Hiring Managers: Stop being limited by assumptions
If you are a hiring manager, or a recruiter sourcing talent you may be operating on some conscious or unconscious assumptions that are actually limiting your ability to attract the talent your company needs. Do any of these sound familiar?
- If I hire this person with a disability they will take a lot of sick time and our medical rates may go up.
- If I hire this young woman, she may get pregnant and lose focus on her work.
- If I hire this older engineer, he will not be up on the latest tech.
- If I hire this minority he or she may not 'fit in' to the company culture.
- Women don't do well in this field; it's smarter and safer to hire a guy.
- If I hire this 'kid' right out of college, he will not be willing to take direction from a 'Boomer'.
- If I hire a gay salesperson, it may harm our image; we may lose customers.
- If I hire this Baby Boomer, they will probably retire in a couple of years.
- If I hire this Milennial, they will demand too much feedback and expect to get promoted right away.
- If I hire this Gen X female, she may not get along well with more mature co-workers...and she will only stay for a short time anyway.
- If I hire ANYONE who doesn't fit a narrow 'image' of the typical XYZ Inc. employee, my boss will be skeptical and I'll lose credibility.
The talent pool is full of people who may very well be a perfect fit for your open position, but you will never know if you hold on to outdated assumptions (aka stereotypes). What if you judge each candidate only by their skills and potential? Ask yourself 'would I hire this person if he/she weren't disabled, or older; or a minority'? Maybe you would find yourself taking less time to fill open requisitions; and more importantly, you may be surprised to find that your assumptions were limiting YOU as well. #Assumelesshiremore
HR On Call Now can help you uncover and avoid assumptions that may be limiting your ability to hire great talent- email hroncallnow@gmail.com for a consultation.