On the small scale, some things go unnoticed: On the large scale,
they become obvious. Take for example the employment screening process. It
occurs in real time. For many
jobseekers, they often gloss over or perhaps ignore this big picture reality.
Employers move through the screening
process faster than greased lightning. The windows of opportunity can open and
close within a matter of days. Those who are slow leaving the starting gate are
often left choking on the dust of others. In their hesitation, the competition
beats their action and snatches their interviewing opportunities.
Recently, a jobseeker contacted
me. The individual informed me his company would be posting a desired opening
for a director’s position in another state. He approached his mentor—the
Divisional President—for advice.
The Divisional President informed
him as to what he needed to do and laid out a strategy. She told him the
position would be publicly posted on a Monday. She informed him he needed to
have his résumé and presentation ready by the close of the business day on Wednesday.
She cautioned him not to procrastinate.
To prepare him mentally, she
mentioned that the company anticipated 1,000 applicants. She had previously
participated in other screening and hiring situations involving similar
positions.
Most jobseekers do not have this insider
advantage. Opportunities are usually applied for from the sidelines. The
individual spots what appears to be an ideal position and then scrambles to
assemble a résumé. The longer it takes to respond, the greater the chances those
positions will be filled by those on top of their game.
Successful companies operate in
real time. The employment and screening process is rarely an exception. When a
company needs to fill an important opening, the company will not shut down its operation
to accommodate those slow to respond. Ain’t
gonna happen!
Now, let us conduct a reality
check. Rather than place yourself in the jobseeker’s role, assume you are
responsible for expediting the screening and hiring process. Your job
performance will be predicated on your ability to get the job done—plain and
simple.
Let us further suppose the
opening is an attractive position with a competitive salary and benefits. You
anticipate a minimum of 500 applicants. Before announcing the opening, you set
down basic requirements and desired experience. You create a separate email to
accommodate the anticipated responses. Here
are some reality questions:
1.
Are you going to interview all applications? (Absolutely not!)
2.
Are you going to read all 500 résumés? (Hell no!)
3.
Are you going to wait until all the résumés trickle
in before you begin the interviewing process? (No way!)
4.
Once you have identified the three most
qualified candidates, will you extend the job search to accommodate those slow
to respond? (Just kidding, of course you
won’t.)
5.
Are you going to read enough résumés to select
between five and eight seemingly qualified candidates to interview? (Most likely.)
In the corporate world, time is money. Lose sight of that reality—you usually come up short.