5 Signs Your Hiring Plan Needs Help

Are you looking for top talent, but struggling to find the right people? Are ideal candidates saying “thanks, but no thanks” before you’ve even extended a job offer?

Here are five signs that your hiring plan is in distress – and what to do about it.

Most of the resumes you receive are from applicants who aren’t qualified for the job.

It’s normal to get a few resumes that simply don’t fit the job’s requirements: Some candidates will send a resume for any opening, no matter how much of a “long shot” it is. But when a significant number of the resumes you receive go straight into the circular file, it’s time to rethink your job postings.

Throw out your current job description and start from scratch. Talk to people who do the job, their co-workers, and their supervisor. What tasks must be done every day? Every week? What skills are essential for accomplishing those tasks, and what skills are “helpful but optional”? Take this information to your staffing partner, who knows how to write up a job posting that will attract candidates with the right mix of skills and experience.

Interview questions don’t seem to yield useful answers.

If you’re interviewing but still can’t make a clear decision about the candidates, reconsider your interview questions. Are you asking questions that will prompt candidates to tell you about their approach to work, their passion, their goals? Are your interview questions standardized, so you can compare candidates more easily? Do your interviewers have experience and skill in interviewing, or are they “winging it”? Your staffing firm can help you produce better interviews.

Your interviewer keeps reproducing him- or herself in candidates.

People tend to like people who are similar to themselves. While this is normal, it also means that by leaving hiring in the hands of a single person, you’ll get candidates who are remarkably similar to that person – strengths and weaknesses included. By including multiple people in the hiring process, you’ll improve the chances of finding a well-rounded top candidate who brings a fresh perspective combined with the skills and personality to mesh well with your company. Your staffing partner can provide this perspective.

Candidates are saying “thanks, but no thanks” before a job offer is made.

Few things are more frustrating than extending a job offer to an ideal candidate or starting to draft an offer letter, only to hear that the candidate has accepted a position with a competitor’s firm. In most cases, this occurs because the interview process at your company dragged on too long or proceeded without clear communication to the candidate regarding timelines and what to expect next. By eliminating unnecessary steps and staying in regular contact with the candidate, you reduce the chances of your top choice choosing another firm.

Your top candidate is a disaster hire.

A candidate who dazzles in the hiring process but falls apart on the job – or leaves within a few months – leaves hiring managers wondering “what happened?” Often, the answer is that the hiring team made sure the candidate had the skills to do the job, but didn’t consider whether the candidate had the personality to fit well with co-workers or supervisors. By working with a staffing partner, you improve the emphasis on cultural fit, helping you find candidates who offer both outstanding skillsets and a personality and morale “boost” to the rest of your team.

At FootBridge Energy Services, our recruiters can help your energy industry company connect with better talent in less time. Contact us today to learn more.