Decisions, Decisions (and Asking the Right Questions)

Recently, we’ve seen an abundance of employers looking for candidates even more candidates looking for a new opportunity.  This is the ideal environment, right? 

Well, yes and no.  If you’re a candidate, this is an ideal market.  For employers, however, it is a different story altogether. 

Nationally, we have entered into a candidate-driven market, where each candidate, whether they’ve disclosed it to you or not, has more than one opportunity close to offering them a pretty sweet deal.  Often, the decision is made in favor of the opportunity that makes the offer first.

“We’re not going to make a decision too quickly, even if it means losing out on the best candidate” is the knee-jerk response of many banks in this type of market.  Typically, they’ve already lost out on one great candidate, and they’re resigned to losing out on more.

While this statement isn’t a bad idea, the strategy is often executed incorrectly.  Too many employers don’t ask all the right questions the first time around, then find themselves uncovering new information in every meeting thereafter, often dragging a hiring process out into four meetings when everything could have been accomplished in two or three.

One of the ways to eliminate the waste is to write a list of questions that you, as the hiring employer, need answered in the first meeting to know if it makes sense to meet a second time.  This way, the second meeting is less about each party still getting to know each other and more about determining whether the person can do the job, wants to do the job, and fits with the culture.

This type of questioning not only gets you to a decision faster, but it makes you more competitive in a market where timing is everything. 

So, what are the questions you need to ask to make your hiring process more efficient?  That’s a question we would love to help you figure out, so that moving forward you’re positioned to make quick, effective decisions in a marketplace that demands it.