The hiring process hasn’t changed much in the past 100 years. A job is posted. An applicant expresses interest. An interview is conducted. And, for the right candidate, an offer is extended.
Is this one of those situations where you don’t try to fix it if it isn’t broken?
Not necessarily. Maybe the process has been broken all along.
In the list of steps, a few were skipped. Like all the time it takes to go through the resumes and applications, only to find those you deem suitable to bring in for an interview. And all the interviews it takes to find the right candidate. Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to search through haystack after haystack looking for that one perfect needle?
In all of the interviews you’ve been involved in, either as the person conducting the interview or the person being interviewed, you likely knew within the first few minutes if it was a good fit. The rest of the time was spent either re-affirming that conclusion or being polite so it doesn’t look like anyone’s time was wasted. How many times has a mind been changed after those first few minutes?
So, that leads the question: What is the cost of that lost time? Have you ever added it up? Especially when you consider the second and third interviews that invariably follow?
The hiring process is incredibly inefficient because spend too much time standing on ceremony.
Finally, the process of finding candidates should be ongoing. You shouldn’t wait until you need to hire someone before you start looking to hire someone. You’ll never know who you’re missing out on if you wait until it’s too late.