One of the earliest job interviews I attended was with a fairly large listed manufacturing company back in the 1990’s.
As I was waiting in reception, I can smell herbal soup boiling in the pantry. I can sense the very friendly but lethargic vibes permeating the entire environment… employees, mostly in their 40s to 50s, greeted each other by name & chit chatted a bit before moving on their ways, everything seemed to happen in s-l-o-w motion, they were very laid back.
When it was finally my turn, I was ushered into the interview room, waited for a while, a middle age HR Manager came in with the Hiring Manager and started off the interview by saying, in a very s-l-o-w stuttering manner, they were all “very young, energetic and eager to work” and they were looking for the same in candidates… the “energetic & eager to work” phrase was repeated many times throughout the interview.
I never went back for the 2nd interview.
I continue to see similar scenes play out, first in my Headhunting practice and subsequently in my Coaching practice… businesses of all sizes make the same mistake over and over again:
Trying to portray a different image from the actual reality on the ground in order to attract the ‘right’ candidates… and in the end discover the hard truth – while they might be able to hire them, they are never able to retain them. Or, the business is selling itself to candidates as an ideal employer as much as candidates trying to sell themselves as ideal candidates, with expensive, disastrous results.
Perhaps it’s time for a reality check:
1. The ‘right’ candidate for a job might not be the right candidate for your business, because the candidate doesn’t fit culturally.
As a headhunter, I once had a client whose business model revolved around greasing the right palms to secure deals. Nothing wrong with that business model, I am not judging… except that when they put out their ads or talk to headhunters, they list their main requirement as
“…professional selling skills with ability to read sales situations and come out with solutions.”
Looking at the description, many candidates fit the job… except what they REALLY meant was they wanted candidates with the ability to identify & grease the right palms (“read sales situation”)… that was their culture, only a salesperson who can accept & embrace their way of doing business will be able to fit in.
They were not able to hire the right candidate until the day the Hiring Manager was willing to candidly explain to candidates the ‘key requirement of the job.
2. Are your expectations consistent with your business model?
Let’s use salespersons’ recruitment as an example again. If you pay high basic with low commission, you will automatically attract less aggressive salespeople. The alternative is offering a reasonable basic with a very attractive, clearly defined commission structure that rewards performing salespeople the most. The latter approach will usually result in higher turnover and more consistent recruitment activities, however, the salespeople who survive the process usually perform.
So I always advice the owner in this situation – reality check, if you wish to structure your model according to high pay, low commission, do not moan about salespeople complacent, not aggressive etc… You are simply attracting candidates who are consistent with your business model.
Note: There are situations where you need to pay higher basic, for example, if you are in an industry where the sales cycle is long with multiple phases, but usually the commission payout in these situations are also substantial.
3. Are your expectations consistent with your vision, mission & goals for your business?
I know employers who love to ask candidates where they want to be 3-5 years from now… they believe the answer to that question reflects whether the candidate is ambitious and whether the candidate has an idea what he wants.
Here’s the flip-side – if you meet a candidate who’s very clear on where he wants to be in 3-5 years, are you also able to tell the candidate exactly where he can be in your organization in that time-frame should his performance meet expectations? Or, are you just hiring the candidate because “hey, he’s ambitious, let’s tell him he can go far, we believe in rewarding top achievers, etc, etc… we can decide later what to do with him when he’s proven himself.”
When the business owner is unclear where he’s taking the business, the goal posts shifts constantly, the best candidates with clear career goals soon realize it and leave for better opportunities…
So in conclusion, do a “reality check” before your next recruitment exercise, adjust your expectations so that you can recruit the right candidates for YOUR business, based on YOUR business model and YOUR long-term goals.
As a headhunter, these are my top 3 questions when evaluating a candidate:
1. Can the candidate do the job for my client? (Technical fit)
2. Can the candidate do the job the way my client wants him to do it? (Cultural fit)
3. If the answer to the first 2 questions are “yes”, does the candidate want to do the job? (Desire & enthusiasm to join my client for the right reasons.)
Works every time.
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