In our May newsletter article, we stressed the importance of being proactive in your quest to find the best candidates to fill your open positions.
The reasons for this are numerous. Below are just a few of them:
- Superstar candidates don’t just show up as soon as you have an opening.
- Chances are good that those who do show up immediately are not superstar candidates.
- The longer you wait to fill the position, the more potential revenue is wasted due to lost productivity.
While it’s often easier—and might seem to make more sense—to sit back and let candidates come to you, that approach will ultimately hamper your efforts to fill the position with the best person possible.
Being proactive in the hiring process involves a shift in mindset. That shift can be summed up best this way: hiring the best people is a continuous process.
It is quite difficult to hire the best and brightest when you begin the recruiting and hiring process only when you have an opening. To do so would be to risk missing opportunities to locate and recruit superstar candidates.
It’s all about moving from a position of strength. If you wait to conduct a search only when you have an opening, you’re moving from a position of weakness. The only leads you’ll have are job seekers who’ve submitted their resume. You won’t have anybody in mind; you’ll be working from scratch.
However, with a proactive approach that entails a continuous process, you might already have somebody (or multiple people) in mind for the position that just opened up. As such, the chances that you’ll hire a superstar increase dramatically.
When you’re moving from a position of weakness, you’re more likely to lower your standards. When you’re moving from a position of strength, you’re more likely not to.
As we mentioned in the May newsletter article, enlisting the services a third-party recruiting firm can also increase the chances that you’ll hire the superstar you desire. It’s difficult to devote the time and energy necessary to continuously search for the people who can take your company to the next level, and a third-party firm can help accomplish that.
Be proactive and always be on the lookout for your next great hire!