Recently I was asked, by an acquaintance who runs a very successful business he founded,  what it would take to get me to join his team?  

This got me to thinking how one should react to a question like this and what does it take to lure top talent from one company to another.

All They Need To Do Is Just Ask

This is not the first time this has happened to me over the years and my instinct is to answer their question by saying… all you have to do is ask.  But, this time I took another approach.

My reply was a question concerning to my friend on…what does his company offer that would interest me in joining their team?

This resulted in an interesting conversation on how they are not finding the experience they need or finding anyone who does not run when the going gets tough.  I found this to be a good sign that he knew my experience which means he have done his homework well.  Still, even having the experience they needed sometimes is not enough. 

Decision Time

I am sure I am not the only person who has ever been called up by someone asking them to join their company.  From the many recruiters I have talked to recently, this action taken by business owners to search for the talent they need..or want..is becoming normal procedure.  

So, what would help you if this every happened?

What Lures Top Talent From Other Companies?

This opportunity got me to thinking, what would lure someone to move to another company?  Here are a few I can think of;

Money:  Yes, there are many people who will make a jump to another company for more money.  

Nothing wrong with focusing on NET Worth as long as there is more to the job than working to death.  

What I have found many companies are doing is raking up a large amount of funds to hire someone to do their dirty work.  Many times that is why they approach people they have met since many times the people in the open market looking for a job are not going to take a job just for the money.  So, make sure what is behind the money is what you really want to do.

Perks: There is nothing wrong with a company offering someone a company car to go to work for them.  Especially, if the job is something you see as a ‘piece of cake’.

However, Perks can be another veil placed in front of a job the others in the company do not want to do, or a job that has hidden responsibilities that are designed to set up whoever takes the position for failure.

New: Something new..a new business..a new start-up or something old changing to new, sometimes is thrown out to people as bait to get top talent at another company to bite.

Naturally, for someone who is in a trench of a position at a company going nowhere, something new does intrigue many of these people.  Again, don’t make the offering of being part of something new become another episode of Lord of the Rings.  

Fun: Fun is another term used to persuade top talent to join another company.  Like something New, generally the term Fun can be a word business executive use as what they would like their company to be know for, but is not.  In a few instances I have found during the conversations with business executives trying to buy me is that is what they were brining me on to do…make their company FUN.

Making something fun that is not Fun is too many times an impossible challenge.  Nonetheless, business executives think hiring someone who has experience in the business world will solve all of the problems they refuse to deal with themselves.

Watch Out

Make sure to look past the $100 dinner you were invited to have with a business executive to finding out why you really are having dinner with them.  Even the ‘can you meet me at Starbucks?’ meeting can be the start of your journey to the job from hell.

Not All is Bad

Fortunately, there are those chats you will have with a business owner or executive that leads to them seeing you have what they really need to make a difference.  These are the positions you should take…the ones you see you making a difference.  

That would be the one I take over FUN any day.  Just don’t jump to a job because of who is asking.   Ask them what they see you doing for them that makes a difference.  Then…

Let me know how I can help.