Hiring vs. Recruiting

When hiring a passive candidate: It’s all about attitude!

Eliminate the thought – “They should want to work here…” They don’t know what you know. Even if it has been communicated, they won’t see for themselves until and unless they start working there.

You are not entitled to top talent. You must attract it. You must clearly communicate the growth potential, visibility, and impact they will have, as well as the advantages of the role, group, products, technology, location, culture, company, compensation, and benefits.

When working with a passive candidate: Keep the momentum going!

Resume feedback, phone screen, interview, offer – ideally should happen within 48 hours of the last step; otherwise, you risk having a passive candidate:

Assume there is no interest
Assume hiring isn’t a priority
Learn about a competing opportunity (internal, external, or maybe local)
Find reasons to stay due to fear of change
Get frustrated with the process and drop out

It’s Not About the Money…until it is about the money

Nearly all passive candidates are motivated to make a change for the opportunity, not the money. However, nobody wants to feel like they’re taking a step back when they’re making a career move. Passive candidates will need to sell their spouse on making this move when they don’t have to and doing so for less money is a hard sell to make. While money is not the only factor or even the most important, it is a factor and an important one. You have invested a lot of time so far; don’t blow it now by making a low offer. Sometimes it is perceived that making a low initial offer leaves room for negotiation, it also can send an insulting message to your candidate.

Don’t lose out on the right person for your organization because of mixed messages.

Can this person do the job effectively?

Can we work with this person every day?

If Yes:

Show the candidate why they should work at your company.
Keep the momentum going so that they know if you are really interested.
Make an offer that gives them another reason to be excited to join.

Recruiting Versus Hiring: Common Misconceptions and Mistakes

Hiring is simply letting the world know you’re accepting applications for a job. Recruiting is the intentional art of identifying and attracting the most exceptional talent for your position.

Recruiting raises the standard and requires you to have an opportunity worth quitting for. SBT does not fix an immediate issue for the recruited individual, we create one. Since the candidate is gainfully employed, there is no problem. The issue we are creating is a state of discontentment unless they join your team. This is a huge undertaking for any job to overcome, which begs the question: Is your position, recruiting mentality, and practice as elite as the talent you are trying to attract?

Passive Candidates versus Active Candidates – Why are They Different?

Passive Candidates	Active Candidates
Gainfully and happily employed	Are either out of a job, or so unhappy that they want to leave their current company
Well compensated as a valued employee in their current company	Not paid as well as their peers or believe that they should be paid higher than they currently are
Fully engaged and invested in their current projects; keeping a busy schedule as a productive and engaged employee of their current company	Taking time from job responsibilities to look for something better or not working at all
Open to listen and learn, but not committed to leaving their current company	Ready to jump at any opportunity that comes their way
Have to convince spouse and family to move even though they do not have to	Already discussed relocation with family and agreed that their current situation is poor enough that they will relocate wherever the next opportunity it
Technical skill set has been pre-screened to make sure they have appropriate expertise	Applying to jobs regardless of how close of a fit they are
Only exploring the opportunity brought forward by the recruiter	Exploring all opportunities available: job boards, those presented by recruiters, etc.
The reason they are talking to you is because of SBT’s efforts in recruiting them and selling them on your role and company	Internal or external factors in their current role are causing them to look at all other possibilities over their current job, or they don’t have a choice since they are unemployed
Passive candidates need to be sold that this opportunity is better for their career, and a better fit than where they are now.	Active Candidates need to sell you on their expertise, and hope someone is interested enough to bring them onboard.

Hiring is Easy but Recruiting Pays Off.

There are three questions you should be aiming to answer during the course of an interview:

Can this person do the job effectively?
Can we work with this person every day?
Will the candidate love working with us?

If the answers to these questions are yes, then hire that candidate, immediately. Perfection is a myth and seeking perfection will leave your position unfilled and you increasingly frustrated. Remember, if the candidate possesses 100% of the skills needed for your position walking in the door, you have no learning/growth opportunity for them which will likely mean they will not be interested.

We Know You Know How to Hire, but Do You Know How to Recruit?

Recruiting a Candidate	Hiring a Candidate
Quickly respond to potential candidates’ resumes (ideally no more than 24-48 hours from submission)	Take your time, the candidate probably isn’t going anywhere
Have a technical conversation based on the candidate’s expertise and the requirements for the role	Grill the candidate on their technical qualifications asking bulleted technical questions
Make sure to divide the time to be able to answer any questions the candidate has about the role, company, or technology you are working on	The focus of the call is to have your questions answered
Invite the candidate in for an onsite interview or next step as soon as possible. Ideally while you’re still on the phone with them, but never more than 48 hours after the initial phone interview	Let the candidate wait a few days or even a week or two since they are likely not going anywhere
Make a competitive offer within 48 hours (sooner is even better) that exceeds the candidates current compensation package	Make an offer in hopes of landing the candidate as cheaply as possible
Hiring Manager personally follows up with the candidate after offer extension to answer any questions and reiterate excitement	Give the candidate a firm deadline and ask for them to email the offer back without any phone or face to face follow up
Continue engagement with the candidate past acceptance and through their resignation to prevent counter-offer consideration	Assume acceptance means the deal is done and wait for the candidate to show up on the first day
Make every effort to make all appointments with the candidate so that they know this is a priority	Reschedule hiring activities to fit your schedule
When you have recruited a candidate, you can be assured that you have hired the best person for your position. There was an even amount of selling on both the candidate and your end.	When you hire a candidate, you have hired a qualified candidate for the position. The candidate sold themselves enough to you.