Personal accountability is a trait valued by every organization and a trait every employee desires in their employer. It is too common for a hiring manager to make an enthusiastic hiring decision only to experience the candidate’s evil twin shortly afterwards. So who is accountable in these situations? Perhaps both but if you are the hiring manager, you have to wonder, “What did I miss?” Ask yourself, “Is it possible I let my emotions override evidence and reason?” Emotions appear uninvited and can easily influence actions and decisions. Strong emotions create urgency and invite impulsive decisions. Good feelings and likeability are important but must accompany facts that the candidate aligns with the role based on their relative experience and evidence of accomplishments.

Just as good employees are accountable for their actions; good employers are accountable for their decisions. It may be worth considering whether your last hiring mistake was an emotional decision or a rational one. Asking your favorite ‘tough’ questions may derail the interview. Instead, ask questions that will provide examples and evidence of the skills and competencies you need, and then run your ‘gut’ check.   Don’t be that hiring manager who insists “I’ve made my decision – don’t confuse me with the facts.”

In a tight job market you want to move quickly to capture the ideal candidate. It is easy to dismiss negative information when the candidate demonstrates other attractive and advantageous skills and competencies. You will make the best hiring decision by considering if and how you will manage any negatives that appear during the interview process. Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. Some people do change, however many only claim they have changed.   Explore the areas of concern with compassion, empathy and caution. It is important to maintain the candidate’s self-esteem, so acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes. The best candidates are not defensive, and instead will take responsibility for their mistakes and have examples of what they learned and how they grew from the experience.

After fully considering a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, not only will you make a well-informed hiring decision, you will also be able to customize on-boarding to the candidate to maximize their initial effectiveness, value and excitement in their new position.

Recruiting offers the opportunity to help companies through growth and change. JESSI Search works with leaders at the best of times and during the most uncertain times in their business. This experience provides a look into different leadership styles. Some are truly admirable, gaining great results.

JESSI Search enjoys growth led by new, returning and referred customers. The change and challenges of recruiting offer the chance to reflect on the best leaders and styles, especially during challenging times.

An example of a long-admired leader is quoted in Christina DesMarais’s piece in Inc.com titled “23 Things These Successful Executives Do Every Day, No Matter What.” Tamra Ryan, CEO of Women’s Bean Project, a social enterprise that provides women a way to learn transferrable skills by producing gourmet packaged foods, shared “Ask ‘I wonder’ questions several times a day.” She describes this as, “I wonder if we could…I wonder what would happen if…I wonder if it might help to… Starting with ‘I wonder’ assumes I don’t know the answer, and pushes those around me to think differently about a problem, open their minds to another approach, and leads to innovation.”

Many of the items mentioned in this post are interesting and impactful. You may want to check it out, as well: “23 Things These Successful Executives Do Every Day, No Matter What.”

Tamra’s approach really resonates and gives me inspiration to ask my team “I wonder” questions, such as: I wonder where our business will be in 2018 if we expand into a new industry segment? I wonder if it might help to add recruiting leadership? I wonder where our next company get-together should be?”. “I wonder how we can better serve our clients?”

Take a minute to ask yourself and your team, “I wonder….?” Or, find a couple of items that strike you and try them out!

After interviewing hundreds of employers and many more candidates, I have developed a focused interview style that clearly identifies the attributes they want to see in a candidate, including those from a cultural, skill set, and experience perspective.

Even though you may meet the identified requirements and attributes, there are a few common blunders that will hinder you as a candidate from getting in front of the employer to express your abilities. First is a poorly written resume. Consider that as a recruiter, I initially assess if I can effectively represent you to my client. I cannot do that with a resume that does not clearly reflect your background, skills and successes.   Unless I have time to rewrite it, or help you rewrite it, chances are good it will likely be set aside.

Secondly, employers generally dislike candidates giving extensive detail about what is wrong with their current position or what went wrong in a past position. Companies are fluid and out of need, positions shift and change. Employers understand that and know their value proposition that initially attracted you to join the company, may have changed. What doesn’t work is when your message says you are running away from something rather than working toward the goals of the company and/or your career.

Something I’ve heard more than once from a client is that while you, as a candidate, seem to meet all the requirements, they don’t receive a strong and clear feeling that you are eager to be part of their team. This is a big one! Hiring someone is a big commitment for an employer and they want to work with people they like and that give the same commitment and excitement in return. If you are not giving that vibe, they may mentally move on before you get the chance.

If you are not getting through the process and receiving an offer, you might want to ask yourself a few questions. Are my written documents representing me well? Do I appear to be running from something rather than moving towards the next step in my career? Am I showing enthusiasm for the opportunity and the company? Your answers will likely reveal why you did not make the short list or receive an offer.

The April Jobs Report released by the Labor Department shows better than expected jobs growth in April and the lowest unemployment level since May 2007. Optimism is up and the job market is hot! If you’re in growth mode, you may be looking at hiring in the near future. If this is the case, understanding how to hire well in a tight talent market is essential.

The best sales execs do their research before following up on a lead or approaching a prospective client. Part of this research includes looking at what their competitors have to offer. Likewise, understanding the current talent market is vital to position your company and hiring opportunity to attract the best candidates. If you don’t know what competencies you’re targeting and who your competition is, you won’t be in the best position to acquire top talent.

I coach my clients to clearly define their value proposition for the talent market and to share it throughout the organization. Questions you might ask include:

1. What’s great about working for our company?
2. What’s our company culture?
3. Why have other employees joined our company?
4. Why do they stay?

Face the market with transparency about who you are and the things that make you a uniquely great place to work. That way, you can focus on attracting employees who fit best with you and quickly screening out those who don’t.

In the recruiting industry, there’s a key metric called Time-to-Hire. It measures the time from when a position is first posted for candidates to apply through to an accepted offer and candidate start date. In most recruiting efforts there are multiple steps from start to finish. The key is to minimize the time for each step and time between these steps, thus keeping the search moving with the most viable candidates staying engaged from start to finish.

To present a consistent and winning value proposition and manage your time-to-hire, it helps to have each person involved in the process on the same page. Investing time upfront defining the goals for the position, putting your recruiting campaign together and gaining agreement from your hiring team, will position you to pull targeted candidates into your process and keep them focused on joining your team.

If you would like further information or are interested in discussing your hiring needs, we invite you to get in touch with JESSI Search.

According to a recent Forbes article, the cost of on-boarding an employee is at roughly $240,000. And, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire is at least 30 percent of the employee’s first-year earnings. For a small company, a five-figure investment in the wrong person is a threat to the business. The True Cost of a Bad Hire – It’s More than You Think, (Forbes, September 2016)

Do you have a well-defined hiring process?  Or, do you spread the word, post the job and then interview those candidates who express interest and seem to have the most applicable background?  If you’re not investing in your hiring process, you may pay a high price, not only in dollars but also with the impact on your reputation and culture.

So how should you be hiring? Several steps are easy to skip or gloss past when it’s critical you get someone onboard quickly.  A few of the steps you want to ensure you don’t miss are defined below:

1. Building the Candidate Profile – It’s hard to hit the target if you don’t know what you’re aiming for. You should build a profile of the ideal candidate based on the components identified in the position description and aspects of your company culture. Using an assessment to benchmark your best talent and further hone in on the right attributes for future hires is one of the best ways to ensure a strong hire each time. 
2. Developing the Attraction Campaign
3. Setting the Compensation Band
4. Putting together your Marketing pieces
5. Sourcing and Qualifying Candidates
6. Initial Interview/Phone Screen
7. Assessment
8. Final Interviews
9. Selection
10. Offer and Negotiation
11. Acceptance and Start Date
12. On-boarding Plan for Accelerated Success – But wait, you’re not done yet! Don’t overlook the importance of effectively on-boarding your new hires: https://jessisearch.com/how-jessi-search-closes-candidates/

If these steps are more than you and your team have the time to invest in when you have hiring needs, you may want to consider partnering with a reputable recruiting agency or talent acquisition consultant to assist you. It will soon become apparent that having a trusted talent acquisition partner sets you apart and results in accessing and closing the right people so you can achieve your business goals.