One of the toughest jobs for any executive today is wooing star talent. I hear this all the time from my clients. Many come from large A/E firms with very deep pockets, so the major obstacle is not lack of resources. They just haven't mastered the art of wooing.
Consider the senior managers of a large engineering firm that recently asked me for advice on how to recruit better people. When I asked what the company did to hire "A players", the Senior Vice President of operations claimed that, "HR sends them their offer letter and we wait to hear back". Wait to hear back!. That's not good enough.
Whether they work at large or small companies, the managers who attract the best people have mastered two basic skills: listening closely to potential hires and pushing their hot buttons. Passively sending out an offer won't allow you to accomplish those goals. "A players" who are engaged in a legitimate search are potentially entertaining multiple offers and a wide variety of options. The passive, slow moving search process will never attract the first string.
To outdistance the competition in the hiring process, it's important to structure your job interviews so that you can find out why someone is considering joining your company. Ask them what they have liked about ex-bosses and former employers and find out what their long-term career aspirations are.
It's only natural to think about how a potential hire's services will benefit you. When you are trying to attract a star applicant to your team, you should pay attention to their hot buttons. Talk about the five or six things that excite them about the idea of working for you-whether it's the promise of more autonomy or the opportunity to take high-visibility assignments. If they use certain buzzwords to describe those things, you should, too.
In today's economy there are more potential candidates than there are jobs to fill. This makes your job as a H/R professional easier to eliminate otherwise marginal applicants and focus on "A players" by asking the following 5 questions.
1. Where would you like your career to be in 2-3 years?
Look for answers that demonstrate goal setting and career planning. Do the candidate's goals match those of the department or the company where they would be working? If the candidate's career goals won't fit into the company's future goals, chances are the candidate will realize that quickly and start looking for a new position at another company that matches his or her personal goals.
2. Describe in detail the type of boss you'd like to work for then ask what type of boss you'd least like to work for.
At this point in the interview process the candidate may be unaware of the type of supervisor that they could be potentially working for and it is your responsibility to match the qualities of their future boss with the statements that the candidate has just made. If they match their future boss, keep asking questions. If they don't, start the interview closing questions.
3. What about the activities in your current position do you enjoy most? Least?
This is an indirect way of determining a candidate's strengths and weaknesses. Candidates typically like to do activities they are good at and try and avoid activities they are marginal or weak at. If the job entails a great deal of client contact and your candidate only enjoys a technical role it is not a good fit.
4. All new jobs come with difficulties, if you encounter any in this position what do you think they may be?
Remembering that you are attempting to eliminate the marginal candidate and strive to hire the industries best this question will reveal a candidate's area of weakness and / or a candidate's self-doubt about being able to accomplish the goals of this new position.
5. If the company gave you $5000 to spend anyway you wanted during your first year of employment, what would you spend it on?
This is a great question to determine some quick and creative thinking on the candidate's part. The answer you are looking for really is determined by the position the candidate is interviewing for. If it were a technical type of candidate, continuing education would be a good answer, a sales manager type, perhaps a contest for the account executives under his or her control would be appropriate.
Keep in mind that the candidates that we deal with daily are engineers and scientists first and then consultants. It is imperative to match the needs of both the candidate and the company prior to creating the perfect match. Be prepared to ask the tough questions.
