Ten Best Practices for Hiring on a Shoestring

by Bob Corlett Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Bob Corlett is the founder and President of Staffing Advisors. He developed The Results-Based Hiring Process® and is one of Washington’s best known thought leaders on staffing and recruiting. Thousands of HR executives and business leaders receive Staffing Advisors’ popular newsletters and read his blog – The Staffing Advisor. In his volunteer work, Bob runs the Staffing Alliance of Maryland Employers.

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Ironically, staffing seems to demand the most attention only when you are already short staffed. Unfortunately, rushing the hiring process creates even more time-consuming management problems. Follow these ten steps to attract the best possible candidates and save time and money in your recruiting efforts.

  1. Establish the schedule for the hiring process before doing anything. Lay out a timetable for each step of the hiring process and stick to it. The best candidates are attracted to an organized and methodical hiring schedule.

  2. Hire for talent and skill, not personality. When a good person vacates a position, don’t try to hire someone “just like” them. Design work teams to have people with diverse and complementary backgrounds, skills and abilities. To avoid hiring based on personality, list the skills and attributes that would make the team stronger. Identify the patterns of behavior that would help someone achieve the critical goals of this position. List what would be innately rewarding about this job, and what kind of person would thrive in it – then look for that person.

  3. Network. Market the job very selectively to a small targeted audience. General advertising in the newspaper or on global job boards often misses applicants who are not actively looking, and attracts applicants who are perpetually looking – the job jumpers who are hardest to retain. Rather than spending precious time sifting through hundreds of bad resumes, consider a different approach. Write an attractive and clear one page description of the job, post it prominently on the company Web site, post it on a few niche job boards, and then email it to as many people as possible. Ask all of your employees to send it to their friends and associates, post it on relevant listservs, and send it to your clients and professional associations. The total number of responses will be lower, but the quality of applicants will be much higher.

  4. Tell it like it is. Employers earn respect by openly sharing both good and bad information about the job right up front. It is perfectly acceptable to share a job’s salary range with candidates prior to the first interview. Don’t wait until the end of the second interview to share bad news like a low salary, or long hours. The right candidate will rise to the challenge, and others will drop out before consuming valuable interviewing time.

  5. Hiring is a team sport. The wisest decisions include diverse input, so include the team. If the work team helps to select a candidate, they will be more committed to helping that person succeed. Different people observe different things in an interview. Hiring managers often find that they have a much better ability to evaluate the candidate’s responses when they are not leading the interview.

  6. Listen in the first interview, talk in the second. Have someone phone screen everyone prior to the first interview to be sure hours, location and salary are acceptable. Explain that the first interview is primarily to learn about the candidates, and the second is for them to learn about the organization. Avoid giving a tour of the facility to anyone except a finalist. The best way to find time for the finalist is to save time with all the other candidates throughout the process.

  7. Focus the interview on the desired attributes and competencies. Don’t be misled by a candidate’s enthusiasm and commitment to the organization. Excitement about the business is not enough to ensure success on the job. The role must be a good match for the candidate’s attributes and skills. Determine whether the job duties will be innately rewarding, or a constant struggle. People are far easier to manage when their job matches their innate abilities. Never hire an enthusiastic candidate who is not a match for the job – they will consume inordinate management attention without delivering significant results.

  8. Never hire from a field of one. Be sure to have at least two or three good finalists. When there is only one qualified candidate, the pressure to settle for them is almost irresistible – and often a mistake.

  9. Review performance expectations. Resist the temptation to put off potentially difficult conversations for “later.” Put performance expectations in writing and discuss key performance measures in the interview, and again when the offer is extended. Review expectations at regular intervals for the first three months.

  10. Some of the most crucial steps happen after the interview.
    • Check references carefully before extending an offer. Have every candidate complete an application form in the first interview, read it carefully before the second interview, and personally check at least three references.

    • Be prepared for the new employee’s first day. Order their business cards in advance. Be sure they arrive to a clean desk, a working computer and working phone. Demonstrate that this is a long term investment for the organization and not just a quick fix.

    • Check in with the new hire regularly and ask the candidate how the job differs from their expectations.