Bad news.

Your senior vice-president, your marketing director or your accounting department head has decided to retire, move to Okinawa or start his own business––and you’re left staring, horrified, at a polite letter of resignation. The timing couldn’t be worse. You’ve now got a vacancy to fill, and you need to do it...well, yesterday. Is there any ray of hope?

There is. But first, let’s get one important fact out of the way: No one truly enjoys the hiring process, no matter how favorable the circumstances. It’s a nuisance, an irritation, a drain on both your time and energy. It can also be a professional land mine. No matter how savvy or perceptive a recruiter you may be, you’re treading the uncharted territory of some total stranger’s professional qualifications.

Every executive can tell horror stories where, despite the best of intentions, he wound up saddled with a salesperson who couldn’t sell, a trainer who couldn’t train or a manager who couldn’t manage. The result? More time and energy, not to mention money--–drained and lost.

Yet the guidelines which encourage successful hiring are remarkably simple, as long as you plan well in advance. Here are the five essentials:

• Hire only people who excite you.

You actually can’t afford anything less. Due to the downward shift in our economy and our increased technology, most companies are no longer supporting the head counts they once were. Instead they’re keeping fewer people and expecting them to absorb more comprehensive duties. So at some point during that initial interview, you’d better be sitting on the edge of your chair, panting with anticipation at the prospect of adding this rising star to your existing team.

Sure, it’s a tall order. But settling for someone who’s mediocre, or worse, “should work out just fine” isn’t good enough. Getting revved up during the first-impression stage isn’t enough, either. You should feel that same energy during every follow-up meeting. Remember: This person who rivets you will also rivet your clients, his or her fellow employees and your general public. A lukewarm response from you, on the other hand, will virtually guarantee the same from others, both externally (outside your firm) and internally (inside it).

But do you dare to be that picky? Absolutely. Read on.

• Don’t take risks when hiring.

Well-groomed appearances and impeccable manners can be distracting, if not downright misleading. Look past them. Also, don’t take resumes too seriously. So this applicant has an accounting degree. So what? How do you know he/she can really do the job?

Find out by checking into past performances. Ask lots of specific, quantifiable questions: “How much money did you save your former employer?” “What sort of impact did you make on the company?” And most important of all: “What was your single, most significant contribution? Was that a team or an individual effort?” While the ability to work independently is a definite plus, beware of too many “I-me-my” answers and not enough “we-us-our.”

Also, watch for a chronic inability to furnish specifics or a heavy reliance on workplace-oriented jargon. If you keep hearing statements like, “I helped to optimize my firm’s profitability” and “I feel that I achieved sustained results,” pretend you’re Columbo. Scratch your forehead, act confused and then probe deeper––up to a point, of course! Eventually you’ll either strike gold or just bump into more and more boulders.

• Develop a winning job description.

You’d be amazed at how many executives admit to a dirty little secret: They loathe the task of writing a description so much that they often won’t even bother to do it! No wonder new employees can be seen scurrying around, looking clueless.

That description must be clear, concrete, concise and in writing. It must include not only responsibilities, but also expectations in all areas––exactly what your new employee is being hired to accomplish and exactly how his/her success will be measured. That kind of clarity is essential for both of you. At the end of one year, a performance review should be a breeze. If he or she has accomplished A, B and C, then he or she has done an excellent job. Again, quantifiability is key.

• Hire only people who will be challenged by their new positions.

Would you, as a former CFO of a $150,000,000 company want to take a professional step backward and become a controller for a $10,000,000 one? Would you feel stimulated? Of course not. More likely you’d be bored senseless after only six months, and then you’d start scouting around for something more interesting.

Even a lateral move can be a kiss of death. Employees who become intellectually stale will just take up valuable space. Those who keep growing and evolving professionally are not only happier; they’re also more immune to your rivals’ recruiting practices. It’s your job to minimize turnover by plugging the right applicants into the right (that means upward) positions.

• Slow down.

When someone retires or resigns, take a deep breath before forging ahead. This is no time for a panic buy. Don’t feel you need to fill that corner office within mere hours or even days.

Rushing into a new relationship, as anyone who’s ever answered a personal ad already knows, can block your intuition and remove your objectivity. You may even forget to ask your team members for their input. Big mistake. They're the ones who will have to work with this “new kid,” remember, and their insights, not to mention their unqualified support, are vital.

Now, what if you’re on the other side of the fence––a job applicant who’s looking for a challenging, rewarding position? How can you become a more desirable candidate, exude more magnetism and thoroughly excite your recruiter? Easy. Just reread the previous recommendations and flip-flop them.

* Act enthusiastic about the prospect of being hired. Both of you should be equally eager to get started.

* Answer questions regarding your accomplishments with specifics, rather than clichés. Gather data in advance to support your claims.

* Request a clear job description. Know exactly what you’re getting into.

* Accept only a position which challenges you. Otherwise you’ll get restless very quickly.

* Finally, meet the people you’ll be working with before accepting any job offer. Check the fit. Feel the chemistry. If there isn’t any, then you need to move on. Don’t waste anyone’s time, least of all your own.

There’s nothing complex or unrealistic about hiring great people––or even about being one yourself. With such a wealth of talented, dedicated applicants out there and companies who are thrilled to recruit them, matches made in heaven occur every day––not only in romantic movies, but also in firms exactly like yours and with people just like you.

John Uprichard is president of FGP International http://www.FindGreatPeople.com/, a recruiting firm that specializes in finding outstanding applicants for great companies. He has witnessed the hiring mistakes of both large and small organizations and has learned something from each one.

© 2004 John Uprichard

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