Thursday, September 19, 2013

It's not just a recruiting problem...

I’ve been totally slacking with the blog lately, my bad.  Big topic this week, and it’s one I’ve been wanting to write for a while.  

You hear a lot about companies or hiring managers who complain about their recruiting team and how they can’t find the right people.  Well...maybe, I mean sure..some recruiting departments suck but a lot of the time it’s a company wide issue but its much easier to just blame the recruiters.  Why take accountability when you can just thrash the recruiting folks?  It's easy, that's why. However, the truth is recruiting is a company wide project, everyone needs to be all in or you all fail.  It’s that simple.  Here are my quick thoughts on what each person in the company needs to do in order to successfully recruit...leaving out the recruiters of course because um you guys just do your job.

Hiring Managers -  So, these guys are key.  If you’re a hiring manager you've got a huge job to do here.  You need to respond quickly to resumes and be decisive.  If you meet someone great..hire them..don’t play games, hire the person.  Another key way to contribute as a hiring manager is to help sell candidates and close candidates on joining the team.  The last one, and this is important...hiring managers need to be engaged.  They need to listen when the recruiters push back on the process or decision making process.  Recruiters and managers are partners in hiring.

The rest of HR - The rest of HR play a huge role in recruiting.  The biggest, and frankly the hardest is attrition.  HR absolutely needs to focus on making sure people are leaving out back door as fast (or faster) than the recruiting team can hire them.  A lot of HR teams don’t like to hear that but it’s true.  If you have high attrition, you could have greatest recruiting team on earth and you’re still screwed.  HR also can focus on compensation, benefits and all the cultural stuff to make a company attractive.  Like I said above, it’s a team effort and HR/Recruiting are the essence of team so make sure you’re truly supporting each other.

Interviewers - Ahhhh, the interviewers.  Honestly, probably the most unappreciated piece of the recruiting puzzle.  Hiring Managers, HR and Recruiters can all do their job but if the interviewers are late, disrespectful, uncalibrated or just plan bad…….everyone fails again.  As an interviewer you've got pretty clear responsibilities.  Be prepared, be positive and make sure you give the candidate a great experience.  When you’re done, give prompt and decisive feedback to the recruiters so they can hire great people.

Executives - For senior leadership it’s pretty easy.  Stay engaged.  Don’t float above the fray and assume hiring will be easy.  Get into the process, talk to candidates, review resumes and generally do the things you’d have done before you became an Exec.  A lot of exec are “too busy” to interview or give timely feedback….I call BS.  If hiring and recruiting is a priority...get it done or delegate the authority to someone who can and will meet the companies hiring objectives.

The moral of the story here is simple.  Recruiting and hiring is a company wide project.  It’s not just the recruiters who are responsible for hiring...sure, we carry the heavy load but if the rest of the company can’t convert the pipeline to hires….you lose.  It’s that simple.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Should you move for a job? Maybe....

As my loyal readers know, I recently moved out to the Bay Area for my new role with Google.  Honestly, a year ago if you told me I’d be living in California I’d have said you were crazy..no way.  Well, things happen in life that make you change plans.  Sometimes its easy, sometimes it’s not so easy.  Regardless there ARE times when it makes sense to move for a job.  Let me explain a few times when packing up and moving is the right call:

The opportunity - This is reason #1 and #2 you move for a job.  You move for opportunities.  If you can’t find a job that’s even close to as interesting as the one you’d move for….take it and go.  You know how I feel about having a “career” as opposed to a job so if opportunity knocks get it done.

The adventure - This can go hand and hand with the point above, but the location matters.  For example, moving to California or Europe or some other moderately exotic location can be a great adventure….whereas you could have a great job but if it’s in Timbuktu you might want to think twice before taking the job.

The team - Sometimes a team is worth moving for and uprooting your life.  If you can find a “Dream Team” that will really grow your career and teach you all kinds of Jedi skills...do it. The team is the most important part of any opportunity so honestly this can make the whole thing worth it.

The cash - Now, you’ll notice this is pretty far down the list.  Moving only for the cash is crazy, bad bad idea because money can’t truly buy happiness.  Yeah, yeah, it can come close but it’s not the only factor in life.  That being said, I’m not stupid and neither should you be when it comes to moving for a job.  The cash matters.  Can you afford to live there?  Will the comp move you into that next level?  Again, it matter but it’s not the only thing.

Well, there you go..a few quick thoughts on relocating for a job.  You know how I feel about having a career, but the it’s bigger than that.  Life is an adventure and every once in awhile it makes sense to spice it up.

More soon, but good luck out there...the job market still sucks so try to keep focused on your longer term goals.