Make It About Them, Not Just You

Do you have a friend — I say friend, but maybe acquaintance is a better term — that’s always talking about themselves? That only cares about what they need, not what you want? Who will unreasonably suggest things, then say, “take it or leave it” if it doesn’t work for you? And who’s arrogant to the point of thinking that people should be lucky to be friends with them and won’t make any effort the other way.

We all do — and how does that person make you feel?

Maybe you stick around because you’ve known them since you were young, and it would be weird to walk away now. Or perhaps there are some genuinely great things about them, which make the juice worth the squeeze, but you just wish they’d get a little….perspective. Could be that your kids are friends, or your partners, and so you feel compelled to make an effort.

You see them attract others who feed their ego, are happy to tell them how great they are, but really, who aren’t helping. It’s not their fault, it’s just that they’re stuck in their own insecurity. Or mediocrity. Or sad circumstance. Because, let’s face it, if someone came along who had their head on straight, was a high achiever and who valued their time, there’s no chance they’d put up with such self-centeredness in others.

If you’re like 90% of companies out there, I have news for you: when you’re hiring, you’re that person.

One of the most expensive, most disruptive, most time-consuming things you can do as a business is to hire someone. And one of the top 5 most stressful experiences that people have in their life is changing jobs. So why do so many companies demand, degrade and otherwise de-emphasize the experience of the candidates they interview?

If you were dating someone you liked, you’d make an effort. You’d woo them. You’d think — a lot — about whether they liked you too and do things to make it more likely that they do. But for some reason, companies just don’t think like that.

I see three cardinal mistakes over and over again that ruin the candidate experience when hiring, and cost Biotech companies talent:

1. Their pitch is all about them

2. Their interviews are one-sided, and only focused on what they’re looking for

3. They take their time, but expect candidates to respond in a hurry

As I’ve said, most companies are guilty of at least one (but usually all) of these. So, if you’ve fallen foul of similar errors, it’s perhaps not your fault. However, now you’ve read this post, you know better — so we expect better in the future! As a bonus, if you improve your approach in these key areas, you’ll stand out in a crowded marketplace where everyone’s saying and doing the same thing, giving yourself a great chance of attracting, engaging and securing the talent you need.

Let’s tackle these issues in order.

You know your pitch is all about you if:

· You talk a lot about how much money you’ve raised, and from who

· You highlight prizes you’ve won, and the accolades and achievements of your founders

· You’ve neglected to mention any of the things that make you a great place to work, or that might be important to candidates, like company culture, opportunities for progression and how you support your team’s development

· You use the words “we”, “our” and “ours” more than the words “you”, “your” and “yours” in your hiring materials

This one’s an easy fix. Make a list of the things you think are important to the people you want to hire. Put yourself in their shoes and try to view the world from their perspective. Then, next to each point, write down the ways in which you can offer them the things that are important to them. Next time you talk to a candidate, write a job advert, or answer questions at the end of an interview, focus on the things you’ve written down.

Moving on to mistake number two: I get it. You want to make sure that you’re hiring the right person. Assessment and selection are an absolutely crucial part of hiring. I’m not suggesting you should leave them out. But we hear regularly from candidates following interviews that they were asked a series of pre-prepared questions, with limited “off-script” interaction, and given very little time for enquiries of their own. This is then commonly followed by a second stage interview where they deliver a presentation against a vague brief (don’t get me started on this one….), are grilled with in-depth technical questions, shake a few hands, then everyone leaves. Maybe as a token gesture, someone shows them around the labs, but that’s usually about it.

How could they possibly know if this is the right decision for them to make with that level of insight? You’re asking candidates to walk away from relationships they’ve had for years, and a company they know well, and to come and spend eight hours a day with you for the next few years, with a tiny amount of knowledge of the reality of what they’ll be undertaking.

It’s almost like if you were buying a house, went to see it for 15 minutes, then were expected to hand over half a million quid to purchase it….

While we can’t do much about the housing market, we can impact how informed candidates are when making decisions about joining our company. Take the time to answer their questions. Make sure they have a detailed grasp of the work you’re doing, your company’s culture, and the role they’ll be performing. Give them a chance to spend time with the people they’ll be interacting closely with. Make your interview process a two-way conversation.

Now we come to the real kicker. Imagine that you’re a recruiter, just for a second. You’ve been working with a client on filling a challenging role and managed to find them several promising candidates. They interview someone great, who’s first through the process, then through difficult scheduling (also known as “not prioritizing hiring”), they spend the next three weeks interviewing, take a further two weeks to make a decision about who to make an offer to, then call you on a Thursday morning. “Great news,” they say. “We’d like to get Joanna on board. The only thing is, we need to know by the weekend. If she can’t decide by then, we’ll have to assume she’s not interested and move on to someone else.”

After several weeks of speaking with Joanna, keeping her interested and active, and reassuring her that the client did, in fact, have very positive feedback and you’re sure you’ll hear from them soon, how would you deliver this message, while also being sincere and looking her in the eye?

Sounds ludicrous, right?

It happens all the time. So please, if you take nothing else from this post, start moving more quickly in your hiring. And if you can’t, keep communicating and be reasonable. If you’ve taken your time to come to a decision, you have to expect that candidates will want you to extend the same courtesy to them.

I’m not saying hiring shouldn’t be about you. Of course you need to get the right result from the process. But it can’t only be about you. Try to see things from the other side too.