Empathy: The key ingredient to becoming a more human (and humane) hiring manager

We’ve all heard horror stories about hiring managers with exhaustive, borderline disrespectful job application processes. Multiple rounds of interviews, unwritten resume rules, bias against short tenures, requiring cover letters they never read, giving out assignments to apply, bizarre personality tests and more. In short, they make it a burden to apply.

Why does this happen? Too often, these hiring managers lack empathy for applicants.

The good news is that this situation can be turned around.

Why empathy is often lacking in hiring

Let’s start with a definition. What is empathy? Here is the dictionary definition:

"Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”

So, what drives a lack of empathy in hiring?

I believe it comes from hiring managers who have been out of the job market for a LONG time.

People in positions at the same company for 10 to 30 years, or people who have owned a company for that length of time, struggle to understand what active job seekers go through.

So, they create incredibly high standards for applicants. Often, their expectations are unrealistic in the extreme.

One justification I hear from these hiring managers: “I just want to see who will put ‘extra effort’ into applying for this job. Why shouldn't they work hard to apply?”

If most candidates were applying for just one job at a time, putting in extra effort might be reasonable.

However, in today’s job market most people who really need a job are applying for many positions – possibly dozens or even hundreds – during a job search that might take anywhere from a month to several years. Putting all your effort into one job application isn’t a smart or fruitful strategy for most people.

That’s especially true when you’re likely to never hear back on most job applications you submit.

Here’s an example of what cold applying looks like.

The last time I hired for a role, I reviewed close to 200 applications. I chose about six or seven people for phone screenings. I then put forward three people to formal interviews - one referral who was a past employee of my company, one internal candidate and one person who cold applied.

I’m not great at math, but that’s a less than 1% chance of going from cold application to final interview selection!

That scenario is unlikely to resonate with a hiring manager who has held the same role for decades.

Sure, maybe they’ve applied for a position here or there during their long and stable tenure, but it’s not the same as being an active job-seeker who is trying to catch a break.

There is a better way to treat applicants.

What can hiring managers do?

To start, I suggest hiring managers look at their hiring process and make it easier to apply.

? No tricks during the application process.

? No unnecessary tests.

? No endless rounds of interviews.

? No required cover letters.

? No unpaid, time-consuming assignments.

? No unreimbursed travel.

? No candidate hunger games!

You must be self-reflective about your process. Assess the last hire you made. Did you really get value from asking every candidate for a cover letter or did you not read any of them? Did you review the results from the 100-question, 20-minute personality test you made every candidate do?

Consider every process step not required by Human Resources as something that could be potentially removed or scaled back.

This is especially true when hiring for entry to mid-career level jobs. Do you really need to make the application process burdensome here, or should you focus on filling roles as quickly as you can? The bar can be set higher for senior roles, but even then, make sure what you're doing provides real value.

For those who want to gain real empathy with job seekers, ask the people you hire for feedback on the process they just went through. Were there steps that felt onerous to them? Be open to getting real input and acting upon what you hear.

Why empathy matters in hiring

To clarify a point on empathy, it’s important to realize that you don’t need to go through the exact things other people experience to gain an understanding of what makes those experiences positive or negative.

You don't have to stage your own version of Undercover Boss. Just listen and seek to understand.

LinkedIn is a great place to read about what candidates are going through. I see stories every day. Read them and reflect. That’s a place to start.

The payoff for you and your company is having candidates enjoy the hiring process as much as possible and start work off on the right note. That's more likely to result in finding the right candidates for your open roles and retaining them.

Even better, it's just the right thing to do.

#hiring #management #hiringprocess