Hiring the right candidate can be a headache for any HR team. It’s a difficult process that has ramifications on employee retention, engagement, and productivity. Hiring one bad egg can negatively affect an entire team, not to mention the cost of having to train or re-hire for the position. Getting it right the first time is what every hiring manager wishes for. But how?
Here’s a tip that might just blow your mind: Let the candidate choose you.
Stay with us here, this isn’t as crazy as it may sound!
By setting up the hiring process so that potential candidates can make an informed choice about whether or not they’d be a good fit, you eliminate a lot of work on your end. People know what they’re looking for and what they’re good at. Give them a chance to assess what it is you’re offering and decide for themselves if the job will be a good fit. If they opt out of applying, you’re saved from having to spend the time and money on interviewing and vetting the wrong people.
So how do you do this? Here are four things to keep in mind during your next hiring process.
1. Transparency
This is a simple one. By including compensation in the job description, you are giving potential candidates the opportunity to find out if the job you’re offering is going to meet their requirements. The financial needs of any candidate will drive their decision on whether or not to apply for a position. If you aren’t offering them what they need, they won’t have to spend time going through the steps of the application process just to find out it’s a bad fit. They can opt out altogether and save you both time and money.
Wage transparency also says something about your company. It shows that you aren’t hiding any major pay gaps and helps to build trust that you value your employees with fairness and honesty.
2. Job description: Does it actually fit?
When was the last time you reviewed your job description? Has it just been copied and pasted over and over? If so, it’s time for a refresher. Your job description should match the expectations of the role as closely as possible. This is not only important for attracting the right people with the right skills to apply, but having a description that doesn’t fit the actual position can cause frustration, confusion, and resentment on behalf of the new hire.
If the description that drew someone in to apply doesn’t match up with the actual position, you lose the trust of your new employee—and you come off as disorganized (at the very least). If your hiring manager can’t write an accurate description, it means they:
- Haven’t taken the time to understand the position they are hiring for
- Don’t value the time and energy of the applicants
- Don’t value the hiring process
Seeing the job description is often the first time your candidate has interacted with your company. It is your organization’s chance at a good first impression and the importance of this should be reflected in the quality of the description.
3. Does the culture match?
People are often drawn to companies based on their perception of the companies’ culture and values. Use your description to highlight what it’s like to work for you and what your organization cares about. If you are able to convey your values and culture through the description, application, and interview process, candidates will be able to feel out if your company is the right community for them.
4. Test it out
Finally, find out for yourself what it’s like to apply for the position you’re posting. If the hiring process is easy, more people will apply, and you’ll have a wider pool of candidates to choose from. Have someone from your team go through the process as if they were applying for the position themselves. Find out from first-hand experience what processes you can optimize and areas that you can improve.
Trust goes both ways
By providing job seekers with accurate information about the position you’re looking to fill and the type of community and values your company fosters in its workplace, you are giving people the chance to decide for themselves if it’s a good fit. Trust in your candidates to make the best choices for themselves. Not only will it increase your chances of hiring the right candidate, but it will show your candidates they can trust you.
Photo by Tatiana Gladskikh
