Urgency vs Tendency: What Drives Candidates to Move?
Over the years in my career as a Headhunter, I’ve come to realize that “openness to work” stems from two distinct underlying motivators that we can categorically split into urgency and tendency.
1. The Urgency-Driven Candidate: The Need for Immediate Change
Urgency-driven candidates are those propelled by immediate, often personal or financial circumstances that require a rapid career shift. Their motivation often comes across reactive, shaped by external pressures rather than internal exploration.
Common examples I’ve run into include:
- Planning to get married or expecting a child, which shifts career priorities towards an orientation towards money (and fast!)
- Facing relocation due to family or life changes.
- They’re in between jobs or unemployed.
- Chasing a long-held but time-sensitive dream (e.g. moving abroad).
All valid points and are often enough for non-strategic roles, but it still matters if you want a purposeful career with you in the driver's seat. Urgency-driven candidates often prioritize short-term benefits such as better salary packages, fast hiring processes, and even immediate title upgrades.
While urgency-driven individuals can strike hiring managers and recruiters as incredibly motivated and responsive, their decisions tend to be transactional and often short-sighted. They look for faster resolutions and can appear decisive—but this also means they may leave just as quickly if a better “quick fix” presents itself.
If a candidate’s primary motivator is urgency, hiring managers should assess how well their long-term goals align with the role—not just how well the offer satisfies their immediate needs.
2. The Tendency-Driven Candidate: The Pull Toward Alignment
In contrast, tendency-driven candidates are motivated by deeper introspection and strategic alignment with their personal values, vision, and career aspirations. Their openness to change is not primarily driven by external pressures, but by internal principles and a long-term view when shifting careers.
These individuals often look at the big picture:
- Leadership direction and company culture.
- Long-term growth trajectory with the confidence and humility that they’ll make it.
- Alignment with purpose and meaningful work.
Tendency-driven candidates move less frequently, but when they do, they commit fully. Their decisions are deliberate, and they invest time in understanding whether a company truly fits. It is no wonder these are often the most stable hires! While they may take longer to engage in a process, their loyalty and impact are longer-lasting once they make the leap.
3. The Overlap—and Why It Matters
In my experience, urgency and tendency are not mutually exclusive. Often, a candidate will have both present in varying degrees. However, identifying the dominant motivator is key to understanding how they will behave during and after the recruitment process.
Urgency-first candidates are more likely to accept offers quickly, but also more likely to continue job-hopping if needs remain unmet.
Tendency-first candidates may require more engagement and nurturing during the hiring process. However, they are more likely to stay, grow, and align with the company’s mission.
4. Why Does It Matter!
In recruitment, timing can often seem like everything. They often say pace is the name of the game. But it can be a redundant use of time, energy, and money if the right motivation and intentions get lost, as focus often remains on qualifications and the readiness to join.
To all hiring managers and recruiters, let’s all encourage an ethos of “moving with purpose” to craft effective conversations, transparently manage expectations, and make better long-term matches. Because ultimately, the goal isn’t just to fill a role or make a hire—it’s to place the right person, at the right time, with the right mindset and motivation. This is where I believe the strongest hires are made, when readiness to move is met with a qualified professional motivated and purposeful in their decisions.
