The economy is growing and it’s time for you to start build your team of employees.  You get all your jobs posted on the internet you ask for referrals.

You put a lot of time and effort into attracting candidates, but how many apply? Probably not as many as you hoped.  And, after screening resumes and evaluating applications, how many actually qualify for the position?  It is a fact when it comes to web-candidates you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find just one Prince Charming.

So, you interview the qualifying applicants and choose the best candidate . . . who promptly turns you down, at which point you’re likely left confused and frustrated. You thought you were almost done with the hiring process, but now you have to start over again.

With the unemployment rate at 3.9% the US Chamber of Commerce is stating we are at “Full Employment”.  Full employment does not mean every person in the US is employed it means the only people unemployed are the chronically unemployed or those unemployed by the natural ebb and flow of business.

What can I do to turn this around?

You need a hiring process that works even when the odds are against you. Unfortunately, if there is a breakdown at any stage of the process your chances of hiring the candidate you want is greatly diminished…so take a moment and look at your process.

Examine your process in these 4 stages.

1. Attracting qualified candidates for your open positions
   1. Job posting written for candidates. (This strategy attracts the unemployed, under employed and unhappy candidates but it is a strategy that can work for you)
   2. Make sure you salaries and benefits are in line with the industry
   3. You can create an in-house recruiting team or use CDP to provide an Imbedded recruiting team whose only focus is to find qualified Candidates for you open positions.
   4. Use a Search Firm (CDP has experienced recruiters nationwide that successfully find hard to find candidates in your industry. 89% of the candidates we present get the interview)
2. Keeping those candidates engaged throughout the process
   1. A recent survey stated that 80% of the candidates who did not accept the job said the process took to long and they lost interest.
   2. Don’t leave the candidates hanging give a next step within 24 hours of the interview.
   3. Don’t let the process take to long. (CDP can provide Video Interviews that lets you go straight to the Face to Face interview and skip the phone interview. On the average CDP produces 3 candidates in 18 days)

3. Assessing and selecting the appropriate candidates
   1. Make a decision. Have a process that takes a subjective decision and make it objective.
   2. Separate your “Must Haves” from your “Like to Haves”. (CDP will present candidates that have your “Must Haves” and will document their must have skills with a questionnaire filled out by the candidate.)
   3. You might be overlooking great candidates because you keep thinking that the “perfect candidate” is out there. Forget about “perfect.” They don’t make perfect humans.   Screen people in not out.  You can’t make a hiring decision based on a resume…just decide if they are worthy of an interview. Resumes don’t define the candidate interviews is where the action is at.
4. Sealing the deal with your top choice
   1. Make sure when you get to the offer the candidate will accept. If the candidate is resigning from their current employer to go to work for you it has to be a better deal.   The better deal could be money, or opportunity for advancement, or moving closer to aging parents… your job is to find why it is a better deal.
   2. People hate change, when it comes time to resign they start thinking my job really isn’t that bad. You have to know how to hold their hand through this emotional moment.  (At CDP 94% of our candidates accept the offer because we know how to get them through the change.)

If you falter at any of these stages, you’re in trouble, but if you fail to find or attract the right candidates from the start, nothing works.

Mike Duke: President, Recruiting Practice Leader

Mike is a Certified Personnel Consultant and President of Professional Search for Career Development Partners.  Mike is a successful entrepreneur and people developer.

For over twenty years Mike has been bringing positive change to corporate leaders in the area of hiring, training, and developing people. He says, “You can boil any business down to three basic strategies: Products, Profits and People. Out of these, the people strategy is the most important. If you don’t hire the right people, none of the other strategies will work.”

Email: mike@cdpartnersinc.com