Hiring Tips
Last week, I reached out to Jeff, a Director of Sales for a medium-sized national company, about taking on a management role with one of my clients. He happily informed me that he was in the process of interviewing for a great new position with another company.
As he told me the story I really had to hold back–this had all the hallmarks of a move that wasn’t going to work out.
Let me tell you why.
What’s that smell?
First, let’s talk about why bad hires happen. Great candidates, with all the right skills, can still be a bad fit for your company if, for example:
- They have ambitions way outside what your company can provide
- They have different ideas about how to do the job and aren’t willing to adapt
- Their communication style clashes with the rest of their team or their manager
Maybe they are resistant to technology, enjoy 2-hour lunch breaks, or refuse to stop wearing strong cologne to work (even though your office manager is allergic).
There are so many ways a skilled employee can clash with your company culture and, ultimately, lead to them taking an early exit from the business.
Hiring Tip #1 ➡ Get to know the candidates beyond their resume & accomplishments
Getting to know your shortlisted candidates better will help you identify those who are more likely to fit in with the other team members.
In my experience, most Hiring Managers know the importance of getting to know the candidates, but they face some difficult hurdles.
Hiring too quickly or under pressure
You need someone right now–yesterday, in fact. Your team is under pressure, and you want to fill the vacancy as quickly as possible to get things back on track.
Whether you’re a business owner, hiring manager, or just a coworker wishing you had some help, we’ve all faced the desperation that comes from being understaffed.
And, when we’re under the gun, we tend to take the first live body that seems even remotely capable.
When you aren’t feeling pressured, you can source a much larger group of candidates and spend enough time in the interview stage to ensure they are a good fit.
This brings me to red flag #1 in Jeff’s story.
He told me he was the only candidate they were interviewing (which was why he was so excited, he was a shoo-in!)
My recruiter’s brain was rioting… only one interview?? No matter how great Jeff is, having no other options means the company was going to settle for him even if they came across some cultural red flags.
Hiring Tip #2 ➡ Have a large pool of qualified candidates to choose from
A large pool of candidates means you have a better chance of hiring someone who is not only skilled but also the best fit for your company’s culture.
So, why was Jeff the only one being interviewed?
I initially assumed that the business interviewing Jeff was in a panic to get the position filled, but it turns out they had been working with a recruiter for months!
That was red flag #2.
How did this happen?
the ‘postable’ job
In my 12 years as a recruiter, I’ve learned that some jobs are ‘postable’ and some just aren’t.
Put simply, if the job has a commonly held skillset that isn’t critical to the overall success of the company (think: administrative assistant), there is a good chance you will easily fill that role by posting it on job boards like Indeed.
If, however, the role is urgent, high-value, and costly to leave unfilled, hiring a recruiter makes more sense (think: CFO).
In chatting with Jeff, he revealed that the recruiter posted the Director of Sales position on job boards and left it there… for months. Out of the hundreds of applications, the recruiter determined Jeff to be the only candidate with the right skills and experience for the job. So, he got the interview.
Why was he the only decent candidate in the pool?
Because most of the best candidates already have jobs.
If you have a job you like, you aren’t out looking for another one. Even if your job is just so-so, it takes a lot for most people to make a change. I’ve come across hundreds of candidates who aren’t 100% happy in their jobs, but it takes a recruiter knocking on the door for them to think about looking elsewhere.
In Jeff’s case, he had the necessary skills but was unhappy with his current company. This discontent finally got bad enough that he began to search the job boards for other opportunities.
Hiring Tip #3 ➡ Don’t post high-level positions on job boards
When hiring, we look for 1️⃣ skills first, then 2️⃣culture fit. To hire right the first time, you need both.
Posting an ‘un-postable’ job will create a pool of unqualified candidates that don’t even meet the first requirement.
Let’s explore the second requirement: culture fit.
The Importance of Culture Fit
The late Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of U.S. shoe and clothing retailer Zappos, took a radical approach to ensure all employees were the right fit for the company.
He famously offered new recruits $2,000 to quit after completing their four-week training program. [source]
“We want to make sure that employees aren’t here just for paychecks and truly believe this is the right place for them,” Hsieh said.
Harsh, but effective? In 2009 Zappos was sold to Amazon for 1.2 billion, who maintained the “pay to quit” policy. Except they upped the bonus on offer to $5,000.
Having a large pool of qualified candidates is essential to filling the role with someone who is compatible with the rest of the team and who will stick around for the long term.
Will Jeff be a good fit? Maybe, but it’s always better to have some good options on the table when hiring for critical positions. Hiring is expensive, but nowhere near as costly as staff turnover which can also take a toll on employee morale and customer confidence.
Highly skilled and experienced employees have options and if they aren’t happy, they will eventually look elsewhere.
To Recap
When hiring right for the long term, candidates need two essential elements:
1️⃣The skills and experience to do the job
2️⃣Compatibility with your company’s culture
To help you find candidates that fit both of these criteria and ensure you hire right the first time:
Hiring Tip # 1 ➡ Get to know the candidates beyond their resume & accomplishments
Hiring Tip # 2 ➡ Have a large pool of qualified candidates to choose from
Hiring Tip # 3 ➡ Don’t post high-level positions on job boards
There’s a lot more that goes into recruiting great candidates for your business, but these tips can help you get started on the right foot.
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