When Was The Last Time You Made a Hiring Decision?
I was recently facilitating a discussion with a group of job searchers. There were about 20 people present, from all different work disciplines, age groups and stages of their job search. I put out a question to the group. I asked “How many of you have ever hired anyone?” Perhaps about half of those present raised their hand. Some of the others present indicated to me that they has never been a supervisor, or they had predominantly worked independently.
I then challenged back that I sensed that everyone present had made a hiring decision at one time or another. I asked how many had ever for example hired a contractor to do work on their house. Even more straight forward than that I suggested how many had made a decision to shop at one store versus another, or chosen one service provider (hair stylist, internet provider, phone service) over another. An awakening started taking place. We are always making “hiring decisions.”
When in job search, individuals go on interviews. Sometimes they are selected to fill the open position. Often they are not. Other times they may need to go through several rounds of interviews before the decision is made to offer them the role they seek or not. At times I’ll hear the question asked frustratingly by those in search, “What is it that these companies want?” While the answer can vary depending on the company and circumstances, I suspect often it is similar to the things we want when we make our own “hiring” choices.
First we look to hire those that either have the merchandise or perform the service that we seek. Will we accept something that is not exactly right or a potential substitute? Often it depends. If we have been searching a long time or if we need to address something immediately, we may. More often if we don’t feel the need is immediate, we likely will continue to shop around.
Another item is we look to get a sense if the person with whom we are about to engage has our best interests at heart. If we’re only picking up a pack of gum or a loaf of bread, we’re likely not very engaged in the individual selling us the item. But, if the need is more personal, (such as this person will be cutting my hair, this doctor will be examining me, or this person will be painting my house and I have to live with the job they do for the next several years), we are likely to be more selective.
Certainly cost comes into the picture. Sometimes we will only hire people at the bottom line lowest cost we find. However, if we perceive value from what we receive, whether that is the quality of service delivered, the trust we have in the service provider or knowing that longer term we may gain additional benefits from working with this person, we are willing to spend more. Sometimes it is just the comfort of knowing that the job will be done right and that I don’t have to worry about it as long as the person I have hired is in charge.
Therefore, if you are the person that is looking to be hired, (whether applying for jobs, offering your service as an entrepreneur, or someone looking to make a little extra cash), put yourself into the position of the person doing the hiring. What would you look for, if you were making the hiring decision? Are you displaying those skills and traits? Are you keeping in mind their needs, and providing to them evidence and reassurance that you can address them? It will put a whole new perspective on your search and help answer that “What is it that these companies want?” question.
