Everyone knows that recruitment clients love nothing better than a good laugh (at your standard terms). So why not give them exactly what they want this April Fool’s Day with our carefully selected pranks that will definitely make you their favourite recruiter?
Increase your prices without notice
If you are lucky enough to have invoices waiting to be sent out to clients on April Fools, you have the perfect set-up at hand for a prank that they will surely love. That’s right - get editing those figures! The bigger the number you put on your invoice, the bigger the laugh you will get when your client takes time out of their day to call and argue with - you only to be told “April Fool’s”!
This prank works particularly well with your larger clients – the ones that have sophisticated accounting departments where multiple people need to get involved in the accounts payable process. This way, not only do you prank your hiring manager, but members of the finance also get to join in the hilarity. You never know - with a bit of luck, these clients might just pay your invoice without question, and you get to have an even bigger April Fool’s laugh… all the way to the bank!
Send them your “best” candidate…. with a twist!
Your long-term clients will have a lot of trust in you as a recruiter - which means that when you have a hot candidate that’s a great fit, it’s probably not going to take much effort for you to set up an interview. So why not use this to your advantage this April Fool’s and sell them the worst possible candidate that you can find?
For this prank to work you really need to find someone that is so over the top unsuitable, that your clients will instantly think – “what the hell are they thinking!”. And when the client calls to scream at you for wasting their time, your response of “April Fool’s” will have them in stitches and make your relationship much stronger in the end!
Or they will never work with you again. No guarantees.
Tell them you have lost their candidate
One of the worst calls for a hiring manager to receive is news that their candidate has accepted another offer and is pulling out of starting with their business: That’s why it makes a fantastic April Fool’s Day prank.
The secret to landing this one is to judge the moment - when they are at peak disappointment over having wasted a ton of time taking your candidate through the process just to land the punchline, you’re home. Even better - if the candidate loves practical jokes as much as you, get them to do it! Plus, this will give your client and hiring manager a great opportunity to get their working relationship started with some light humour.
Invite them to a golf day that’s too good to be true
Everyone knows that clients love a good day out at the expense of their favourite recruiter. So why not use a golf day as the perfect setup for an April Fool’s prank? To make this work, invite your clients to the fanciest course that you can find for an exclusive day of golf – but, of course, you accidentally forget to book it!
Then hide in the bushes in the car park as your client leaves the clubhouse very confused – and laugh your head off as they desperately try to call you to find out what’s going on. At this point, you want to jump out and let them in that they have been set up by a master prankster (you). Who wouldn’t love that?
Disclaimer
If you are still taking my blogs seriously, you need help. Don’t try any of these and don’t blame me if you do.
