Hiring Is A Discovery Process

In Proverbs 18:15 it is written, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” As a leader, it is your job to discover and learn all you can about the candidate prior to offering the position. The more you know, the greater the likelihood of success for both of you. The less you know, the greater the likelihood of failure and a mis-hire. Work hard to discover all you can in advance. After the hire it is too late.

In order to discover all you can about your candidates, you have to have a strategy, including specific descriptive situational interview questions. You have to be an excellent listener. It never ceases to amaze me how much time interviewers waste in an interview by talking too much. I will never understand this compulsion on the part of managers to continually sell their company to the candidate. How can you learn about the candidate when you are talking? 
The hiring process is not a sales process! You are not charged with the responsibility of making a sale. You are charged with the responsibility of finding the right fit and match. The only way you can do that is to ask questions and listen. And unfortunately, the higher the person’s position in the company, the more they feel a need to talk. 

When meeting with a new client and discussing hiring, he tried to justify his time spent selling his company to the candidate. He sincerely believed the candidate needed to know the whole story. I told him I agreed with him. But, you do not use interview time to talk about your company. Give the candidates printed packets of information along with your web site address. It is then their job to discover about your company, not your job to tell them or sell them. Candidly, if you have to sell them then you need to take a hard look at your company. You have some issues that need to be resolved before you hire any more people. Contact me and I will introduce you to my Choosing Winners© System.

In my book, “A Game Plan for Hiring the Right People”, you will learn all about the value of a Discovery Process.

In Proverbs 18:15 it is written, “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” As a leader, it is your job to discover and learn all you can about the candidate prior to offering the position. The more you know, the greater the likelihood of success for both of you. The less you know, the greater the likelihood of failure and a mis-hire. Work hard to discover all you can in advance. After the hire it is too late.