Are new hiring practices making us hire more of the same?
Deborah Mills
Smart thinking, creative ideas and practical solutions that work for brands, organisations and people. Specially interested in education - in all its forms.
The other day I was coaching someone who is looking to switch careers; is happy to take a salary cut but is looking for a fresh challenge. No names, no pack drill. They have found no lack of interesting-sounding openings on line. But once they apply, they have been met with an Inbox full of "thanks but no thanks". Yet they have proven success, a great CV, a hinterland of relevant interests and Linked In endorsements out the wazoo. If they can't get through, Lord help the rest of us!
With more and more companies turning to the combination of a detailed job spec/screener to filter through applications, we should be aware that there is a downside. Yes, this is great for efficiency (and of course, it's much cheaper than using recruitment specialists) but is it at a cost to potential diversity in people, personalities and skills?
The best talent spotters, be they external recruitment specialists or internal, have a nose for that elusive match between the job opening and the individual. It's usually not entirely obvious and rarely linear. I'm not sure I entirely trust algorithms, bots and other data-based selection tools - yet. They are often over-punctilious and their precise, linear thinking can deliver results which, while accurate, are just a tad clunky. (Look at those targeted ads that pop up in timelines. A friend of mine got recommendations for funeral planning on her 50th birthday. Cheered her right up.)
It's not easy (at least at the moment), for a screener to pick up on the nuances of great chemistry; transferable skills you didn't even think might matter; or to assess the risk of taking a punt on someone. And from the applicants' perspective, whether you are at the beginning of your career (nothing for the screener to scan) or further advanced (too much of the wrong kind of experience), the new hiring processes can seem skewed to provide more of the same rather than the surprising and fresh.
Of course all screening devices are a first sift; job specs are notoriously optimistic and once you've got in the room, human to human, at interview, you can tell your own story. But who are the employers missing out on? If your company is relying on talent screeners to provide long lists of candidates to interview, you may need a safety net to catch those unexpected talents whose experience doesn't quite map as you had in mind. Allow for some unexpected applications - because that's where the magic may lie.
From someone who was lucky to jump careers 20 years ago, from motorcycle instructor to IT it takes 3 things: 1) A candidate willing to do something different 2) A hiring manager wanting something different(thanks Darrell Berry) 3) Coincidental timing The more 1 and 2 are active the more chance of 3 happening. I think the problem though is like the internet in general.. too much information and not enough curation Maybe the way is a kind of linked in/ facebook style search, as i agree with the comments above about how its ultimately a human process - so maybe this could be the electronic version of who you know - but then would this change who you connect to. Maybe we will start to see a resurgence in the value of good personality traits. The number of times i hear "we are not paying someone in that job more than the going rate". When in reality someone with an amazing work ethic is twice as valuable as a one without, but a better list of skills.
Complimentary skills are hard to find but often very useful. I have driven business improvement projects in industries from metal bashing to semiconductors, and from online gaming to dog food - I have always found something from another industry to help in current one.
Business Coach specialising in business growth and career change.
7 年Sound advice.
Creating Ideas For International Brands. Crafting Wooden Bowls In-Between.
7 年I wonder if an advertising agency could pick up new business this way? Maybe have the CEO, ECD and SD standing on the sidewalk.
DEFINE THE BRAND YOUR BUSINESS CAN BECOME
7 年Seems to me that finding people to share their time/part of their life in your business is the most human of endeavours. And all attempts to de-humanise the process in favour of tick boxes will probably end in an impoverished and disappointing experience for both parties?