Keep High Standards for Selecting Employees and Employers

We tell ourselves we are looking for the best.  The best candidate.  The best job.  The best fit.  But often times the process gets compromised along the way and we settle for less.  For employers, it might be the timeline, the looming workload, lack of patience…or quality candidates.  For job seekers, it might be desperation to move on to a new opportunity or fooling themselves about the true fit for a long term relationship.  No matter the reason, the reality is neither party should compromise the high standard.

Having a high standard makes us all better.  The benchmark of quality or ability should stay in place regardless of circumstances.  Even when it becomes tiresome.  My freshman year of college, I learned to play racquetball by playing my roommate who had been playing for years.  I would lose each game by 16 to 20 points every week.  This went on for months–halfway into sophomore year, in fact.  But during that time, my ability got better and the score got closer and closer.  Until one day, I won a game.  After that, all our games were close.  My friend Tim was the benchmark and he never wavered from giving me the same challenge each week.  There were several lessons learned from this experience:  never give up; playing someone better than you makes you better; and stay true to a high standard–aim high!

So how do we ensure as employers and job seekers we keep our standards consistently high during the employment process?

Employers must do the following:

• First, establish a true job description that is based on the needs of the organization.  Be specific.  Have clear goals.
• Dig deep for candidates.  Don’t rely on one source, whether it be internal, networks, or recruiters.  Although, once you find a good source, sustain it so it will be there whenever you need it.
• Be critical.  Although a candidate might be good at a lot of things, make sure they are good at the “right” things.
• “Fit” is not just ability, it includes cultural/organizational aspects.  Will the candidate get along with the team and follow well-established, proven processes?  Or will they be too much of a maverick or “high-maintenance?”
• Have a consistent interviewing process that provides objective evaluations.  When holding to a process, it is harder to fall back to “gut decisions.”
• Know how to seal the deal.  Just the other day, a friend told me a story about his employer bringing a candidate in from out of town and having no plan to take the A-List candidate to dinner or tour the city.  When employers lose the #1 candidate, they at times settle for #2 (who may be a far cry from #1).

Job seekers must do the following:

• Before interviewing, make several lists:
• your attributes you want to use in your next job
• the best elements of all the roles you’ve enjoyed in the past
• the requirements for the next job including location, salary, level of responsibility/decision-making, visibility, day-to-day tasks, and others
• what is missing is your current (or past) job that you really need for personal job satisfaction
• If necessary, consult a job coach to learn more about yourself and your qualifications.
• Next, combine all these lists in a job description that you should pursue. Set priorities for the elements of the job description.  Determine what are deal-breakers versus bonuses.
• Although it may be hard to stay true to that vision (as it make take time to find it) accept trade-offs based on your pre-set priorities.  Don’t rationalize.
• Ask probing questions to interviewers that clarify the job description they are offering versus what you want.  Make sure you meet a cross-section of the organization to solidify your impressions of the company.
• Do your homework.  Find out everything you can about the hiring company leveraging Social Media channels, financial data, and personal networks.

We all know the cost of a bad hire.  For employers, it can be a daunting task to find a new employee after a recent-hire leaves due to a bad hiring decision.  For job seekers, a short tenure at a company listed on the resume prompts questions and doubt. 

Even if it takes 25 to 50% longer to find the right fit, both parties need to hold themselves accountable to a high standard for the decision.  When this happens, we all win.  We might be exhausted when it’s over, like playing my buddy Tim in racquetball.  But ultimately, we will find it well worth the effort.