If You’re Making This Statement, Then You’re Not Doing Your Homework

“This is a very important position — we aren’t simply going to hire the first person we see.”

How often do we hear this from hiring managers? That’s because it’s a leader’s job to attract and hire the right individuals.

But so often, when I hear this statement, I find it to be an excuse for having not done a candidate market analysis before starting the process.

After you’ve defined the necessary skills, knowledge, and geographical restrictions, determine the population for the total candidate pool from which you’re looking to hire.

Based on market data regarding layoffs, turnover, and voluntary job change every year, you can determine how many candidates in your target pool could be available. Divide that by 4 and you have an estimate through the ensuing 90 days.

These numbers vary greatly, based on organizations’ talent-access strategy. Not all companies will be able to attract the same number of candidates.

But if your numbers say that you’ll have access to 15 candidates, you may decide to initiate a different process then if the numbers dictate that you’ll have access to only 3 candidates.

Bottom line: In hiring, you don’t want to miss out on the best candidate because you don’t understand your market metrics.

Nothing is more important then doing your market analysis. 

If you are looking for 6 criteria in a candidate and you pass up on candidates that have  4 or 5, you better be dam sure you know there are people out there with all 6. If you don’t know this for a fact, based on market data, then you are guessing instead of knowing. This is the first and a major sign of hiring incompetence and it happens all the time.

The other reality is a timeframe. Yes, there may be people with the 6 criteria but how many. Is it okay for a position to stay non productive for a 9 - 12 months while you’re waiting for the person with the 6 criteria.

Example, 6 months to get an acceptance, 3 weeks to the start date after offer, 60 days to get acclimated with the organization, then begin to produce results…. 9 months have gone by.