Like Yogi says: “It ain’t over till it’s over!” It happened a few days ago… again. We tried to tell our client, a district manager, that he needed to keep interviewing until he had three or four qualified candidates to choose from, but he liked this one so much, he was sure he was going to hire him… he thought. Well, his boss who also had to interview the candidate was out for a week. The candidate was interested, the company was right, the job function was right and the money was right. Since our client had to go out-of-town the next week, by the time the candidate interviewed with the Vice President it was Wednesday of the following week.

Meanwhile, our candidate was interviewing, not only on positions we were referring him to, but on ones he had dug up for himself, and also on ones other recruiters had arranged for him. Our client’s attitude was that since they had the best money, job, company, etc., the candidate would be around when they were ready. As time went on, our candidate became more and more lukewarm about the deal. He knew objectively that the job was a good one, but he wasn’t getting any reinforcement from our client. Even though we were supplying positive enforcement for the “match”, the candidate wasn’t hearing it from whom it counted: The client company.

Although we encouraged the district manager to interview others we were working with, he was sold on the first candidate. The Vice President, however, thought it was a good idea to talk to others as well. The manager we were working with never asked his boss how he perceived the hiring process before they started and only now discovered his boss wanted to interview at least one other candidate. The district manager then called us, and needed to see more candidates, but still insisted that they were going to hire the original candidate. We informed him that the initial candidate was well into interviewing with others. Since an entire month had passed and he had had only two interviews with our client, we had an obligation to find him other interviews. The manager was sure the candidate would accept an offer from them, but he could do that only after he presented his boss with two more candidates.

It took another week to interview more candidates for his boss to review. An additional week went by before the Vice President could talk to at least one of the candidates. Although it was clear that the initial candidate was best, they took another four days to schedule a time when they could get with him to make an offer. The morning the meeting was to take place, our candidate accepted an opportunity with another one of our clients. Our initial client was furious with the candidate an unhappy with us.

What Happened
The job the candidate accepted really wasn’t quite as good for him. This company however, interviewed and hired within a week. They made him feel good about them and their company. They hired an excellent candidate because they had interviewed and hired expediently and with purpose. They had a need and they appeared decisive to our candidate. They looked like they knew what they were doing.

Our original client started all over and this time completed the whole process in two weeks. They hired a good solid candidate who will do well. He isn’t as good as the original candidate, but he will do well.

The lesson to all of this is obvious. Candidates will change their minds or make other choices. Just because a company offers a good solid opportunity for a good employee doesn’t mean every good candidate is going to wait for them to decide. In fact, the longer the process goes on the more indecisive a firm appears, no matter what the reasons.

Sell the Candidate
Good candidates need to be sold too. Once a good candidate is identified, the hiring process has to be a two-way street. A good candidate will not respond positively to a one-way street type of process. Hiring a good candidate “just ain’t over till it’s over.” Since it is a highly emotional human endeavor, the process will rarely run as predicted.

To insure successful hiring, a firm needs to set a timetable for the interviewing process. Schedules of all managers and officers involved should be coordinated BEFORE the process begins. A short list of three qualified candidates needs to be made so there is the insurance of backup in case the primary or secondary candidates do other things, or change their minds. We remind people all the time that our product in the placement profession is one of the few products that can say “No” and often does. Taking these initial planning steps will make the process flow easier, more efficiently, and effectively.

Tony Beshara is owner and president of Babich & Associates.   Beshara has been in business since 1973, and he alone averages $2.5 – $4 million per year in billings. If you have any questions about this article, please call (214) 823-9999.

© Tony Beshara, Babich & Associates