Your Instincts Can Pose a Problem
As many of you know, I’ve been highly involved in the recruiting industry for a long time so I’ve had a lot of exposure to the pain points that both employers and job seekers experience on a day to day basis. In an effort to help both sides of the equation, I decided to release a series of blog posts in August.
This series will revolve around the danger of our instincts and emotions with a 360 view of the recruiting process as I see it. My hope is that by sharing my insights, I can help you to side step some of the most common pitfalls.
I will also be turning this series into an eBook so if you would like a copy when it’s complete, please signup HERE for access.
So let’s examine what starts us down the wrong path – our emotions!
Fear
Let’s start with what I consider to be the most impactful emotion for both the employer and the job seeker – fear
From the employer’s point of view, fear and insecurity will start to creep in at various phases of the hiring process. I’ve had conversations with countless hiring managers and when we start to talk about what they see as their ideal candidate – they often tell me about the failures of the person who previously held the position. I listen closely to their concerns and write them all down as a part of my process.
When I’ve got all of those details in hand, I like to step in and remind them that the right person is out there. The last thing I want is for their fear of choosing the wrong person to hold them back from hiring a rock star candidate.
From the job seeker side, fear is just as big of a road block. Given the iffy economic conditions we’ve all lived through over the past several years, some people may choose to stick with a dead-end job where they’re under paid or they don’t feel appreciated. It’s easy to stick with what you know when you’re afraid of change.
That being said, I always encourage my candidates to keep and open mind. If the opportunity of a life time presents itself, I don’t want their fear of change getting in the way!
Greed
It’s impossible to have a discussion on hiring without addressing the elephant in the room – greed
Let’s start with one of the most common scenarios out there. You go to your boss or your HR team and let them know that the time has come, you’re resigning and moving on to a new opportunity. In some cases, you’ll see shock on their faces and they’ll politely ask if you’d be willing to hold your decision until they’ve a chance to meet internally to discuss your future with the company.
Maybe a few days go by and they come back to you with a 20% raise if you agree to stay on. Maybe they throw in some extra vacation days or a chance at that promotion you were promised last year. It’s easy for greed to get involved at this point but don’t let it distract you! Remember, you decided to move on for a reason. If they thought you were worth 20% more in pay, that would have been your salary all along!
From the employer side, always be honest with yourself about the value of every position at your company. Take a closer look at your current employees to see if they are covering your needs. If you see a gap, maybe you can offer some additional training or resources to get things moving where you want?
If you need to make a change, should you also bump the salary offer in order to attract the cream of the crop candidates? Remember, the construction industry is as competitive as it’s ever been. Embrace the challenges that come with that and recognize as many of the benefits as you can!
Pride
Given how much time we all spend with our work, it’s impossible to remove pride from the mix. With any good company, management strives to create the best possible workplace. Unfortunately, some of your people will still move on to new opportunities.
It’s important to keep your pride from taking root in this situation. If an employee was good for your company, you need to be happy when they grow and move on. In addition, you should always provide a good reference for these people, even if you’ve had trouble finding a perfect replacement. In the construction industry, relationships matter more than they do in some other industries. You never know if or when you might benefit from that person again in the future.
From the employee standpoint, you may be the best asset your company has and you may well deserve that raise or promotion. However, there may be financial realities that they can’t get around or there may be a glass ceiling in terms of additional opportunities for promotion. Dont take it personal, update your resume at least every 6 months. You never know when something new may come along and you need to be prepared for it.
Hope
We’ve all been stuck in a situation where hope is the only thing going for us. Have you brought a list of concerns (and your suggested solutions) to your employer and they just seem unwilling or unable to rise to the challenge? If you run into this scenario, don’t just hope that they’ll get their act together – take control of your own future.
As a manager, if one of your employees consistently underperforms – you need to be honest and transparent with them about your wishes. Be a resource and offer guidance but NEVER lower your expectations.
If they continue to struggle, your desire to start the search for their replacement will be justified.
Conclusion
Over the month of August I’ll explore this topic in more depth so please comment with your thoughts and feedback and follow me on social media! I’d love to have your input in mind as I roll out additional posts.
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Tyson Conrad