During one recession I remember being young, working in retail, and thinking: “everyone in retail has to have a four-year or master’s degree, for that is what my co-workers all had.”

I didn’t know back then that I was in the middle of a recession, one that pales in comparison to today. People now faced with transition are diligently looking for the right fit, but are also considering applying for positions which they are overqualified for, and, then they are surprised, they are not getting them.

Overqualified workers will be quickly bored, frustrated and discouraged, and the moral in the office may suffer.

One hiring manager said the best time to hire overqualified is when a company is faced with rapid growth, needing to promote quickly without much runway. Having a strong bench with “A” players will position the right talent in key roles, easing the growing pains. This is not the time most companies are feeling that growth.

Some managers are tempted to create that strong bench even without that growth. They want accounting departments full of controllers instead of accounting clerks, or an engineering department full of senior-level designers.

Soon after hiring a clearly overqualified candidate, the manager sees the pitfalls.

One employee who used to be a SVP of finance accepted a controller’s position found that he quickly felt underused. Also, he was using systems that needed to be upgraded and felt very frustrated when his recommendations were ignored. Each day his frustration grew and his respect for his boss and the systems diminished. The manager wondered how he ever had an SVP-level position after seeing the attitude he displayed. This is a classic example of the right person in the wrong position. The controller was set up for failure.

A sales position was filled with a candidate who once was an industry expert, and a very successful sales manager who won outstanding performance awards. Selling is selling; she thought and felt she could quickly move up based on her prior track record. Once she joined the sales force she found that she really didn’t fit in. Placed on a team made up of mostly entry-level people she had no one to identify with, and felt like an outcast. Her co-workers viewed her as a manager — even though she wasn’t — and also had difficulty working with her. Her managers confessed they hired her to help bring the level of professionalism up on their team. The feeling of isolation was very difficult and resulted in a continued job search.

The manager was relieved when she moved on. It takes quite a different approach in managing the overqualified.

The right fit is still the goal for many hiring managers, even though the temptation is there. The best candidate for a position is one who can do 50 to 75% of the work with the need to learn and grow to master the task. This period of time will give an employee the challenges and rewards most seek and provide a give and take with the manager. This provides a success track, putting the candidate in the best light to perform and succeed and display a positive attitude.

As far as what we can do with the overqualified, one senior level HR strategic planner suggests the best fit for an overqualified candidate would be a staff-level in a totally new area, such as putting an operations person in a staff-level human resource role, or a retrained engineer in an entry-level IT position. Switching industries or areas will give a candidate the right opportunities to grow and learn, preserving their enthusiasm and optimism. These retrained or redirected employees, with their prior experiences and successes, will usually be on a faster growth path, and be able to pull on past experiences to become a valuable contributor to the new area.

Our skills need to be sharp — even sharper than ever. It’s more important now that we bring in the best candidates possible, and actually get the candidate to accept the offer. No room for errors. We need to go through our recruiting process and make it perfect.

It takes all you know now, when that important search comes up and once again, you kick into high gear, ready to fill it with the best this market has to offer. What we used to do with 60 jobs on our plate at once is all different, now with only a few key positions to fill. Being in “auto pilot” is something that went away last fall. Now it’s a new game, and we need all the expertise we have to pull it off.

This is the best time to take out the book on recruiting, and don’t skip a page. (Is there really a book on recruiting? We can only wish). Every move, call, and discussion matters. We need to be at the top of our game. The stakes are high and the results need to show. We may not have a real book to turn to, but what we have is our experiences.  We need to do everything we can through the process to ensure an offer will be accepted. Which hiring manager wants to make a mistake in hiring? If they get the “go ahead” to hire, they will be very specific in what they want and how. The pressure is on the recruiter. Here is where the good recruiters stand apart from the great. Cover all the bases.

Every search has a degree of difficulty, and more often lately the difficulty is we don’t want to go all-out public with our search. Many companies have been restructuring, and “what would the public think if they found we are hiring?” We also don’t want to wave the “come and get me flag,” flooding us with calls from other recruiters who just want to help, or all candidates who are looking right now, for any opening. We want the needle, not the haystack! With all that said, we need to take the right steps and get this done.

Perfect recruiting? It means not missing a step. All along the process we must pay attention to every detail. No skipping steps. It’s by the book!

Get the Details

Take the time with the hiring manager and get a strong job description, and this includes exploring and challenging each element. How many times do our managers start off looking for one set of skills or experience, and end up with something totally different? Through strong questioning a top recruiter can sort out the “have to haves” from the “want to haves” giving a more solid game plan. Stay in tune to the manager and keep fine-tuning the job description. It will change; it always does. A great recruiter can ask the tough questions and nail down the details.

Get the Approvals

When it comes to approvals, take the time to go the distance. Get the approvals from the normal chain, and go up a level or two. But don’t stop there. If the recruiting process takes awhile, double check with the approvers that you still have a green light to hire. Our business environments change often and so does the decision to hire. Don’t wait till you are ready to make an offer to find the job was put on hold. Ask the tough questions and ask them often.

Progress Reports

Keep your managers aware of your progress and your slate of candidates. The managers need to see the effort and to anticipate the results. Throughout the process we need to keep checking, asking those questions. Each new candidate considered could bring new thought to the position. After each interview, debrief with the manager and see what’s different.

Confidential Sourcing

With sourcing: Can’t go public on a huge job board? Try strategic recruiting: sourcing just the names you really want to talk to, or those who know the people we want. Instead of broadcasting the opening to millions, find 5-50 using LinkedIn or in your candidate files, and contact directly. Here’s the step not to miss: Contact them both in writing and by phone. It takes several attempts in the market these days. An email takes the cold out of the call and the call takes the email out of the Spam. Most candidates are reluctant. Be persistent and get those calls made. I find in the most recent years, some recruiters rely too heavily on emails and seldom pick up the phone. The phone is where a relationship starts. Use it for the competitive edge you need to not only find the right person, but to get an offer accepted. The relationship starts at the very beginning. A good relationship between candidate and recruiter paves a smoother path to hire.

Candidate State of Mind

Take the time with the interview, but more than finding out everything about the candidate, dig deep with the candidate’s parameters. Why are they looking? What would make their lives better? What’s really important to them? Have they ever accepted a counteroffer before? Keep these questions in mind throughout all the steps of the process. Minds change, situations change. Stay on top of these changes. Find those cold feet, and keep them warm.

Counteroffer

Cover the counteroffer, and cover it often. Most companies who have a hiring freeze know if a key player leaves, they may not be able to replace them. If your candidate is that key player, it’s very likely they will receive a counteroffer. Start talking about the possibility during the first interview, and don’t ever count it as a “done” conversation, until the person starts and becomes engaged in their work. I have seen candidates accept counteroffers from their current employers starting from the day they give notice, or as late as two weeks after they start the new position.

Team Effort

Employ the management team in the hiring process. The more people the candidate meets, the better likelihood they will accept an offer. We are not in a market where the managers can only practice behavioral interviewing, but we need to connect to the candidate and show the welcome mat. Do both! Developing a strong rapport could easily make the difference. A candidate must feel welcomed, engaged, and excited to accept an offer. At offer time, a follow-up call from the highest-level executive to the candidate is a great way to cement the relationship. Knowing that the candidate can talk with top management will show the company has good open communication, is accessible, and implies a strong trust. The candidate will be happy to be recognized by top management and will add more comfort in making the move.

Offers need to be made in two stages. Gone are the days where we just mail out an offer letter and cross our fingers. A two-call close uncovers possible objections and details that need to be addressed. Call first, and ask, “If we made an offer would you accept it, and at what level?” Open the conversation up and listen carefully to what the candidate is saying. Hesitance, questions, problems, concerns, or misconceptions need to be addressed, and this may take time. Take the time to close the candidate carefully. Listen to the objections; confirm the objections, isolating the real reasons for hesitation. The care taken in this step will help avoid those turn-downs. If you do get a turn-down, use the ‘lost sales close’. You may be able to bring the placement back to life if the real objection is uncovered and can be answered. It’s never over.

Consider offering an exit plan for anyone who is hesitating on coming aboard. How many times have you heard candidates say they feel safer in their current company than they would jumping to a new company, becoming the new kid on the block? It’s possible that a solid exit package will show you are investing in this person and feel confident they will become a valued contributor. This offer can make the difference.

Follow up with your candidate after the offer is accepted. Never leave them alone to work out their notice for weeks before they start. This is the time counteroffers become real. Stay in touch. Call instead of emailing. Find reasons to connect and reaffirm your new relationship and don’t ever be afraid to ask if they have been asked to stay. Have them reaffirm the reasons why they wouldn’t accept a counter offer when you do talk.

Of course, the last step not to miss: have a strong onboarding program in place. Once they join, show the love; help to get established and connected.

This hire is your doing, take good care of it from start to finish. We have more time with fewer openings. Make the most of it by following every page in your book.

But things are different now. The openings are few and the calls from candidates are multiplying. We are now hearing from our own friends, co-workers, relatives, neighbors, people we really care about. How can we help when there aren’t any openings? It’s a new game out there, but we still can make a difference, if we take a bit of time. Even though we cannot directly hire these people there are still many things we can do to help tip the scales in their favor with their search.

• First off, try to respond to each person you hear from, if not by phone, at least send an email. Being ignored is the worst part of being in transition.
• Ask the candidate if it would be all right if you sent their resume out to your contacts. Most people are happy you can do this, but it’s best to get permission first. Send out a bcc email to those you know and introduce the candidate to them. I believe most hiring that will happen now will be ‘quiet hiring’ — not necessarily openings blasted over the job boards, but careful, and quiet gathering of candidates for a search. Helping those you know can get their resume into the hands of those hiring, even if they aren’t going public with their search.
• Send resumes to hiring managers in and out of your company if it makes sense. Most managers know long before HR does if they will have a need, and they may welcome the resumes from you.
• When giving leads to a candidate, suggest they use your name in their cover letter. If they are networking with someone who knows you well, their letter and resume has a better chance of being read, with your name as the introduction.
• Write a recommendation for the candidate on their LinkedIn page, and if they aren’t yet on LinkedIn, send an invite. Adding a recommendation as a co-worker, a co-member of a group, or as a client/ vendor will help the person to complete their profile, and can add valuable information. Be generous with your comments.
• Invite the candidate in transition to group meetings that you are part of. Most often they can come as a guest, and you can introduce them to others. This will also work with virtual groups, blogs, and online networking.
• Give the candidate a list of your favorite agencies you have worked with in the past, or forward their resume to the agencies that know you. They will appreciate the recommendations, both ways. Remember too, when agencies call to get your business, tell them about the people you know in transition and see if they will accept a referral.
• Put the candidates in transition in touch with each other. Many informal groups are created this way, and sharing leads and information is very helpful to the candidates. They don’t have to be searching in the same field either to be a help to each other.
• Forward articles and blogs; sharing information is a great way to help. Some people who have left their company and thus have left behind their company email address lose the link to information we get everyday. Forward it over so they can start getting connected again.

There are so many things we can do to help, even if we can’t directly hire those who come to us. This list of ideas cost nothing but a bit of time, and can make a world of difference. All the help we give others will come back to us someday, so build the bridges, make the connections, and help if you can. Today’s candidate could just be tomorrow’s hiring manager. It will always be appreciated and never forgotten.