When you’re working with a recruiting prospect, there’s a temptation to manipulate events and circumstances in an attempt to create a short-cut to the end result.  

But this often backfires because the process feels forced. Talented candidates will sense the manipulation and shy away, irritated with your brash approach.

The best recruiters are empathetic and sense when someone needs space to process options at their own pace.

As a recruiter, there are two antidotes to pushing your prospects to close:

Full Recruiting Pipeline: If you have lots of opportunities, you’ll be less tempted to manipulate. You push from a position of scarcity.

Value-Added Follow-up: Diligent follow-up focuses on making your prospect’s life a little better today. With this foundation, a candidate will start to believe you can make their life a lot better in the future by working with you.

There’s certainly a time and place to close an interview, but it’s usually after you’ve done the hard work of building trust. This takes time.