Happy Halloween to all of our talent industry ghosts and gurus!
We hope you are ready for our next batch of spooktacular hiring horror stories because we are going straight for the sweet spot: candidate tricks and treats. So grab your favorite Halloween candy – *cough cough* Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins – and dive into some of our favorite fringe benefit requests that we’ve gotten from testy talent!
The Real Ghost Ship
“I placed a candidate who was being relocated from California to North Carolina. At one point he declined the offer because the new company wouldn’t pay an additional $15k to move his boat cross country. I had asked during the process how his wife and kids felt about moving but never thought to ask if he had anything outside the ‘norm’ for relocation. Lesson learned – I always ask if they have a boat!”
The (Unprecedented) Gift
“I once placed a guy as an HR professional for a client. I helped him find a position that was exactly what he wanted AND a big pay raise. The position was closer to home for him and better career trajectory. Certainly a home run for him. After he started, I emailed him to check in on his first week. His email reply was astonishing – he said it’s going well and not-so-humbly requested that I send him a gift card as a ‘congratulations’ on the placement! Wait, so I just hooked YOU up with a great job, got you a cushy pay raise, cut your commute in half, and put you on the short track to promotion – and you want ME to give YOU a gift card as congratulations? Certainly a headscratcher.”
Don’t let greedy candidates ruin your Halloween fun this year. Remember that in the end, you hold the candy bowl – so you ultimately get to decide which candidates get the Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins, and which ones get the bags of crushed pretzels.