Five Steps to Land the Candidate you are Trying to Hire

There is more Competition for the same Candidates. With the economy improving and fewer people looking for jobs, there is less time between when candidates apply for a job and when they get hired. 

Since there are fewer applicants available to choose from another company may offer a good candidate a job while you are still in the vetting and interviewing process. To have a higher probability of securing the candidate that you want to hire you need to understand the hiring trends. Applicants are getting hired by companies much faster than they were in the past. A recent poll conducted with 75 different organizations showed that 74% of sales jobs are filled in less than 60 days.

Since the economy has improved candidates have more jobs to choose from. This means that employers generally have less time to make a decision about who they want to hire. In the Life Science, Molecular and Companion Diagnostics fields alone hiring have been happening at an impressive rate and the industry is expected to continue to grow by 22% in upcoming years. All of that hiring will make the job market much more competitive and employers may find that they lose the best candidates if they don’t act fast.

Step 1: Establish Decision Criteria

Before you begin to interview have a concise idea of exactly what you are looking for in an applicant and only interview candidates that meet the criteria. There is no rule that states that you must interview five or six people. Do not compare your candidates against one another, instead compare them against the criteria that you have specified for the job. If you have only interviewed one person and that person is what you are looking for have the confidence to make the move and not waste your time on other candidates. If you take a long time to interview prospects you will run the risk of the candidate you want accepting a position with another company. Time is of the essence to ensure that you get the candidate you want.

Step 2: Qualify the Candidates

When you are in the hiring process it is imperative that you know if the candidates are pursuing other companies or internal promotions. Most candidates will not volunteer this information, you must be asked to determine if you have competition for their employment. If your candidate is actively engaged with another company you need to know how far along in the process they are.

Step 3: Open Communication

Nothing is more frustrating to a candidate than not having open lines of communication with a potential employer. Not only is it difficult for the prospective employee but it could lead to them accepting a position with another company. During the hiring process set up a timeline for each interview and event leading up to the final decision of who is hired and stick to it. Give every candidate that you are interested in all of the information you can about how long the hiring process is expected to take and do not delay on any of the steps or the candidate might lose interest or assume that you have hired someone else. Send emails or call candidates between interviews to let them know that they are still in consideration for the position.

Step 4: Sell Yourself and Your Company

Any interaction the candidate has with your company must be positive and professional and the entire hiring process should be easy for the candidate to navigate. The idea is to impress the candidate so much with the professionalism of your company that they would not want to look elsewhere. You must sell your company as being the best place to work to avoid the best candidates from accepting other positions. Your company needs to present itself as well managed, professional, organized, capable, and confident. Keep the candidate happy and engaged throughout the entire hiring process. From start to finish you need to put your best foot forward to attract the most qualified candidates.

Step 5: Minimize Time between the Interview Steps

Once you have decided who you want to hire, make a verbal offer do not waste any time getting a written contract. The best time to get the candidate to sign on with your company is when they are excited about the job and happy about being offered a position. If you wait too long between verbal offers and having them sign a written contract you may find that their excitement wanes. Also, have the new candidate begin training or working as soon as possible once the written contract has been signed. If there will be a delay between the time of hire and the start date be sure to keep the new employee engaged by keeping the communication going. This can be done through training or by having a member of the staff call and check in on the new hire periodically to make sure they stay excited about becoming a part of the team.

Success

Hiring new employees can be a long, expensive, and often tiring process. When you go through all of the steps of reviewing resumes, interviewing, and wooing a candidate only to lose them to another company it can be expensive and frustrating. By following the above steps you will increase your chances of landing the best candidates.