Recently we had some of the most interesting and frustrating feedback from a client I think I have ever seen (in my 10+ years recruiting):
“I can’t make a decision because you have presented two great candidates – if we hired one of them, we’d always wonder whether the other would have been better…”
Ludicrous? Funny? Typical?
Of course, our first reaction was that this client just isn’t interested in employing someone, surely one candidate stands ahead of the other for their needs? But as I reflected on this, I wondered how many other small businesses are letting indecision ruin their recruitment success. Have you missed out on great candidates because you couldn’t decide what you were looking for or which applicant was the best fit for the team? I am sure we all at some point in running a business have been crippled by indecision, for fear of failure, reluctance to face the unknown or purely because we were too busy to make that decision a priority. It comes as no surprise that a poor recruit costs your business time, money and energy, so why let something as easy to overcome as indecision play a factor in getting the best possible staff for your team? Here are my top tips for avoiding and overcoming indecision to make sure you maximise your chances of success when recruiting for staff:
- Know what you are looking for. It may sound basic, but without a crystal clear picture in your mind of what this individual needs to be able to do in their role, and what experience and skills they need to posses in order for this to happen – how will you ever decide who is right for your role?
- Prioritise your essential and desirable criteria, so if there are several candidates who are all at the same level, you will be able to ‘rank’ their suitability in terms of their ability to meet your criteria.
- Make notes after each interview, whilst the applicant, their answers and your gut feel about their ability to fit into your team are fresh in your mind. It might be simplest to give them an overall score out of ten for several key criteria, so that when you are comparing several applicants it becomes clear who the leaders were.
- Get a buddy – or ditch a buddy – if you don’t have anyone helping with the recruitment process, get a buddy to bounce ideas off and act as a sounding board. This might be someone from the organisation or someone from outside, as long as they understand your needs and the organisation as a whole. Conversely, if you have someone ‘helping’ you but all they are doing is confusing you and muddying the waters when it comes to your decision making, ditch them and find someone who might be better able to help rather than hinder.
- Don’t over analyse, approach the recruitment with clarity, purpose and a defined goal. This way you will be able to focus on what’s important and forget about the rest.
