Want to make hiring easy? Of course you do.
Start with a meticulous hiring process, five to seven interviews at least. Ask the candidate unusual questions such as, “If you were a potato, how would you be cooked?”
Next is the personality assessment. Uncover any weaknesses the candidate may have hidden during the interview process.
After that, call references. All of them. Heck, call some that aren’t even on the list. Track down old colleagues, extended family, freshman-year college roommates. Vet each candidate like he’s applying for a job with the FBI.
And stay tuned, because my next post is on how to hack candidates’ social media…
Wait, sorry.
Flip it and reverse it.
If you want to make hiring easy, just follow this one rule: Don’t settle.
The ‘Baby Ruth’ of hiring
Fresh out of college, I started my career in a management program designed to “train” me to be a manager. Instead of training, I got tossed in the deep end. As in, I was supervising a team of a dozen individuals twice my age who didn’t care what I had to say.
That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, because I didn’t have anything good to say, anyway.
What I did know is we were having terrible turnover problems. I spent most of my days (and nights, for that matter) interviewing and screening resumes.
I needed to get people in the door. Every day we were falling further and further behind on our service levels to our customers.
My efforts paid off. In short order, I made several great hires. Folks with can-do attitudes who came in and made an immediate difference.
I have a hiring gift, I thought. I’m a total natural.
Boy, was I wrong.
Same situation, different result
Fast forward a few years, and I found myself building a team from scratch. More importantly, I was up against a deadline to deliver on a strategic investment I helped develop. Millions of OPM (other people’s money) was on the line.
The guy said good things in his interview. His resume had enough of the right buzzwords. I remember selling him to my boss – “He’s not perfect, but he’s the best I have right now, and the clock is ticking. This guy will be a solid B.”
I was wrong.
He was an F. Meaning, not a “Fit.” We both lost. I lost six months of progress. He left a good job for something that didn’t pan out.
It was a big swing-and-a-miss from the can’t-miss kid. Where did I go wrong?
I settled.
“When in doubt, don’t hire – keep looking.”
Jim Collins
Even the best get it wrong sometimes
Many moons ago, I was fortunate enough to hear our chairman of the board speak in a small setting. For someone who ran a company with 40K employees, this guy knew a thing or two.
When it came to hiring, here’s what he said: “When I was 100% confident a candidate would work out, I was only right 70% of the time. But when I was 70% confident, I was wrong 100% of the time.”
If you aren’t finding the candidate you’re looking for, play the long game. Hang in there and ride it out until you’re 100% sure. As Derek Sivers says, “If it’s not a ‘hell, yes,’ then it’s a ‘no.’”
If you want to make hiring easy, please take this advice: Don’t settle.
Oh, and change your password on social media every 30 days… More on that in my next post…