There’s no doubt that hiring qualified people is important. Having top-notch talent who do quality work will help your company reach its goals. Unfortunately, in an effort to get hiring right, some companies have made their selection process an obstacle course.
Take, for example, a prominent company in Seattle. It’s a great place to work. However, a less prominent employer in town, with whom they compete for employees, is winning the war for top talent. Is the lesser known company’s jobs and work environment better? No. They consistently rank slighter lower on Glassdoor.com.
Why is the lower-ranked company winning the war for top talent? It’s simple. It’s their process. They’ve created a fast and efficient red-carpet experience for candidates. Top talent are treated with exceptional care, and are whisked through an expedient selection process. This includes one phone interview followed by one face-to-face interview.
The more prominent company hires differently. A phone interview is followed by four separate visits for in-person interviews. As one candidate put it, “Interviewing with them is like being on the show ‘Survivor.’ They make you go through a ridiculous obstacle course to get to their jobs.”
Does this mean the prominent company is more rigorous in their selection process? No, not at all. In fact, when compared side by side, both companies maintain high standards. The lesser known employer is meeting these standards quickly and efficiently.
How can you turn your hiring process into a red carpet experience that attracts instead of repels top talent? Answering these questions will get you started:
- How many steps are there in our selection process? Which steps can be condensed or eliminated without sacrificing quality?
- What do we need to see, hear, and experience in an interview to know if someone is a fit or not? How can we do this more quickly and efficiently?
Speed and quality are not mutually exclusive. A fast and efficient selection process can be thorough and effective. Which is vitally important. Talented people have choices. Rolling out the red carpet makes them much more likely to choose you.
Celebrating may be the last thing you’d expect someone to suggest when it comes to a midlife crisis. A celebration certainly wasn’t my first thought in dealing with my emotions about turning 50 next April. That’s exactly why it turned out to be just the right thing.
Owning something doesn’t mean I have to like it. It just means I accept it for what it is. I get to accept that I miss being a dad of younger kids. I accept that staying up late means 10:00PM on many nights. I choose to accept that I’m turning 50, and the emotions that come up about it. By owning it, I’m not fighting it. Which makes it easier and enjoyable.
Sharing it didn’t start with this post. It began by sharing my feelings with my family and trusted friends. By sharing it, I’m processing emotions, working through them instead of letting them fester under the surface. These feelings, as a result, don’t the run the show. Instead of having to medicate them with a new flame or a hunk of gold hanging from my neck, they simply dissolve as I share them with people I trust.
I didn’t buy a Corvette, but I did spring for a Mazda Miata convertible. It was time to dump the dad car, my Toyota Prius. With my emotions in check, I was able to make a practical choice that fit my values and needs. Because I’m accepting life on life’s terms and sharing it, I’m having fun without compromising my integrity.
When you call something a crisis, it’s hard to laugh about it. That’s the beauty of the first three ideas. They allowed me to honor my feelings, work through them, and come out the other side with my sense of humor intact. As a result, there’s a lot to laugh about. For example, when I shared with my son that I’d bought a Miata, he said, “Only you would get the cost-effective midlife crisis car.” Had I been living this as a crisis, I’d have been upset. Instead, this had me laughing for days.
It’s been said that time is not on our side. The latest stats back this up. According to the 
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