How to Lose a Perfect Hire - Your Career Intel

How to Lose a Perfect Hire - Your Career IntelWhen it comes to hiring top talent, is your company its own worst enemy?Knowing when to commit to a candidate and make a job offer can be a complex decision. With a limited talent pool, companies are unlikely to find a candidate who checks every must-have skill or experience. Yet the desire to find this perfect candidate persists, prolonging the recruitment process. Compounding this desire is a legitimate concern about making the wrong hire. SHRM estimates the cost of a bad hire to be $240,000. Understandably, no one wants to be responsible for a mistake of that magnitude. The result decision maker paralysis and a reluctance to commit to any candidate.This hesitation to commit may seem harmless, but in a competitive talent market, theres no room for delay. Great talent wont wait around for your company. Postponing a decision even by a few weeks can mean missing out on top hires. Small changes to your interview process can strategically ac celerate the decision-making timeline without compromising candidate quality. Heres where to departureTimeThe challenge For some companies, the hiring process is an exercise in hurry up and wait. They rush to collect resumes and then wait a month or longer to schedule an interview. Part of the reason for this delay is the inability to reach internal consensus over which skills are indeed required for the job, and consequently, which candidates should be interviewed.The opportunity Rather than rushing to start recruitment only to hit pause, I recommend the opposite approach take your time upfront and wait until all stakeholders are aligned to the same objectives. Determine which skills are genuinely required and which are nice to have. This is where a recruiter with a broad view of the candidate market can help. I provide supplementary market knowledge through the lens of an objective outsider. Aligning to hiring priorities in advance ensures a timely response to resume submission an d candidate interviews.CommunicationThe challenge Transparency and consistency are paramount. When you tell a candidate youll be following up in three days but weeks pass with no information, youre sending a message that your company does not value the candidates time and is not excited about hiring them. Ive seen businesses ignore a candidate for a month and then act surprised when the candidate turns down their job offer.The solution If you really need that extra week before making a decision, let candidates know that your timeline has changed. Candidates who are kept in the loop are mora comfortable with an extended decision-making process. Theyre less likely to feel slighted and will be more receptive to an offer when it comes, ensuring theyre engaged from day one.ReputationThe challenge Your companys reputation its employer brand can have a significant impact on recruitment success. When you have a strong employer brand, top talent is more likely to be interested in your comp any from day one. The interview process can either reinforce or undermine your employer branding efforts which message is yours sending?The solution I want every candidate even those who dont receive an offer to walk away from the interview process saying, That was a great company and Id absolutely work for them in the future. Throughout the interview process, answer these key questions Why is your company an exciting place to work? How will your company help this candidate grow their career? When candidates walk away excited about your company, theyll share this excitement with their network and give your employer brand a positive boost that will make future recruitment easier.If you can find someone who has the right skills and experience, and who fits with your company culture and team, dont hesitate. When you align expectations in advance, communicate with transparency and clarity, and build a strong employer brand, youll be positioned to say yes to the right candidate.What i s your biggest obstacle to hiring transformative talent?