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One of the Most Difficult Hires You’ll Make

Your company is growing, and your needs are expanding. You need to create a role you have never needed before. Sometimes these new positions are nothing more than a similar role with a different title, designed to appeal to the egos of potential applicants. But other times there is a lot more involved. You are bringing in someone to take on responsibilities that no one else in your company has experience in. Where do you start?

As a recruiter who works with companies in many industries at all job levels, I can impart some wisdom from my own experiences placing professionals in growing organizations. Hiring is challenging enough, especially today, so let’s consider a few important factors in making your new role as attractive as possible:

Where’s the Urgency?

A week ago I posted that the Unemployment rate hit a 16-year low. That means there is major opportunity for companies that can get and keep great people. So why aren’t we seeing more urgency around hiring!?... In a nutshell: There is a caution in this economy that was not in place during the last boom. Maybe it’s a ‘Great Recession’ hangover or hedging the next downturn. I don’t know, but as they say, “these ARE the good old days”, so let’s get at it!

Don’t let the “Perfect Candidate” syndrome slow down your organization's growth. Have the guts to hire by “gut feel”. It will save you a ton of time and produce some great results.  If you recall the action and reward impact: It’s not the leader who makes the fewest mistakes that gets promoted. (When was the last time you saw a “mistakes avoided” section in a resume?)

Since hiring is the only part of this economy I’m technically qualified to talk about, here are my suggestions to add some urgency to your hiring process:

What GIVES?

My mother has been the most extraordinary influence in my life, allowing me to grow up in a household of giving. She showed me this through her actions-always stopping to give to veterans outside our local Stop & Shop, donating to fund numerous mission trips from Haiti, to Guam, to Cameroon, to remote dental clinics down the Amazon River. Thanks for that life lesson, mom!

Emails. Laundry. Voicemails. Grocery shopping. Project deadlines. Mowing the lawn…it’s quite easy to get caught up in the minutiae of daily living. I’ve written a blog about finding happiness as a means to happiness, and naturally increasing productivity… Want another tip to be happy? Give.

Why Companies Make Bad Hires

Hiring the right team is one of the most important decisions you can make. Check out what the folks at Fast Company had to say about it:

There are a lot of strategies around how to hire the right people, yet, despite best practices and concerted efforts, as many as 95% of companies admit to recruiting the wrong people each year, according to research commissioned by Glassdoor from management consultancy the Brandon Hall Group. What’s more, over a third of organizations reported being unaware of how costly that mistake can be.

Why Candidates Want to Work at Your Sizzling HOT Startup

Startups are still hotter than ever. When it comes to VCs, 80% of capital last year went to just three states: California, New York and Massachusetts. And with cities such as Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville with growing startup scenes, no matter where you live there is most likely an emerging company near you.

If you’re one of these startups and want to get great people on your team, make sure you’re doing the following things to become the hottest place in town to work:

Secure Your Life!

Security has been a huge topic of discussion among companies, hospitals, banks, mom and pop shops, individuals, pretty much anything you can think of. With our instant access to anything and everything at the touch of a button, it has put everything we own, including our identities, at risk.  

As a Technology recruiter who places talent for cybersecurity companies, the concept of “security” is always at the forefront of my mind. But what about our personal lives? How can we reduce our daily risks and stresses?  

My Infinite Thoughts on Learning

It used to be easy to think of the learning curve. One axis for knowledge and the other axis represented time. One hoped for a steep ascending line starting in the lower left corner and skyrocketing up. We like to be described as “quick studies” to show that we can learn at the speed of light.

Yet in the 21^st century, information bombards us day and night. Our attention spans are fed in 15-30 second increments. Texting has replaced writing and words are replaced by emojis and three letter acronyms.

With endless demands on our time, we should be aware that learning is not a curve. Learning is iterative. It can also be interactive, visual, tactile. We need to be aware of our collective differences in learning styles and appreciate that there is no right way to learn.

Here are some pointers to help you learn more effectively in today’s distractive information age:

Tell Me a Good Story…

We are in a marketplace that is dominated by candidates having so many options on where to work. Websites and job boards are constantly updated with new positions, endless InMails and voicemails are sent from recruiters about the latest and greatest opportunities… So, as an executive recruiter, the question for me is no longer “How do I find more jobs to fill?” but “How can I turn people’s heads to differentiate myself/the company I’m recruiting for from all the noise?”

A great way for companies to separate themselves and their value prop is by putting together a compelling story. According to neuroscience marketers, compelling stories with an emotional trigger alter our brain chemistry, making us more trusting and open to ideas. People are not only hardwired to love stories, but they innately want to follow what is brilliant and new – whatever STANDS out!

Check out the following tips to improve your own organization’s storytelling strategy:

Job Relocation: Everything you Need to Know

Let's face it- the best and brightest professionals don't all live in the same city or state. If companies want to hire candidates with the highest talent potential, from time to time, they'll need to convince some of them to relocate for a new opportunity.

It's not easy for people to give up their life outside the office to move across the country. By understanding why the employees who opt to relocate choose to do so in the first place, you can increase the chances that you'll be able to lure candidates with high talent potential to the city you're based in.

The following infographic by Allied gives some hard data on why employees are willing to move for a job and how companies are able to convince them to do it:

The Candidate Is Just Not That Into You

Hiring right now is not easy. We have been in a candidate-driven market for a few years, but I haven’t felt it as much as I have this past quarter. Hot jobs to recruit on, check. Great candidates, check. Interest from both sides, check… then the deals somehow fall apart. What is happening? Welcome to today’s candidate-dominated market!...