Don't Ask Questions - Ask Solutions

A common term you hear around recruitment is "bottleneck." It is common in positions such as recruitment because it is a process that is heavily reliant on approvals. Anything process heavy, and approval heavy, will take time, which is the conundrum because recruitment is time-sensitive. The tricky part is that recruiters are always talking about bottlenecks, BUT, are they doing anything to expedite or alleviate the issue? Not likely. I can't solve the bottleneck issue for your organization, but I can help you speed up what is in your control so you can get answers faster.  

 When you run into a problem, do you stop what you are doing and ask someone a question and wait for their response? This is your first mistake. More often than not, you have the resources to answer the question on your own; you are just not looking or asking the right people. Check your notes or ask a colleague that has likely run into the same situation. Most questions do not need to go up the chain. Not only will this be faster, but you will also learn more and retain this information so that next time you run across this problem, you will be armed with the knowledge to solve it, alleviating the problem altogether.  

 If you are still unsure of the answer, no one else has dealt with this in the past, or you know it needs to be approved, here is what I have found to be the fastest and best route to take:

CREATE WHAT YOU THINK THE SOLUTION IS WITH THE QUESTION EMBEDDED INTO IT. Then ask approval on the solution.  

Example: 

Person X is negotiating for a signing bonus. I know we typically don't give signing bonuses. Instead of asking my manager what to do, I send this email: 

"Hi Boss, 

Person X wants a signing bonus, I know we don't give signing bonuses, so I think if we can offer X, Y, and Z, we will appease them and we are good to go. Are you okay with this approach?" 

 The reason this works is that you are asking the question and solving it for them. All they have to do is review and say yes or no, or possibly make a tweak or two. When they see the email come in and it is immediately actionable, they don't look at it and reply that they'll have to think about this later when they aren't so busy.  They can answer immediately.

Think about it from your perspective. Is it easier to create your own document or edit one that someone else has already written? Which of those tasks are you likely to take on first?

 Again, you will not only get the answer faster, but you will also learn more and show initiative, which will not go unnoticed. You may not be able to eradicate lags in the hiring process, but you can definitely shave off a few days here and there. It's all about controlling what you can control and being thoughtful.