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Ann’s Problem: Can You Help Her?
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“Help me out,” Ann said. “I really don’t have a clue what to do.” That’s how the phone call started. Ann went on to say that she was perplexed and even a bit annoyed that the hiring managers she dealt with consistently reported that the candidates they were seeing weren’t qualified. Ann’s boss was getting suspicious that Ann wasn’t a very good recruiter and had quietly suggested to her that her reputation was being tarnished. Ann told me, “I have spent hours and hours with these managers, talking to them about the skills and competencies they want to see in candidates. Since these are all mid-level technical positions, we have kept the conversations focused and I think I know what they want. Yet they are never happy.” She told me she has interviewed people in similar positions in the hiring manager’s department, and in other department as well. But none of this has really changed the attitude of the hiring managers. In Ann’s opinion, they are turning away some really superior candidates on flimsy and unclear grounds. If Ann’s issue were an isolated case, I wouldn’t be writing this column. Unfortunately, she has a problem most recruiters will face, or have faced, at one time or another. There is often a disconnect between what any of us think we want and what we eventually buy. We often don’t know what we want until we see it. Minivans, small motorcycles, the Walkman, and TV dinners, for example, were all products that focus groups and market research indicated would not be popular. To get them on the market took a risk-oriented decision. But risk-taking implies failure at times, and many things focus groups have found exciting and feel that people will love have failed. New Coke is the classic example. So it is logical to assume that many managers may not really know what kinds of skills, or even what kind of person, they want until they have the opportunity to experience a sample of contenders. By talking to a series of people, they get to test their own ideas and see what reactions they get. They also may get a chance to hear from others on their staff, if they are involved in the interviewing process, and that feedback may change the ultimate desired skill set or personality. Ann’s problem may be more one of approach than one of being poor at execution. By spending lots of time with hiring managers, she is inadvertently creating an expectation that she will find them the “right” person. She is also assuming almost total responsibility for finding that person. Then, when she finds that she really cannot act as the surrogate manager, she loses that manager’s respect, and probably support, and creates a number of dissatisfied candidates as well. It would be wise for Ann to think about what a recruiter’s role really is in an organization. While perhaps for a few positions the recruiter can act as the manager and make a decision about “right” or “wrong” candidates, this is not true for most positions. It might be better for Ann to take a slightly different approach. Here are a few ideas:
I am sure you have thoughts and opinions on my suggestions, as well as many of your own. I would like to continue this column next week by adding your contributions to this discussion. Do you agree with me or not? What would or do you do? How do you extract the skills and personality requirements for a position from your hiring managers? Are you facing the same issues Ann is facing and what are you doing about it? Please send your comments and thoughts to me at kwheeler@glresources.com, and we’ll pick up this discussion next week!