It simply amazes me (and I’m not amazed too often) how bad some people are at hiring or building a team. It's almost as if - and I'm not trying to be sarcastic here - some people are trying to mess things up. Otherwise, I can't imagine how someone in a management role could stop, think, and then still do the things they do.
If you're a manager trying to hire someone, shouldn't it be common sense that if you don’t follow up with someone you interviewed three weeks ago, there’s a pretty good chance they're not going to be interested in working for you if/when you call them back?
So, why start a process looking for a result (in this case your result is to get a good person hired), and then not do things in a way that will lead to the highest likelihood of getting the ideal result?
A saying that comes to mind: The thing about common sense is that it isn’t that common.
Many people have led an interview process and hired someone. They can say they’ve done it. But doing something and doing something well are two different things.
Part of the problem is that there’s no real standard for what constitutes a successful hire. Therefore, when the process is completed and a hire is made, there’s no way to determine whether or not the hiring manager has done a good job.
Has someone done a good job of hiring or filling a position if:
Now, everything I listed above is subjective. Each hiring manager should have the ability to determine what skills are best for his or her team. That said, there could be a reasonable discrepancy between one manager and the next. Each may be hiring for a similar position, but this could be within a different department and/or a different organization altogether.
At a minimum, we can agree that a good hiring manager should:
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