Stop Recruiting, Start Connecting - InformationWeek

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Comments
Stop Recruiting, Start Connecting
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moarsauce123
50%
50%
moarsauce123,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/1/2014 | 3:43:14 PM
Stealth candidate
The reason why most candidates do not bother with interviewing is that they don't have to and the process of polishing that resume, doing a phone screening, a one on one meeting with HR, another interview with the hiring manager, another interview with peers including a skills test, followed by who knows how many more interviews...just to get offered a temp to hire opportunity.

Companies should get everyone in a room and then talk to the candidate. Ask questions and listen to the answers, then turn that around, have the candiate ask questions and then give answers.

OR: hire straight out of college and train your new employee the way you want. That will be more promising to find the ideal candiate than hoping that she or he magically shows up and begs for a job.
Susan_Nunziata
50%
50%
Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
7/30/2014 | 10:39:06 PM
Re: Examples?
@Jack: Thanks for the examples, really enligtened approach here...good to see. Looking forward to learning more about RightJoin soon. Do keep us posted.
Susan_Nunziata
50%
50%
Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
7/30/2014 | 7:28:31 PM
Examples?
Jack: These are all ideas that could be tremendously helpful in changing the hiring process. Can you please share one or two examples of your own experiences where you have applied one or two of these different approaches, how it was taken by the hiring company and by the potential employee? I think many of us would like to know how this approach has worked for you in practice. 
Susan_Nunziata
50%
50%
Susan_Nunziata,
 User Rank: Strategist
7/30/2014 | 7:26:38 PM
Re: Stop Recruiting, Start Connecting
@Zerox203: everyone reading this post is probably in very heated agreement about what Jack is proposing here. I think it's up to all of us to make sure we're sharing this with HR and other hiring managers we deal with in our own organizations or even with the headhunters that we hear from.

While hiring software engineers definitely has its specific requirements, much of what Jack outlines here really could be applied to the hiring process for almost any position in a company. I especially like his idea of uncovering ways of finding those "stealth" people who are employed and may be interested in looking around but dont want to expend all that energy.

Right now, the only way to find those folks is to cultivate your own robust peer network so you can put out feelers to find those folks. This is something that has to happen within industry or job sectors and not something HR professionals are really equipped to do.
ChrisMurphy
50%
50%
ChrisMurphy,
 User Rank: Author
7/30/2014 | 10:33:55 AM
Re: Stop Recruiting, Start Connecting
I profiled Waste Management, in 2011 when it was #3 on our annaul InformationWeek innovators' ranking, and they talked about how every hire at every level met with a group of IT employees, including at least one of the senior IT leadership. Usually the CIO. He commented on how surprised the candidates were, especially for more entry-level analyst roles, to have the CIO as part of that group.  
Laurianne
100%
0%
Laurianne,
 User Rank: Author
7/29/2014 | 3:58:43 PM
Hidden gems
Jack, thought-provoking piece, thanks for sharing it. I think IT loses too many "imperfect" candidates during a recruitment screen by non IT-people.  Who better than your peers to gauge your passion for learning? Smart companies are training data analysis pros on the spot right now, for example. They are learning by doing.
Shane M. O'Neill
100%
0%
Shane M. O'Neill,
 User Rank: Author
7/29/2014 | 1:26:28 PM
Let peers talk
"Employers that keep trying to fill reqs like they're 20th century assembly line jobs will fall behind companies adept at peer-to-peer communication."

Well said. Recruiters and HR reps are still necessary of course but the hiring process at most companies has become so rigid and formal. Couldn't agree more with this article's call for more informal dialogue between peers as part of that process.


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