A little while ago I coauthored an ebook, "The Golden Egg of Strategic Recruitment". It is a call to the world that the hiring landscape is changing and has changed.
We can no longer hope to hire people the same way we used to. It seems when we need to hire, the first thing we do is post an ad with a list of all the things we want and hope to have a steady stream of people jumping through the hoop eager to work with us. Once we know they're good enough, THEN we'll talk to them.
This has to stop. I'm not saying an ad is wrong. In fact I'd argue it's essential still - as one component. We need to understand more about what the candidates are interested in and what their goals are in order to engage them in the conversation and, ultimately, get them closer, if not on board, with your team. This is turning things on their head. It's looking at things from their needs first, not yours.
Jean Martin wrote an excellent article about this and demonstrating the success that has come from it.
Some steps to successful hiring:
Understand the type of person you want to hire. Find out from your top performers what interests them. Use that information to make a few selling points
Figure out a few places to find them. Where do these talented folks hide? Are there associations, user groups, LinkedIn Groups etc where such people are found?
The key is conversation. Lower the barrier to entry so you can get conversation started with a few of the right people. Rather than have them jump through hoops, open the gates and talk with a them.
Kaizen. The mantra of Kaizen is Plan, Do, Study, Act. Try it out, see what's happening and refine your approach with the new data.
This is only a short list intended to get you on the right track. As time goes on, I'll expand on these. Reach out to me if you can't wait.
Where have you had success in hiring? What lessons have you learned?