I was looking for a part-time job doing something I had been doing for over two decades. I knew the field and the approximate pay and was confident I could find something. I was (am) frankly very good at what I do.
In the next week I received two invitations to interview for two comparable positions with two comparable organizations. The interview and hiring processes, however, could not have been more different.
JOB #1
The ZOOM interview started late, with one member joining about halfway through. Each member of the interview committee read from a list of questions and had no response or reaction to any of my answers. They followed the script, and the whole process felt robotic and flat.
The meeting was scheduled for thirty minutes but started running over. As it neared 40 minutes, the lead interviewer was about to say something when the ZOOM cut out. At first, I thought it was a technology glitch but then realized that they had the free version of ZOOM and could not hold meetings longer than 4o minutes. At the risk of sounding elitist, this concerned me. Two years into a pandemic if a large institution could not spring for the $150 annual ZOOM fee, this did not seem like a good sign of things to come. (Spoiler alert: it was not).
I waited a few minutes to hear about what to do next, but nothing came. I quickly logged back onto the ZOOM to see if they did the same. Nothing. I did not hear from them for the rest of the day.
The next day, I sent a thank you for the interview. They did not respond for 3 days.
They made no mention of the ZOOM glitch and let me know that I would “for sure” hear back from someone within two weeks. The red flags were there but the attractiveness of the position dulled their color.
When the two weeks came and went without a response, I followed up and quickly received an offer thereafter.
And then nothing again.
I waited another week or so to inquire about my contract and the hiring person asked me if I had done my HR paperwork yet. I had not received any information about that and let her know. After another few days, I began receiving multiple emails from multiple people asking me for different things. I did not know what the process entailed or who was who. It was confusing and completely disorganized.
Every step was delayed and nothing was clear. And then, the day before an organization-wide two-week break, I received an email saying they were not sure if the job would go through after all and they would get back to me after the break.
By this point I had had enough and continued looking at other options. Over a month later I am still receiving emails from them asking for paperwork despite not actually working there.
JOB #2
The interview started and ended on time. The interviewer was prepared and helpful in answering my questions as I answered theirs. They let me know about the salary during the first call and outlined all the steps of the hiring process that would follow. It was conversational, welcoming, and warm.
Just a few days after, they reached out to offer me a position. Time was of the essence as it had been in the first job, but this experience was completely different. The person who hired me explained the entire process in full, outlining each step, providing checklists and documents to help guide me along the way. They assigned me a mentor and explained who I should go to for what.
There was a welcoming meeting (which I was paid for) and every step of the way, the many people I encountered shared their congratulations and let me know how happy they were to have me.
The entire process was organized and welcoming and I truly felt appreciated and ready to begin my new position. What a difference simple efficiency and respect can make!
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Over the years I have been involved in countless hiring processes both on the hiring end and on the being hired (or not) end. These processes are almost always incredibly time-consuming and run the gamut of being extremely efficient to utterly chaotic.
Over these years, I have learned a lot of lessons that were magnified during my most recent parallel interviewing processes. These lessons are especially important today as employees have more leverage than ever due to staffing shortages and easier opportunities to work from home and for themselves. As an organizational leader, consider the following during this difficult job market.
1) You know that expression that when someone shows you who they are you should believe them? This holds true for organizations too. I have never been part of a chaotic interview process that resulted in an organized work experience. I have never been a part of an organized interview process that resulted in a chaotic work environment. Pay attention to how you are conducting your hiring processes both in terms of how prepared you are and how welcoming you are. Candidates are savvy and have a lot of options and it is not simply on them to prove themselves to you. You need to show them why they should choose you. Be prepared and present every step of the way. Be organized. Be welcoming. Be human.
2) As an employer, it is important that you understand what successful hiring looks like and more specifically, what successful hiring looks like at your organization. Many organizations do things as they have always done them without any real sense of what is effective or ineffective about it.
Statistically, people are poor at hiring yet most continue to do much of the same. Or, worse, doing more of it. (One of these days I will write a post on the 8-step part-time dog walker position I applied for.)
There is no perfect hiring process but there are ones that are better / more effective than others. It starts with understanding which hirings have been successful (based on what you decide) and which ones have not been. It requires you to try different things and see which work better. It also requires that you talk to the people who have been through your process to understand what worked well about it and what ideas they have to improve.
Talk with your team about your hiring process. Listen to their experiences and feedback. Pay attention to your superstars since you want to attract more of them. How did they find out about the position? What made them apply? What made them join? How can you do more of it? Consider asking candidates who drop out of your process too and find out why.
On the flip side, look at the staff that did not pan out. What might you have done differently to better assess them? What might you have ignored?
3) Be reasonable with what you are asking. Do not create 8-step processes for part-time positions (or any position for that matter). Do not ask candidates to spend additional time doing homework assignments for you. Be flexible when it comes to interviewing, perhaps providing non-traditional time slots so it does not affect the candidate’s current employment. Thank them as you expect them to thank you. Be open, honest, and respectful at all times. Job searching is stressful and time-consuming and you have the opportunity- responsibility really- to make the process as effective and enjoyable as possible for your candidates. Take every opportunity to do so.
It is a job seekers market right now. As an organization, how are you putting yourself in a position to be attractive to the people you want to attract? The goal, of course, is to hire less and less frequently due to increased staff retention. This requires both hiring well and leading well, both of which require commitment and intention. As always, you need to start where you are. What are your current hiring processes? Where are they working? Where is there room for improvement? What do you need to make them better? What is the first step you need to do to make that happen?
