1. MAKE A PLAN
When proper organizations set out to hire proper executives, they start with 7 things. Steal their formula:
A clear picture of the role’s functions, its must haves, and its nice to haves
An outline of what makes this role different from the same role at a different company
A benchmark candidate who is a real person
A reason why this role would be attractive to that person
A compensation package and a marketplace snapshot that are aligned with each other
A short list of stakeholders who know the their roles in the interview process
A sense of urgency
Write those down, have a 10 minute meeting with 4 people, and you have now shaved months off of your hiring process.
“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.” - George S. Patton
2. ACCESS, NOW
Here’s what can kill a search before it even starts: not having a curated pool of relevant candidates on day one.
I say "relevant" because they don’t have to be perfect, or within budget, or local. You just need to be able to believe that your ideal candidate profile exists in the real world, so you can begin.
Small brands tap the networks of their most connected employees. Funded startups and established businesses use specialized recruiting firms.
Either way, you need real candidates at your fingertips immediately, not in two weeks.
The fastest way to get discouraged and delay action is to convince yourself that the person you need is impossible to find.
3. BUDGET VS. CRITERIA: PICK ONE
It’s OK to have a set of criteria AND a budget, but only one of those two things can be absolute.
If your budget is firm, the market will tell you who’s available for that number.
If your criteria is firm, the market will tell you what someone like that costs.
By stating an inflexible budget, you are essentially saying “my criteria is flexible”.
And that’s OK.
4. STOP INTERVIEWING
When matching a business to a person, you need to know the business, and know the person.
You cannot get to know a person in 60 minutes of “walk me through your resume” and “tell me about a time when”.
You can only listen. A good recruiter is really a therapist for the first 60 minutes, and then a recruiter after that.
People LOVE talking about themselves… except in interviews. In interviews, a starchy agenda spoils the sauce of personality.
Instead, make a friend. Allow the conversation to turn philosophical. Give it some depth. You will learn everything you need to know.
5. RECOGNIZE RELATIONSHIPS
The higher the caliber of candidate, the more tactfully the opportunity must be sold.
Whoever’s doing the recruiting must be deeply integrated into the community you are drawing from.
People buy things (and ideas, and dreams) from people they know.
6. SCREEN FOR OPTIMISM
Rule out insufferable humans. Complaining is cancer. Someone who even hints at a complaint during an interview process is guaranteed to contaminate your culture.
A decently talented human who loves their life and their job will outperform the inverse.
Personality is not a replacement for skills, except sometimes it is, when paired with aptitude. Which brings us to:
7. HIRE FOR APTITUDE
Ambitious brands always want more talent than they can afford. It is not uncommon for a salary budget to be a bit out of sync with the job requirements. When this happens, there are two ways around it:
Find an expensive person who has done this job, and lowball them
Find a less senior person who could do this job, and pay them an amount that makes both of you happy
The former is safer, but unsustainable. The latter is difficult, but worthwhile.
How do you screen for aptitude? Start with this:
The #1 indicator of success is grit, aka resilience. Resilient people have been through stuff. Find out what.
Experience is great, but it can’t be measured purely in years. A young wolf is wiser than an old dog.
8. BE DECENT
One person gets the job. How you treat the ~50 people who didn’t get the job is a direct reflection of your culture. It's also a giant underground PR event, so make it good publicity.
I shouldn’t have to say this, but here we are: Every dismissal should be done verbally, person to person. Nobody who’s jumped through 7 layers of interview hoops deserves a boiler plate email from HR.
Ghosting an intern applicant is one thing, but ghosting a leadership candidate after an exhausting process is not only amateur behavior, it’s also a missed opportunity to create a long term relationship with someone legit who could work for you in the future.
A fascinating early learning for my team and me: We actually made (not lost) friends and advocates via our dismissal process. Giving a shit really pays off.
Most worthwhile things in life are inefficient (think winemaking, V12 engines, home cooking). The dismissal process is one of those things.
9. HAVE BACKUPS
Out of 4-5 semi-finalists, our clients always fall in love with one candidate who makes all the others pale in comparison. This is natural.
But it’s important to not be naive. Just like the company is prudently entertaining multiple options in the background, so are top candidates.
It's normal to rely on decency, but many candidates have zero problem going through 7 rounds of interviews, conveying excitement, signing an offer, and backing out in the 25th hour.
They don’t want to break their word, but they might, if a better offer comes through or if their spouse has a change of heart or if their current employer makes a huge counter.
Good people do bad things without malice.
The search isn’t over until it’s OVER.
