Are candidates going a little crazy?

Recruiting in the Oil & Gas business is its own little bubble. How can the market be so hot while so many areas in the country are still struggling to find good jobs? I am sure a complaint from me that the market is too hot will fall on deaf ears with most of the country. With that being said I have told many people that business is so good that it is bad. How can that be, they ask, when I tell them I have hundreds of open orders and clients that are lining up with their checkbooks open ready to pay us very good money to find them talent? Then the next question is almost always, so you must have trouble finding good candidates? Well, not exactly. That is not a problem at all. Between our database and referrals we can find just about anyone we need. Here is the rub..... Candidates, especially those with an in demand skill set seem to have lost all sense of reality when considering other opportunities. Yes I am being a little dramatic, but I have seen more crazy actions by candidates that sometimes defy reason. I have seen more candidates taking counter offers (Even after they told us over and over they would never do that) in the last 6 months, then I have seen in 15 years. They know they are in demand so they ask for outrageous salary demands, they play multiple offers against each other in a very brazen way. Almost flaunting the lack of supply in the market, saying that if the company wants them they need to step up to the bar with their offer. They need to make it "worth their while to get them to move" Making multiple quick moves just to raise their salaries. I want to stress that I do not begrudge anyone from trying to maximize their situation both from a career and compensation stand point, but I have been shocked by the level at which candidates have flaunted their position of power. I have also been surprised but their willingness to burn bridges in the industry to get more money or a promotion. I am not going to get into the whole Millennium Generation issue, because I have seen it will almost all levels of candidates and most ethnic backgrounds. However there is something to be said that the demands and expectations of the current generation sometimes cannot be backed up by their experience level and that currently they are in demand because of a shortage of talent, not because their skills are superior. If you were not in the market when oil was $10/barrel over a decade ago you have no idea what it was like when just about every company in the Oil and Gas sector was shedding jobs and people were just glad to have a good position. More baffling is seeing candidates stay at companies that they know do not appreciate them, do work they do not like, and stay somewhere there is no career growth, just because a prospective company will not give them a big enough raise! Please be aware I am not talking about a company that makes a lateral offer, but makes a good offer with a hefty raise and a promotion to a candidate who is not happy at their current position! Yet it is not enough! In their mind they have some fixed number or % raise that they must get to make a career move. And many times this is with candidates who are early in their career and have 30 more years in the industry to make plenty of money. I can understand money being the #1 factor for someone who has 2 years left to retirement, but to give away a good promotion of a few dollars or a promise from a company that has not done anything for you in the past does not make sense. We have gotten candidates, who complained to us about their current situation and that were grossly underpaid, raises of upwards of 35% plus a positions that was exactly what they told they wanted only to have them turn around and be talked into staying by their current employer. What is even more interesting (and baffling) is the excuses that I hear after it has happened. They extol the virtues of the company that has underpaid them because out of the blue they give them a big raise to match the offer they just got. Praise the company that has passed them over for promotions and training opportunities because all of a sudden see their value by giving them a new title and send them to PMP training. (99% it is window dressing) Then talk about all of the opportunity with their company that had none 2 weeks earlier. When we get an offer for a candidate we let them know what will happen when they resign, BEFORE it does happens (Because we see it all of the time) We tell them so they can prepare themselves for then inevitable snow job they are about to get. We tell them that there are only 5 things that can happen when they turn in their notice: 1) They congratulate then on their new position and wish them luck. (Happens, but very rarely) 2) They let them go on the spot and walk them out the door. (Same as above) 3) They do the "Wine and Dine" where they tell them how important they are and they have so many things planned for their career. Maybe they get an executive to go out to lunch or dinner with them to say everything the candidate wants to hear. They know that if a VP tells you are special, you are more likely to believe it. (I call it bring in the closer) This happens all of the time. 4) They give you the guilt trip, where the manager tells you how much you let them down and that if you leave you have burned a bridge with them and the company. Even threaten you with the possibility they will tell everyone they know how bad you screwed them over by leaving. 5) They give you the cold shoulder where they make your last 2 weeks a living hell. At least they let you finish up and move on. Most candidates do not believe us when we tell them that their company will do whatever is necessary and tell them what they want to hear to keep them. That many articles and research has been done on the downfall of taking a counter offer, yet they do it over and over saying their company is different. Since we track our candidates I can confirm that most who take counter offers do not stay with their company long term. If it is all about the money then own up to that fact and let everyone know that is the reason you took the counter offer and we will all be better for it. Look out for your career first and not just the money. If you are good the money and opportunity will come. Ask yourself what is really important and stick to that. Look for the steak of the new opportunity and do not get swayed by the sizzle of a counter offer.