How many times have you heard a company director or human resources manager say “I only hire the best”? I hear it every week! By purely mathematical considerations, this is impossible: there simply aren’t that many “best people”!
What these executives really mean is that they hire the best candidates who apply. And guess what? That’s what every company in the world does!
In theory, when a company is looking for a new employee, it writes a job advertisement, publishes it on several websites and social networks. Candidates then send in their curriculum vitae and cover letter. The human resources department sorts through the applications, selecting those that most closely resemble the profile sought, and conducts the interviews. In the end, it’s the best candidate who gets the job.
That was the theory. This is the practice.
When a company is looking for a new employee, it writes a job advertisement. The person in charge publishes the advert in his or her network and asks for recommendations from qualified candidates. These candidates express their interest. They may not even be looking for a job, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. Meetings take place over a coffee or a beer. The advert is published on job boards, because human resources insist on it. Traditional” applications arrive, but are not really considered. Indeed, the ties forged with those who were invited for a beer or coffee at the previous stage are already strong. In the end, the coffee and beer drinkers get hired.
Conclusion: if you’re not in the right network, you don’t have the job. So we’re not talking about the “best candidate”, but the “best candidate who’s in the right network and was thirsty that day”.
Don’t be surprised by the situation. Almost everyone is guilty of it!
We’re all short of time, so we turn to our network. It’s free, quick and requires a minimum of effort, but it’s not strategic. At the end of the day, you’ll be recruiting someone who’s a copy of you, because he or she comes from your network.
“Hiring your clone means hiring someone with the same skills as you,” writes author Jessica Stillman, in Inc.com. For most of us, our circle of contacts is heavily focused on people in our industry. If you own a startup, it’s likely that most of your contacts are in that field. So when you put the word out that you’re hiring, you’re likely to get a lot of referrals from people in your industry, maybe even people you’ve worked with before.”
Instead, you could decide to hire someone who doesn’t look like you – a woman, for example. This would be a great idea, because we all know how good diversity is for business.
The idea is not to hire women simply because they’re women, but because they’re very good at what they do.
And if you can’t attract female candidates, set yourself clear, public objectives. This is called affirmative action and it’s the solution I recommend.
