8 reasons why it’s easy to find candidates but difficult to hire!

  • Post published:15/11/2023
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Head in the sandHow much longer can you keep your head buried in the sand, pretending there isn’t a problem where there really is one?

We call it the ostrich effect from the common legend that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger.

For human beings, it’s the tendency to avoid dangerous or negative information by simply closing oneself off from this information. It’s ridiculous but we are very dumb at times.

Test yourself with these 8 questions

  1. Do you see enough candidates from your industry and direct competitors?
  2. Is your recruitment process quick, efficient, and candidate-centric?
  3. Is your job offer being accepted by your preferred candidate?
  4. If you work with several recruitment companies, do they all have unique candidates that another agency did not have?
  5. Do you understand that candidate management that includes regular status updates is an important part of your corporate branding?
  6. Does your third-party recruitment partner provide free psychometric and cognitive assessments, years of guarantee/warranty, medical check-ups, background investigation, interviewing and coaching support?
  7. Does your onboarding start the day after you and the candidate signed the employment agreement? Do your newly hired candidates always turn up on their first day of employment?
  8.  Does your company teach the hired candidate how to give notice to the current employer and provide training on how to reject counteroffers?

If you answered YES to all these questions, you could stop reading now. I’m impressed. You are truly exceptional, and I congratulate you and your team.

If you said NO to even one of the questions above, my qualified guess is that you are frustrated and not entirely happy with how your company finds, qualifies, and manages the hiring process.

Only 16% of a population is looking for jobs!

Woman at deskDon’t think for even a minute, that just because you can find someone’s profile on the job boards (JobsDB, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, and similar), that the person is looking for a job.

Pre-COVID research made by several organizations, including LinkedIn, shows that only 16% of the population can be called active candidates.

  • An active candidate is someone who checks the Internet job boards daily to find a new job and is open to talk when the recruiter calls or emails.

So how do you reach the 84% that are not actively looking? It means they are not checking job boards on what jobs are currently on the market. It means they are not likely to be active on LinkedIn.

For Thailand in particular, just below half of the higher-educated Thais have a LinkedIn profile. Add to that, very few use their profile actively daily.

What fee do you pay an executive search firm?

The number of recruitment companies in Thailand is relatively low compared to other markets in the region. Only a handful of firms in Thailand qualify for the label Headhunters, Executive Search & Recruitment.

The small handful of true Executive Search firms in Thailand will charge 4 months’ compensation on what you pay to your successful candidate. But keep in mind that you will have many free value-added services for free. And I mean a lot.

Compare this to the recruitment companies that for white collar mid- to top management positions will charge you 2.5 – 3 months’ salary/benefits.

Time to contact me now

Woman Call MeGet a free audit of your current recruitment practice and processes.

Learn how the best hiring companies in the business manage their talent acquisition.

I have been a headhunter in Thailand for 20 years. Trust me.

Tom Sorensen

Tom Sorensen is an executive search veteran with over 25 years of experience recruiting in Asia, Europe, and Africa. He has worked in executive search in Thailand since 2003 and is recognized as one of the country’s top recruiters and most profiled headhunters.