Why should I take your job?

The search for experienced talent with a taste for new workplace challenges takes effort both on the parts of the employer and the employee.

Employees are sometimes picked due to their outstanding contribution and achievements or their ability to apply the knowledge in any situation creatively.

More importantly, good talents have choices. So, when faced with a new offer, their key question is, why should I take your job?

Middle and higher management have different expectations when they are seeking a new position. They may have different reasons in looking for a change apart from the increase in salary.

Workplace culture and relationships play a big part in decisions to move or even the lack of the existing employer’s interest in creating new job functions or opportunities for the employee.

In attracting good talent, employers should always look beyond filling a vacancy with the right paper qualifications and experience.

The employees interest should also play a part and companies must ask some pertinent questions like how does the job on offer differ from their current experience, how will your position fit in their career graph and more importantly how can they contibute to the growth of the company.

Based on our whitepaper on How to Attract & Retain the Right Talent- An Asian Guide, too five considerations that an employee weighs in when deciding to work with a company are:

1) pay & benefits 2) belief in the company’s growth potential 3) brand name and reputation of the company 4) career prospects and promotion opportunities 5) sense of entrepreneuership.

In view of these changes in perception and expectations that it is always an employers market, companies need to know how to brand themselves as preferred employers and pitch their jobs attractively to the talent pool that will give them the best value.

For starters, companies can be vocal about their corporate culture and vision. When pitching jobs to potential candidates, employers need to provide clear job descriptions with specific goals and not broadstroke concepts of deliverables.

There should be reasonable timelines to achieve these goals and the necessary support which can include people, technology and budgets.

Employers should also be clear about the level of engagement that will be provided with the immediate reporting line and intermittent feedback on performance instead of a bi-annual or annual review to discuss any shortcomings.

In our daily interactions, our team encourages companies we service to celebrate wins -- be it big or small, as a way to motivate employees and as a consistent channel to communicate that you see them and recognise their efforts and achievements.

Companies should encourage personalised career interactions and build peer-boss relationships instead of giving blanket career goals through the HR Department.

Employees appreciate being heard and will be more invested in their roles if they can see bigger and clearer opportunities with the company.

This can mean a new role in a different department, an opportunity to work in an overseas counterpart, the chance to lead a key project or even a shot at a management position.

Changes are increasingly being adopted in Malaysia and primarily with companies who have innovative HR leadership.

Proliferation of technology is growing and companies need talents who can walk the extra mile and prove to be agile and adaptable amongst any new trend in the industry.

To attract these talents, companies must also go the extra mile and look outside their regular checklist.

Talent who are seeking for middle and higher management positions should widen their horizons and set their priorities before seeking out or accepting any new opportunities.

As a potential employee, they need to look at how their experience and skills can be put to good use in different fields so they can expand their field of expertise.

When considering jobs or attending interviews, talent should observe the tone of interaction of the employer.

Are they just interested in pushing information about the company without any pull strategies? Do they talk about what the talent can bring to the job only? Or do they share how they can support the employee to be their best at the job?

These pertinent questions once answered satisfactorily, can determine the journey in a company further than the basic salary and benefits conversation.

When companies inject more proactiveness into potential new employment and the talent pool insists on having a two-way conversation during the recruitment process, a new synergy can be brought into place where expectations and reality don’t run too far apart.