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Arrogance Kills Talent Acquisition Plans

 

I was on the phone with one of my candidates yesterday.

A true talent with an amazing track record of sales success hunting and winning new business.

Probably not another person like him in the entire region.

He’s that good. 

He went for an interview and was expecting to discuss an offer as he had already spent over five hours on phone calls and video conferences with this employer.

Instead, he was put in a tiny room with no windows.

The room was hotter than the rest of the office.

He was in there for three hours straight and was never offered a glass of water.

He was asked the same questions that he was asked during the prior conversations as if they had forgotten the conversations or didn’t take any interview notes.

This behavior came off as disorganized and absentminded at best and disrespectful at worst.

Unfortunately, this candidate withdrew from the recruiting process. He said if that’s the company’s culture, it probably won’t be a great fit.

That day a candidate who potentially could have brought them in millions of dollars walked out the front lobby, never to return.

Three Mistakes Hiring Managers Make During the Sales Recruiting Process

 

  • #1-Lack of Preparation: No resume, haven’t read the resume, show up late, or confused days/times.

  • #2-Arrogance: Spend most of the interview time bragging and talking about themselves. This is a common mistake that defeats the entire point of the interview, which is to spend time assessing if the candidate is qualified for the role.

  • #3-Unorganized: Keeping candidates waiting in the lobby, showing up late to phone calls, and rescheduling calls more than once. This gives the impression that your time is more important than the recruits.


“When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.”

— Arapaho proverb

You won’t be able to hire top talent, no matter how hard your recruiting team works, if you treat candidates this way.

When your company is humming and things are going well, it can be easy for a high-handed attitude to seep into your culture.

If you give off the attitude that –We’ve already hired the best salespeople, and they all work here– great recruits will take other opportunities because they have plenty of excellent choices.

Adopt the right behaviors: Respect | Organize | Curiosity

Great Hires Happen with the Right Behaviors

If you want to attract the top talent your recruitment team has spent weeks recruiting, make sure to keep these three fundamental principles in mind.

  • RespectRespect the applicant’s time, interest in the job, and desire to learn more about your organization.

  • Organize-Take notes, come prepared with written questions, arrive on time, and don’t show up late or frequently reschedule.

  • CuriosityBe curious about the applicant. Find out as much as you can about them. Don’t spend the entire interview talking, instead, do most of the listening.

Eliminate Your Recruiting Problems

Go on an interview if you haven’t been on one in more than a year. You’ll be reminded immediately of what not to do.

You may also pick up a few good ideas you can implement into your process.

Building a great company requires recruiting and employing talented people.

Working on fostering a culture of respect during the recruitment and interview process is a great habit to cultivate.

So take the first step and implement these best practices, it will help you hire the talent you need to succeed and dominate your market.