Yesterday, we discussed how a hard-charging, close-them-quickly recruiting mindset often incites the psychological immune system in your recruiting prospects. Once activated, prospects will subconsciously resist future contact and engagement. So, what do you do instead? The best recruiters are empathetic and sense when someone needs space to process options at their own pace. And they focus on these two activities to avoid pushing their prospects to close: Maintain a full recruiting pipeline. If you have lots of opportunities, you’ll be less tempted to manipulate. You’re tempted to push from a mindset of scarcity. Consistently deliver value-added follow-up. Diligent follow-up focuses on making your prospect’s life a little better today. With this foundation, they’ll 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. That takes time.