Struggling to Find Great Talent?


Stop Looking, Start Attracting

In the last few months, I have had a variety of conversations with colleagues, clients, and friends about the difficulty of finding talent. Each industry and hiring context was different, but the frustration was the same — it’s really hard to find great people to join your team.

If you have ever been responsible for hiring, this is likely not the first time you’ve come across this subject matter. From mainstream news to obscure web blogs, countless articles have been written on the so-called talent gap. It’s the topic everybody seems interested in pontificating about, but not quite as interested in doing something about. To be honest, I am almost bored of hearing about the (mythical) talent gap. And yet, here I am, contributing one more bit of commentary to the existing pile of opinion pieces. Why?

Because I think the answer is incredibly simple and I want to share it.

Many years ago, I was hanging out with some college buddies discussing girls and relationships over beers. One buddy, Jake, was lamenting the difficulty of finding a serious girlfriend. As we questioned him on what he was looking for, he described an almost mythical female creature. She had the looks of a leggy, Swedish, blonde model. She was highly intelligent, of noble character, was sexy but modest, had many friends, the perfect smile, and the list could go on. Suffice to say, his desires seemed an unrealistic dream.

Jake was a really great guy. Intelligent, creative, funny, ambitious, loyal, and more. But when it came to appearances, he wasn’t exactly an Abercrombie male model. He paid little attention to his presentation, be it style, physique, or general health. This was notable as he had placed a great deal of emphasis on the physical traits of his ideal girlfriend.

That’s when Matt spoke up. Matt called it like it was. He told Jake if he wanted a super model girlfriend he would have to be the kind of guy a super model would be interested in. Likely, someone who took their own appearance and presentation more seriously. Someone a little more outgoing, that actually went to a party here and there.

At this point, you might feel compelled to protest. Maybe you once had a frog of a friend who married a princess. Or you might want to turn philosophical on me and argue that looks aren’t the most important thing in life and shouldn’t matter when it comes to love. I’ll spare you the trouble. Yes, there are outliers. Yes, there are higher planes of consciousness. And, yet, neither of those are the norm. So, back to reality, for most people…

It was such a simple response and yet startlingly powerful. Jake wanted girls to like him for who he was, but he hadn’t taken the time to understand the girls he wanted to date and become the kind of guy they were interested in dating.


And that is the answer.

If you want to find and hire great talent, you have to spend time understanding what great talent is looking for and work to become that.

I regularly hear hiring managers complain that they just cannot find great talent, but when I take a closer look at their process I don’t see all that much effort going into recruitment. And I rarely see them trying to understand what great talent is looking for and then striving to become that.

Step 1

Stop outsourcing your recruiting responsibility to your HR department or external recruiting companies. No, really. STOP IT.

If you didn’t hear me clearly enough, take a few minutes to watch this video and then come back. I’ll wait.

Are you ready to stop it? If not, then I suggest you aren’t ready to find great talent. Only you and your team know what you need. Only you and your team know best how to identify the right talent and cultural fit when you see it. If you’re ready to take ownership of your recruiting responsibility, let’s move on to step two.

Step 2

Ask yourself and your team if you have built the kind of place where great talent wants to work.

Do you know what great talent looks like? That’s a start.

Do you know what great talent looks for? That’s even better.

If you don’t have answers to either of those questions, here are some thought starters:

  1. They are often voracious, life-long learners carving out time every day to research, read, or write something.
  2. They are often networkers, whether “on the line” or in person. See LinkedIn forums, Yahoo groups, Twitter feeds, local Meetup Groups, and the list goes on.
  3. They usually have unconventional thoughts and ideas about the way things should work. Status quo is anathema to them.
  4. Their expectations of others can be demanding, their aspirations lofty.
  5. They define, refine, and re-define their own careers and sometimes industries over time.
  6. They are uncomfortable and dissatisifed in slow environments where work moves at a glacial pace.
  7. They want to work around other highly intelligent, talented people because this motivates and challenges them to be better.
  8. They expect a certain amount of autonomy to get the job done. Generally, the greater the talent, the more desire for autonomy.
  9. They require a clear vision and understanding of the meaning of their work. Why is this work important? What purpose is it serving? Again, the greater the talent, the more clear and compelling your vision must be.
  10. They will use every last dime of budget granted for continuing education, conferences and the like. And then they’ll ask for more budget. This is usually on top of what they are already personally spending on learning resources.

Step 3

Do you have any former job candidates that turned down an offer from you? Do you know why they declined the offer? I’m not referring to the canned, polite answer they likely gave you. I mean the real reason.

If you are serious about improving your recruitment process and your journey to becoming the kind of place talent wants to work, then you’ll reach out to these former candidates.

Be honest with them about why you’re contacting them. You are serious about continuous improvement and you are interested in their real reason for declining your offer. You won’t judge them or attempt to argue. You are seeking to understand. This information won’t go on record.

Not everyone will feel comfortable offering their real reasons, but more people than you might expect will open up if they sense you are sincere.

Wrapping it up now.

TL;DR?

There is no shortage of talent, only a shortage of places where talent wants to work. ~Bob Marshall @flowchainsensei

Start becoming the kind of place where talent wants to work. Build it, and they will come.