Café Grit S1E03: The Hiring Process - Why Does It Suck?

In our last Café Grit Blogisode (S1E02: The Hiring Process – A Story) we walked through a job hunt with candidate and my friend Ruby Scooby (not her real name but I wish it were). ??

Ruby applied for a position with Company A. She did a phone screening and two interviews, and she totally rocked it. Three weeks after the last interview she accepted a position with another company. It had been over two months since she applied. She never heard back from Company A again.

So what the hell happened? How do we fix it?

?? Wait…you think I have the answers? HA HA HA HA! That’s so cute.

These problems have been going on forever and I’m not sure we can fix them. But, there’s no better place to start than to call out the bullshit.

???? I will caveat all of this by underscoring that I am not HR. I encourage those in HR to send me your comments and corrections. I’ll make sure to talk about them on a future episode (or perhaps you can be a guest!).

Okay, let’s walk through some of these cow pies. ??????

1.    It takes eons to get through all the phases of the process.

Why does this happen? There are so many reasons, some of them legit. Some not.

For one, time is needed for all of the hiring process activities. Often these are competing with a lot of other #1 priorities happening at the same time.

?? I was guilty of this in my early days as a hiring manager.

?? Why? Everything was a top priority. I was barely keeping my head above water in my umpteen roles, tasks, assignments, not to mention covering for the people who had left my team (hence the position).

I once asked my boss what my #1 priority was. He couldn't tell me. I had to find a way to do them all. It wasn't his fault. He was at the mercy of whatever shiny coins the people with real power wanted to pursue.

I had literally zero time to fit in phone screenings, interviews, and all the other work needed to adequately and respectfully talk to 5-10 qualified candidates (double or triple that if you are in a less-competitive market). ??

???????????? I’m not saying it’s right. It’s just reality.

Side rant: This applies to any position. People have too much coming at them and it's a major productivity drain.

Sometimes there are delays because hiring managers want to wait and get all the candidates in before setting up any screening calls or interviews. They want to do a comparison up front rather than assess each person on individual merit. ???♂?

I’ve learned that this is far from the ideal way to go. Better to stagger the activity rather than let them pile up (which is utter folly, not to mention impactful to the waiting candidates).

?????? Probably the worst thing about the long process is the lack of communication. It’s not the cause of the problem but it contributes greatly to the frustration.

This should be a no-brainer, right? I’ve said for years that people are very understanding and accommodating if they just know what’s going on. Even if it’s going to take weeks. Just let them know. It’s the right thing to do.

I’m not saying you gotta tell candidates your deep dark company secrets. But it’s okay to say, “I’m so sorry, we had to push out the interviews a few weeks because of Covid-19.”

Is that so hard? No, it’s not. If it is, get someone better in this position.

2.    The Phone Screening ??

I don’t think phone screenings are inherently bad (other than they can take a shitload of time to set up and conduct).

???? They do provide an opportunity to give a little more information about the position, the company, the expectation, and to make sure the candidate is still interested. You’d be surprised how things might change for someone even in just a few days.

?? One thing that should always be discussed on the initial contact is the salary range. This is a big pet peeve of mine. If the candidate asks what the salary range is, give it to them. Better yet, volunteer the information.

So many people have told me that they ask but get nothing. Yet they are expected to reveal their own current salary. WTF? Why are we so freaked out about publicizing the salary for a well-defined position? ?????♀?

If Ruby is currently making $80K and not willing to go lower, she needs to know that your position is at best $60K.

Otherwise, it’s a waste of everyone’s time. And time is precious. ?? ??

On the flip side, so-fucking-what if Ruby is only making $50K now and she might settle for $60K but your range is $70-80K? If you hire her in the position for which she is fully qualified, then just fucking pay her what it'sxx worth. She’s probably underpaid now anyway.

You’re damn lucky to get her for that if you ask me. But I am biased. ????

?? Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest. I have heard too many of my friends complain about this.

3.    The Formal Interview – Where do I start?

?????♀??????♂??????♀? First of all, why are we still asking those dumbass interview questions?

I understand that for some positions a few formal questions might be warranted. But why the fuck are we still doing the old “What do you consider your greatest strength/biggest weakness” bullshit? ??

Asking those questions makes you, the hiring team, look lazy and old-fashioned. And all it reveals about your candidate is their ability to perform an effective Internet search. That’s all.

?? Second, do not ask candidates to do free work for you to prove themselves. I can’t even believe that this happens.

This, fortunately, did not happen with Ruby but I do know someone who was asked to put together an account management plan for a geographic area as part of his interview process. I personally find this offensive and unethical. I mean, come on!

If you ever walk into an interview and are asked to do free work to prove your worth, flee. Channel your inner cheetah and get the fuck out of there. ??

And lastly, for the love of all that is decent and human…please, please, PLEASE can we get rid of stupid tactics like the Wonderlic Test or tricky questions that no one can or should answer, like “How many golf balls can fit into a school bus?” ????

No, people. Just no.

Just have a conversation. If you cannot gauge a person’s fit for your company, her intelligence, her ability to learn, and whether or not she’s a colossal dick or not, in a two-hour focused conversation…then excuse yourself and get someone in the room who can.

4.    Multiple Interviews with BigWigs - Really?

A rampant problem in many management chains is control freak syndrome. And I say this as one of the biggest and best. But I got nothing on some people.

?? Oh, the double standard. You put people in charge of huge, expensive, critical systems and processes and people…but you don’t trust them to make a fucking decision about who is most qualified for a job that they created, they will manage, and that they’ve been handling for years.

SMH. ?????♀??????♀??????♀?

You don’t need a fucking VP to interview or even approve a hire who is three, four, or five levels down. Delegate, for Christ’s sake. ????

And now my favorite of all:

5.    And they were never heard from again. ????????????

I recently ran some very unofficial polls on LinkedIn and Facebook. I asked people if they had ever gone through a formal interview process for a professional job posting and never heard anything back one way or the other. I mean nothing, not even a “Thank you for your time.”

?? On the LinkedIn poll, 78% of responders said they had done a formal interview at least once and never heard anything back. 64% said it happened multiple times.

Folks, that is waaaaay too many. The correct response should be zero percent.

?? On Facebook it was pretty unanimous in respondents hearing back zilch one or more times. One person even reported being ghosted by her current company more than once when she applied to different positions in other departments. If I were that company, I would be mortified.

?? If someone is not moving on, not getting an offer…why not just tell them? Is it against the law to say, “We are not extending an offer at this time?” It’s not against the law because some companies DO inform. Unfortunately, many do not.

So what’s the answer? Just fucking communicate. Trust me…a candidate would rather you just say “We are not extending an offer at this time” than to sit around for weeks waiting to hear something. ?????♀?

?? And if they are still in the running but something is delaying your decision, then tell them. Give them a time frame. And keep communicating.

Let’s just stop being cowards.

??? If you are going through the interview process and you don’t hear back in a timely manner…consider if that is the company you want to work for. I hesitate to say just forget them completely. I know from experience (as was the case with Ruby) that just because a company takes you through an arduous journey for hiring doesn’t mean they aren’t a good company to work for.

I’m just saying, ask good questions and consider it as part of your overall assessment.

I know this is easier said than done in tough times. So take it with a grain of salt. ??

And hang in there.

?? Now let's open the floor to all of you. I would love your insight into understanding the process and maybe...MAYBE...improving it a teensy bit.

?Ideas for improvement on the whole job search/apply/interview process?

?Any hiring managers or HR folks out there want to weigh in?

?Job seekers – is any of this resonating? Horror stories?

Let me know in the comments. Call it out!

All right Grit Brigade, don’t forget to follow #cafegrit here on LinkedIn and check out the Café Grit Podcast for more real conversations about corporate life, careers, the quest for fulfillment, and finding your voice.

You can also find more information and more discussion in our private Facebook Group Café Grit. I’d love to hear your comments, questions, suggestions for future topics, or corrections (except for the Grammar police…you all can just keep your damn mouths shut, no one wants to hear from you).

And check out Where The Hell Is My Bacon: How An Innocent Pork Product Conquered Employee Engagement And Change Management At A Large Midwestern Corporation for the true story of how one stressed-out IT department found their voice through bacon.

 That’s all for now, we’ll talk to you soon…and remember: You don’t have to deal with the bullshit, and there IS something better out there. Let’s figure it out together.

 Take it easy…

Cafè Grit Podcast

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