How Does the Wrong Person on Paper Get the Right Job?
How does the wrong person on paper, end up getting the right job? Well I've seen it happen time and time again. I've been an Executive Recruiter for over 30 years and I've devised a new Model that actually works. Yes it does. I know this sounds like a foreign concept. But in my practice, I do what we call align people, the whole person to a job. Not just the resume. It sounds weird, doesn't it. Well, a lot of my clients thought so initially, too. But it works. And it works very well. It's about getting under the hood of the resume. Oh my, now this person is trying to sound like a mechanic. How can you actually get under the hood of the resume. Well, you start by asking the applicant a different set of questions when you interview them. Of course, you start with traditional questions.
The ones I'm referring to are the schools attended, the GPA, the experience gleamed thus far. But you dig deeper. That's where you find the gold. I do believe it's the gold. Because when you find out who the person really is, and get behind a resume, you learn so much more about what lights a person up. What makes them tick. What they really like to do, and then you can align them to the right job where they will stick. Stick? What do you mean stick you are probably asking? Well, I mean where a person will stay on a job for a long, long time. Isn't that what most employers are looking for? Sure they are. And why? Because hiring a person is a costly investment. When a company hires an employee, they are making a huge investment.
It's expensive to make a bad hire. And it's not good for the applicant either. No one wants to continuously change jobs. It's grueling to have to interview and take a job, and do it over and over again. So how is this actually done, and what questions need to be asked. You may have heard of a self-inventory. Well, a recruiter can do an applicant inventory much the same way as a person can do it for themselves. The recruiter has to identify what life experiences the person had that really made them light up. What classes did they like in school, what experiences in their career or field of study gave them much joy. I did this not long ago for a person that had received a degree in Forestry and had been looking for a job for 6 months. I truly believe 99 out of l00 recruiters would have overlooked this person. But I was able to find out what his passions and commitments were and align him to the right job.
This young man told me he had a strong math and science background, he liked to move around in a job, and he could make computers sing and dance. Well at the time, I had a job for a Production Coordinator in a manufacturing plant. What the job required was that the person could synthesize technical data, interface with departments like quality, environmental, safety, and put all the data into complex Excel spreadsheets. The client was reluctant to see him, but when he did, he hired him on the spot. The young man was promoted in 30 days and in the last 6 months he has been promoted 3 times. Why did this happen? Because his passions and commitments were aligned to the right job. I saw this young man recently and at 26 years of age, he told me he would probably retire with this company because he liked his job so much. This is what we call alternative methods of hiring. It's a practice that will become more and more popular because the demand for experienced people in most careers are not meeting the supply. Not in the pipeline industry are the people available, and I'm thinking in other industries as well there will be a shortage of qualified talent. So how can we get employers, recruiters, etc., to start using this new model? Well as in anything, people have to be willing to try something new. As humans we are all resistant to change. But if the traditional methods of hiring are not working and not meeting the current needs, it's time we have to try something new. In my recruiting practice I work with one of the most resistant audiences to change. They have been very resistant to trying this. But many have, and I have gotten so many referrals from satisfied customers, I'm thinking this new method is starting to catch on. Start trying to get under the hood of the resume. It's the only way you can really make sure you are hiring the right person for the job. It's not that difficult to do, and the extra time required will pay off greatly in the future.
What will happen is that employees will be retained by their employers and stay on the job longer. They will be more productive because they are in jobs they really like. It's a win win for all involved. And employers will have employees that want to come to work because the jobs are aligned with their passions. You can teach someone a job, but you can't teach passion and commitment. If it's not there, it doesn't matter how much experience they have for the job. They will end up leaving and you will be right back to looking for another employee. Employers and recruiters can be taught to utilize this new model. It's effective, saves time in the long run, and produces good results.