Why IT Leadership Hires Candidates That Can Do the Job…Not the Best Available in the Market

September 16th, 2013

Most organizations start the hiring process with a job description developed by HR or the hiring manager or a combination of both.   It’s creation is usually triggered by some change – a new product rollout, a new project/program, a resignation, or a change in management.

These job descriptions generally focus on educational requirements and skills – either skills that the prior employee had and on what the manager thinks the job requires.  They rarely describe the work involved and what is entailed.

To start the process, the job is posted on the company website and job boards, and the hiring manager or HR wait for the resumes.

However, if the company’s goal is to find the best candidate for the job – not the candidate that can do the job- then this process is doomed to failure.

The typical goal of management is to find the person who possesses the skills necessary to do the job, interviews well, communicates effectively, and who is able to articulate they are motivated to do the job.

The problem lies in the odds being totally against hiring a high quality, top performer because that is not what the goal was set around when the job description was written. By focusing on “good enough”, “phenomenal” is compromised.

If passive candidates are the target, what are the chances that they will find that posting?  They are not looking for a new job, so they would not be actively scrolling through LinkedIn or CareerBuilder or even Dice.  If they do find out about the open position, what are the chances of them applying, proceeding through the screening process, showing up for the interview dressed in their best suit and tie, smile on their face, steady eye contact, and ready to sell themselves?

The chances are not good. The odds are better for hiring the “best fit” who applied to job description, not the highest caliber candidate, motivated to come to work for the company in the position because of the opportunity presented.

The majority of hiring processes focus around the wrong things – finding candidates who are eager to accept the position and who have a majority of the skills outlined by management in the job description.

To successfully hire the best talent, companies need to focus on building an effective hiring process and conducting planned interviews.  Managers need focus on gathering pertinent information (decided in advance) and selling the opportunity to the candidate – not on the candidate’s interest, job skills and ability to interview well.

At Honer and Associates, our mission is to assist our clients in identifying, attracting, hiring, and retaining the highest-caliber, top-performing candidates in the marketplace.  If you have any additional questions about attracting the best candidates to your organization, please contact us at your convenience.