Written By: Josh Sandberg
Hiring is your most important job, however, most executives have it all wrong. They think they have developed a smart process and they know what they are doing, but that process is dated and mostly ineffective in trying to win over the happily employed candidate. After all, successful recruiting is not a science but an art. You can make candidates jump through all of the appropriate hoops, but in the end the interview process only shows you a couple things:
- It shows you who is the best interviewer (perhaps who was coached the best or who is the most desperate)
- It will give you a small understanding of the potential cultural fit but not enough to make a decision on by itself.
- It will give you the opportunity to hear their rehearsed version of their philosophy and what they can do for you in the future.
If you pick up on some cynicism it’s because the most important thing to remember is that you are only “dating” the person at this point. You have yet to see the ugly side of them when they haven’t had enough sleep or how they react to bad news. Do they accept responsibility or make excuses? Are they an engaging leader and diligent worker? Only time will tell. 
Many of you have hired a lot of people throughout your career, perhaps even hundreds but I would suggest that your previous experience does very little to ensure your next hire will be successful.
Engagement
Your hiring process plays a part in being able to successfully attract and ultimately hire a candidate, however, the process is usually constructed backwards. You start with an initial screening call to test the candidate’s interest. Then the candidate moves to a phone call with a hiring manager that is trying to ensure the candidate has the right qualifications and they aren’t wasting their time. Once they are convinced this is a viable candidate you invite them out to the company headquarters for an in-person interview with the senior management team.