A Quick Read On Hiring Quickly
The sad reality is, when it comes to hiring, most companies only focus on it, when it becomes an emergency (someone quits, is fired for an unforeseen situation, etc.). And even then, there’s not much focus. Most businesses tend to react quickly because time equals money, and the more time this position is open, the more potential money they’re losing.
As a result, they’ll hurriedly create a job post, upload it to as many job boards as possible, conduct improvised interviews, and hire someone based on a gut feeling. What could go wrong? Well… let’s find out.
Initial Reaction. Initial Failure.
As I said in the intro, the main reason a company acts swiftly is to save money, but is that really case? Let me start by saying, I get it — something unexpected happens and you immediately want to fix it — get back to normal (it’s human nature). Unfortunately, that initial reaction is often wrong… very wrong.
In the second paragraph, the very first step was to create the job opening. There’s no thought, just reaction. But what if you took a breath and reflected on this open position for a little? What if you realized that you had your ideal candidate already established within the organization? That would great — you know his/her capabilities, it boost their morale, and you can keep your business going without missing a step.
Unfortunately, you don’t take time to reflect on the open position, and proceed to post a typical positional advert to as many job boards as possible.
The Price of Hurrying a Hire
Right off the bat, think of the money being thrown away as your hiring staff spends hours sifting through mounds of unneeded resumés. Then you add…
- Interviewing Candidates
- Re-interviewing Candidates
- Calling References
- Making an Offer
- Training
These tasks are simply time wasted, resources used, and money lost. All because no one truly looked into a position.
Let’s Take this Even Further
Well because there wasn’t much allotted time to focus on the vacant position, the company created a generic job post — skills, list of responsibilities, and a short company description. Nothing about it really grabs attention.
As a result, you only attracted people in need of a job. Don’t get me wrong, you can absolutely find talent among this group — people lose jobs all the time, for many different reasons (Never count these people out).
All I’m saying is your company will not reach its full potential with this hire. Because to do that, you need to reach 3 main audiences…
- People in need of jobs
- People working and searching
- People content with their job, yet possibly intrigued by the opportunity
If you’re post isn’t compelling, it will be impossible for you to interact with 2/3 of your candidate pool, and these are big markets. I know from personal experience, the amount of people who are working and actively looking is extremely large. I mean, I created this blog because I saw how many dissatisfied employees are out there.
Now I’ll admit, the 3rd group, is tough — nearly impossible. As I’ve pointed out, change is scary, especially when it impacts so many things (income, family, happiness). However, just because something is difficult, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try for it. Even if you fail, you usually end up with something incredible. That’s why I always strive to make a job post so appealing, someone could honestly think of leaving their current job for the opportunity. Anything less, and you’re going to be dealing with a weak candidate pool.
One Step Further — Results of a Weak Candidate Pool
You interviewed the applicants from the weak candidate pool, and made a selection. Awesome — you’ve solved your issue and did it quickly. No more losing money, right? Well let’s take a look several months down the road and see what’s happening….
- The New Hire is Struggling
- Clients Have Been Lost
- The New Hire Must Be Fired
- The Qualified In-House Person Has Moved On
- You Need to Fill Two Vacant Positions
- Must Repeat the Entire Process… Twice
Okay, I get it. This was the perfect storm, but it does not make it impossible. And honestly, even if just one of these scenarios occurred, your company could be out anywhere from a few thousand to a few million dollars. That’s why I think it’s so vital to treat hiring as a priority and not an emergency. It’s the only way to have a thriving company year after year.
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