Never Hire On An Empty Stomach by Ella Kimbrel

Have you ever been grocery shopping on an empty stomach? Have you found yourself filling up your shopping cart with everything you see but nothing you need because you are just SO hungry?  This same thing can happen when we are going through the hiring process for an open position.

 Once upon a time I was working with a manager to fill an open position.  We interviewed several candidates and selected one to hire. That was a good hire, and it took us about 4 weeks to fill that position.  A few months later, this same manager and I worked together again to fill another open position in her department. We went through a lot of resumes and came across one for a candidate I will call Martha. We had previously interviewed Martha for the last open position, but we did not hire her.  We remembered her and liked her, so we called her in for an interview. Martha was ecstatic! After several rounds of interviews, Martha made it to the top two. Of these top two, Martha was the most qualified, but…we had reservations.  Neither the manager nor I could put our finger on the “but”, but we had a but.  Unfortunately, we were so pressed to fill the position because the team was short-handed and facing some deadlines. Time was of the essence.  We felt we had run out of options, and we were on empty. We hired Martha, who subsequently, turned out to be a bad hire. It only took us a week to fill the position.

 One of the hardest lessons I have learned in my career is that is that my gut is often right.  A long time ago, I hired a candidate who, over the years, had applied twice before (and I had not hired her twice before). I will call her Sue.  For whatever reason, I thought it a good idea to hire Sue this third time, and so I did.  She was lovely and she was a hard worker.  It took me two years to figure out that I had made the wrong decision in hiring Sue and another full year to work through it.  During that last year with Sue, when things got uncomfortable, I realized that my gut check the first two times was right, but because I felt so desperate this third time, I hired her. I allowed those feelings of emptiness and overwhelming need to consume me, and I made a bad call.  The good news is that, although the separation did not go well, this employee went on to find success working for another company with a team and in a culture better suited to her.  Her successful landing in a new job was not because of anything I did, but because God is good. 

 It is not unusual for a manager to come to me and say, “Ella, we have identified a need for a new position, and we must fill it quickly.” Friends, if I had a dollar for all the wrong hiring decisions made under pressure, I could retire. The best practice is to hire slow and fire fast.  Hiring slow allows us to find the very best candidates and make the right hiring decisions.

To help your manager through the hiring process, begin with the end in mind.

·       Ask the manager to describe their perfect hire including all the skills, education and experience he would like his new employee to possess.

·       After he has given you a clear picture of his perfect candidate (I call that a Unicorn), ask the manager to allow you to screen all the candidates if this is not already your company’s practice.

·       Create your screening questions based on the qualifiers the hiring manager gave you. (Make sure the screening questions are directly related to the job.) 

·       Send to the hiring manager only the candidates who meet most of the qualifiers. I say most because it is unusual to find a candidate who will meet every single preference on the hiring manager’s list.  If you happen to come across the perfect candidate, beware. Pay attention to your gut because it is probably right.

·       Do not share with the manager any candidates who are not a good fit. Even if you end up with zero candidates for the hiring manager after a week or two, do not give in to the pressure.  Instead, reach out to the hiring manager and give him an update. Then try some other ways to reach more candidates. You might call some HR friends, post the job on social media platforms, talk to coworkers, pray….just do not give in to the pressure and pass on candidates on who do not fit to the hiring manager.

 Once you have given your manager some good candidates, follow up and follow through. Continue to keep in touch with the manager asking for feedback after each candidate interview. This will help you further narrow down what the hiring manager is really looking for.  It is not unusual for the manager to change his mind about what he is looking for after interviewing a few candidates, and this can be a good thing.  It might mean that you have to go back to the drawing board and make some adjustments in your job posting. You might even have to begin again. That is okay! You are doing the right thing.

 After your manager has chosen his final candidate, ask him to tell you what he likes about the candidate. Review the qualifiers he gave you and compare those to the things he is telling you about the candidate.  Do not be afraid to ask questions and even push back if you get the feeling that the candidate might not be right.  Of course, we HR professionals know that often the final hiring decision is not ours, but that does not preclude us from giving our managers the very best service. Sometimes that means asking hard questions, but you can do it!  Help your managers to make the best hiring decision by walking through the hiring process with them keeping an open mind and working intentionally.

 No matter the outcome of your next hiring opportunity, rest assured in Romans 8:28.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” When I look back over the many employees I have hired or helped hire, I can see where I have made mistakes, BUT I can also see where I have been successful.  God works in the good hiring decisions and the bad ones. Whether we hire on empty stomach or not, God is in control.  May you be encouraged to live life abundantly today as you serve others and remember that God works for your good as you have been called according to His purpose.