Here’s a statement that most leaders have never answered out loud. Why would a really good person want to work for you? They don’t ask why you think this is a good company, or why they should leave a company where they are successful to join yours. Those are different questions. The first one is really about you, and the business that you’ve built. Go ahead and try to answer that question in one sentence. Better yet, if a candidate were to ask you this question in an interview tomorrow, what would you say?
Face it, the really good people aren’t looking for a job these days. Most of the people that you’d want working at your company are doing well where they are. They have something good going for them, that’s actually working right now. They have a boss who trusts them, they have their reputation in the marketplace, and perhaps there’s even money they’d leave on the table. So, when you’re recruiting, you’re not really competing with other companies, you’re competing with the status quo, a status quo that isn’t all that bad for them. And, telling a candidate that we’re a great place to work, and we offer “free parking,” doesn’t really resonate.
Why Should They Leave
You might ask them, what would it take for you to leave a great job where you’re making an impact? It’s direct, and it’s to the point. You might even want to highlight some of your current employees who have been “winning” with you. What was their career path in your organization, what steps did they take, what contributions are they making, and what impact do they have on your business on a day-to-day basis.
You’re typically being interviewed just as much, if not more than you’re interviewing them. Top candidates want to know who they’ll be working for, what’s their reputation. They’ll be checking you out harder than you check them out; they’ll make calls, they’ll find out who used to work at your organization and do some digging. What do you think your former people will say about you as an employer when you’re not in the room?
Your Process
If the last candidate you interviewed described your hiring process to a friend, what would they say? Face it, how you hire is how you run things. Candidates see that plain as day. Is it slow, disorganized, no one calls them back? That may be part of the culture in some organizations – but don’t let it be part of yours.
Don’t delegate your employer brand to the HR department. After all, high performers want to know if they can grow there, will they have authority, who will they work for, will they be challenged, can they make an impact and finally, where can this take me? And the bottom line, does the candidate believe where this company is going? The HR team can tell the story, but they can’t make it true. That’s on the people in the trenches, those running the place.
Time for Homework
Now here’s a little homework to prepare you for that next key interview. Try your best to answer these seven questions:
- Name three people who grew their career with you in the last two-three years
- What real decisions would this person own in the first 90-120 days?
- Would the manager’s last three direct reports work for them again?
- What problem do you have that they can solve? It’s hard enough to interest someone great, what’s the challenge they can impact?
- At year end, how would they know their work is making a difference
- Where have your best people ended up?
- Can your leadership team explain where the company is going in two sentences? Would they all be saying the same thing?
So, let’s go back to the original question, why would a really good person want to work for you? If the only answer is money, you’re probably just renting talent. And that’s a problem.
Mike Philie helps owners and CEOs in the Graphic communications industry validate what’s working, identify what needs to change, and create a practical path forward.
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