Turning a Passive Candidate’s Concerns into the Perfect Hire

Key takeaways

• Built trust with a passive candidate and successfully sold a role in just five minutes
• Turned around misaligned expectations to secure the perfect hire
• Initial placement drove growth in a new market, attracting more top talent

The challenge

Having built a strong reputation and market share within fixed income, a hedge fund was looking to expand their presence into L/S equity investing. However, as they were so well known in their current space, they were struggling to attract the right talent that would help them grow in this new area.

They enlisted the help of Selby Jennings, and we quickly identified an ideal candidate, but they had already been contacted by other recruiters several times and with no engagement. 

The solution

Our VP of Investment Management used their expertise to take a strategic, multi-channel approach to connect with the candidate, who agreed to give him five minutes to “give me your best sell on why I should leave my firm.”

After demonstrating their in-depth market knowledge and positioning the client’s new role and company as great opportunity to further their career, they agreed to an interview.

While the client was delighted with this result, the initial interview didn’t go as planned. Miscommunication left the candidate with doubts about the role’s fit, and they were uninterested with moving forward. 

Realising the disconnect, our consultant immediately stepped in to realign expectations, arranging a conversation between the candidate and a senior stakeholder. They provided the stakeholder with a full brief on what the candidate was looking for, and advised them on how to approach the conversation to ensure it addressed the candidate’s concerns and provided a clear representation of the role.

Results

After thoughtful conversations between the client, candidate, and consultant about the role, responsibilities, benefits and company culture, full alignment was met, and the candidate decided to accept the offer and join the firm.

This meant our client was able to successfully grow their business in L/S equity investing, and they started to attract even more relevant talent to the company.

Summary

There isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to recruitment and engaging candidates. Especially with niche, hard-to-find talent, a strategic approach and market knowledge is required – something Selby Jennings has proven to deliver. Our consultants build strong relationships with both clients and candidates to ensure both parties are happy throughout any hiring process.