Does this sound familiar? Your boss meets you in the hall when you return from lunch.
“Can you talk to the guy in Conference Room B? I think this might be a good candidate for that opening in Marketing. Let me know what you think. Ok?”
Really? Now? You have twelve things on your TO DO list today and interviewing a candidate for marketing is not one of them.
But you go to Conference Room B, scanning the resume as you walk. You ask a few generic questions about his goals and experiences, then explore the resume a little. After a respectable 30 minutes you say goodbye and return to your desk. After a quick note to your boss, “He seems nice. Go for it.”, you return to your TO DO list.
This scene is repeated over and over in Corporate America. What did you learn about that candidate? How will that candidate fulfill the job tasks? Will he or she get along with the team? Is this the right person to make a difference for the team? Or is this candidate just a nice person you would like to have coffee with?
Most companies focus on filling a job quickly with the best talent they can find at the moment without considering whether the match will produce results. They might want to get results but the method of handling the interview process does not always produce the results they want.
A better approach is to recruit with a plan, a talent search marketing plan. Understand what you want, the job goals, and what questions you should ask to understand whether the candidate actually fits.
Don’t get stuck filling the job quickly with the best candidate available at the moment. Don’t pick up interviewers at the last minute without preparation. Don’t take short-cuts that end up costing you more in the end.
Be sure the next candidate you interview can answer yes to these questions to be sure you have the right candidate:
- Can the candidate do the job?
- Will the candidate love the job?
- Will the candidate work well with the team?