying to find the right role for yourself.

I don't feel comfortable disclosing where I am interviewing (or have an offer at).

I understand why you might not want to share that information, but let me explain to you why that information is valuable to us. The reason we ask for that information is because we want to make sure that we are able to create a sense of urgency with our clients so that they can have a competitive timeline if they are interested in moving forward. Wouldn't you like to have multiple offers to compare and contrast at the same time?

When cold calling candidates at work - Do you think this is appropriate to call me at my place of work??

I was so impressed by your background and I think the opportunity I have could be a really great fit based off of ____. What would be a better time and phone number for me to reach you?

Just send me the job description and I will let you know if I am interested"

I'd be happy to send along a job description, but before I do so I'd love to discuss the position in detail. I work directly with this manager so I have a very good idea of the exact requirements and what they are looking for.

Not wanting to tell you their salary expectations. I had a candidate not want to give me an exact number to not price them too low or too high and just wanted me to submit him and discuss salary later.

Not wanting to tell you their salary expectations. I had a candidate not want to give me an exact number to not price them too low or too high and just wanted me to submit him and discuss salary later.

I'm not going to wait for your client to take their time, please take me out of consideration...

Please understand that they are only trying to do their due diligence but making sure every candidate gets a chance to interview. I'm sure if you were the candidate waiting to interview you would feel the same way.

That company has a bad Glassdoor Review

Reviews are polarized, either a 1 star or 5 stars, rarely do you see 3 star reviews Please keep in mind that people are far more apt to leave a review after they have a bad experience.

I appreciate you reaching out, but I would feel more comfortable meeting in person when you actually have a job for me

The best time to start having these conversations is while you are gainfully employed. This will make you more marketable to prospective employers and allow you to truly evaluate your options to see what the best fit for you is. Worst case scenario is that you get an offer and end up staying at your current role. Best case is you are surprised with a life changing opportunity.

When cold calling candidates at work - Do you think this is appropriate to call me at my place of work??

The last thing I want to do is get you in trouble at work. I've been trying to reach you via LinkedIn and messages, but to no avail. I'd love to schedule a time to speak when your boss isn't over your shoulder and you don't have to have this conversation on your work phone.

I won't disclose what recruiters or jobs they have sent me to out of respect for each recruiter

The only reason I ask is because if you are interviewing at one of my client's competitors it will benefit you. The last thing my client wants to do is lose a good candidate to one of their competitors.

Not wanting to tell you their salary expectations. I had a candidate not want to give me an exact number to not price them too low or too high and just wanted me to submit him and discuss salary later.

The reason we ask about salary expectations is, so we can all be on the same page. The last thing I want to do is get you through an entire interview process only to get an offer that is 10k less than what you are expecting or wanting. You are taking a lot of time and energy out of your day to go on these interviews and the last thing I want to do is waste your time.

Not wanting to tell you their salary expectations. I had a candidate not want to give me an exact number to not price them too low or too high and just wanted me to submit him and discuss salary later.

The reason we need to know your salary expectations is so we can get you the money you want and deserve. Our clients know that they need to be competitive with offers so they are not in the business of low balling or messing around when it comes to offer numbers. They understand if they want to land you they will need to meet, if not exceed, your expectations.

That company has a bad Glassdoor Review

Unfortunately, that bias will severely skew the results and you will see far more negative than positive reviews online. Take these reviews with a grain of salt. You have no idea who is writing them or where they come from. The best way for you to see if this is the right company for you is to meet them yourself. That way you can better evaluate the situation and see it through your own lens.

I appreciate you reaching out, but I would feel more comfortable meeting in person when you actually have a job for me

We like to gain an understanding of our candidate's current position, situation and more importantly what they are looking for in the future. Once we know what you like and dislike it will allow us to better help with future opportunities by knowing exactly what you want.

I talk to multiple recruiters per day, I'm not coming in the office just to meet you...

Well, that is a problem. You should be speaking with 2-3 recruiters for your entire career. If you are speaking to 2-3 per day I would say that these relationships are not as strong as they can be, and you are not getting everything out of it. I have strong relationships with all of my candidates and this allows me to better serve them.

I don't have time to make it in to meet with you.

What do you have going on this week? I understand that your time is extremely valuable. I have been in situations where I didn't have any time in the day to waste. What hours do you normally work? I am willing to make myself available when it is more convenient to you. Also, your willingness to meet now can ensure a more efficient process as we move forward in your job search. My goal is to expedite the process and include you in as many opportunities as make sense for you. All I ask is that you come into the office for a brief meeting so we both fully understand what we can move forward with together.

I am not available to interview until next week.

What do you have going on this week? Why do we need to push off the interview? Let me ask you, is this an opportunity you are truly interested in? I totally understand that you are busy, but I am afraid that if we push off the interview until next week, we might lose out on this position. The hiring manager might move forward with other candidates before we are able to get you in for an interview.

I am only looking at opportunities with flex schedule/hours.

What does this mean specifically to you? Do you want to work less than 40 hours/week, work remotely, or have a schedule where you can come in early and leave early?

I am too under qualified for the position

What exactly makes you feel that way? Are you referring to job description? We fully qualify every job we receive from our clients in order to know exactly what kind of candidates to send. While the job description does state a candidate need x more years of experience. We have been working with the client for some time and they are most concerned with professional experience with X, Y, and Z. You have been there and done that which is why we think you would be a great fit. That said, I would like to get you into an interview, so you can discuss the role with the manager. If either of you decide it isn't a good fit at that point no harm done.

I am too over qualified for the position.

What exactly makes you feel that way? What is your idea of over qualified? From the discussions we have had with the hiring team your profile seems like an exact match and they are willing to give you a sizable increase on your base salary so I would see this position as a step up.

Somebody who has salary expectations well above the market rate.

What kind of roles are you currently considering? How has your search been going? Have you received any offers in the range you are targeting? I understand that is the rate you are looking for, based off of my conversations with other candidates I find that to be a bit high... I would hate to price you out of the market.

I will only consider positions with a title of Lead or Senior

While a Lead or Senior title can be appealing I would encourage you to consider all aspects of the role. Take a look at the day to day responsibilities, project work, tech and the people you are going to be working with. When it comes to career growth and trajectory those are the aspects that will help you better yourself and improve your marketability.

I am only looking for remote work

Why is that important to you? How many days per week? Flexibility if the opportunity meets 9step criteria? Have you had success finding these roles? Deal breaker?

I am not interested in contract or contract to hire positions, only direct hire.

Why is that? I have spoken with a lot of candidates that feel that way as well, but they have found that it is worth at least learning more about an opportunity. We don't need to make any decisions now and can take things one step at a time. Why not just interview and see if the opportunity checks off all your other boxes. Contract and contract to hire can have a lot of benefits as well. Contract allows you to gain a variety of experience and allows for more flexibility. Contract to hire allows you to really test out a position and make sure it is going to be a long term fit for both sides.

I am only interested in contract positions

Why is that? If we were able to find you an FT position that paid the same as your contract roles would you consider it? If I found a full-time position that met all of the other things you are looking for, would you at least want to consider it?

I'm not interested in hearing about potential opportunities at this time.

Why not? What is it that you like about your current role? Is there anything that would entice you to make a move from your current role?