TIME KILLS ALL DEALS!

How Slow Employers Lose Great Talent

When I was a kid, my friends and I would often say to each other, “If you snooze, you loose.” When I finally entered the working world, I heard the grown-up version of this mantra, “Time Kills Deals”. Both of these sayings essentially mean the same thing: With every minute that elapses – after you’ve been presented with an opportunity that you don’t take – the chances become less likely that you’ll ever get it.
I’m here to tell you, the recruiting and hiring process is no different.
So if you accept that the hardest to find, or the most talented candidates are getting the lion’s share of the interviews – how likely is it that these talented candidates are going to patiently wade through your slow hiring process? Don’t kid yourself, it isn’t likely.
Even those candidates who are employed have to be very judicious about the time they take off from work to go on interviews – so they have little patience for a long, drawn out hiring process.
So, how do the very best employers snag the top candidates? Well, they act decisively. They understand that top talent is a highly perishable resource. They don’t skip steps, cut corners or accept sub-par talent – they just compress the hiring process. Even though plenty of people are out of work today, the most successful companies understand what it takes to land rare, top-notch talent – and, believe me, it isn’t a slow, bureaucratic process.
Here is what recruiters experience throughout the year –
The client calls and explains that they need to fill an open position “ASAP”. So, the recruiter rallies the troops and begins a blitzkrieg of activity to quickly uncover the very best candidates and then “sell” the most qualified prospects on the opportunity. Within days, the recruiter presents a slate of candidates to the client. A week later the client gets sidetracked with other priorities. Another week goes by and the candidates are getting a bit irritated and the client is just starting the process of pulling together the cast of folks who are going to meet the candidates. By the end of the third week the recruiter finally gets the approval to start scheduling interviews – but by then some of the best candidates have already accepted offers from other employers. As each day goes by, more and more of the very best candidates are lost.
Now consider a survey I recently read: According to a national poll, 61% of all U.S. households are living paycheck to paycheck and 30% of all households earning over $100,000 per year are in the same position. And, even when you consider the number of families who have three to six month emergency funds, you learn quickly that few families are prepared to weather a long job search.
So, is it any wonder that great job candidates, who have been out of work for a couple months or more, are unwilling to put up with a slow hiring process?
You might ask, as an employer, “What can our company do about it?” Well, first of all, consider that your survival in the marketplace is directly tied to hiring BETTER candidates than your competitors. Start taking the hiring process far more seriously by killing your bureaucratic processes and understanding that reducing time-to-hire can often dramatically increase talent quality – as well as reduce opportunity cost and customer service issues caused by long-term vacant positions.
Before you get the wrong idea, I am NOT suggesting you rush into decisions.
What I am suggesting is that you move through your recruiting and hiring process as rapidly as possible – without violating your due diligence process. You need a proven and thorough selection process, but that doesn’t mean it needs to take a long time.
It’s time to update the old adage, “Hire Slow and Fire Fast” to – “Hire Fast and Fire Fast”.
Lastly, the most important advice I can give any employer: You should be actively talking to prospective candidates – throughout the year, even when you don’t have an open position.
It’s highly unlikely that the very best talent will be actively looking for a position during the same, small window of time when you absolutely have to fill an open position. That’s why the best managers are looking for talent – every waking minute.
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SEVEN WAYS SLOW JOB SEEKERS LOSE GREAT JOBS
1.) After they lose a position, they lick their wounds and/or use the front end of their severance as a vacation – and don’t immediately begin their job search. During this delay, several windows of opportunity come and go.
2.) After they determine they want and need to change positions, while currently employed, they don’t immediately begin their job search – and instead, wait until they are miserable. During this delay, several windows of opportunity come and go.
3.) They don’t respond to employer phone calls or emails within the same day.
4.) They don’t rearrange their schedules to quickly get in front of employers who show interest in interviewing them.
5.) They don’t complete/submit paperwork or provide additional information in a timely fashion (e.g. applications, references, compensation history, work samples…).
6.) They are slow to tell the employer that they are sincerely interested in the position.
7.) They don’t accept the position within the time prescribed by the employer.