Speeding Up Your Hiring… Or Else

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(By Laurie Kahn) We are finding ourselves in a world where candidates can be picky; if you don’t move quickly or meet expectations, they have lots of other places who will offer what they want and you will lose them. The national average of job vacancy fell to 28.3 days in June, down from 29.3 in April and this trend is expected to continue.

After the slower years of 2007-2009, employers took their time in recruiting and reviewing candidates as there were so many job seekers out there. Not so today. With a 4.9% unemployment rate and the competition to hire workers with the skills radio needs, it is much tougher.

What can you do if you are losing out on hiring the team you want? Here are some thoughts…

  • Have all hiring managers available to talk when a strong potential candidate comes in. Be prepared to move it along quickly, and if interested, make an offer within a few days, if not hours.
  • Be prepared to lay out and discuss expectations, benefits, why it makes sense to join your company and the radio industry; you more than likely will be selling your opportunity.
  • Think out of the box – are you too narrow in what you are looking to hire? Can you broaden the search either to a larger region or different industries?
  • Review your requirements – are you losing too many candidates due to tight requirements of what you want in a candidate? What skills or experience can you loosen up on to attract a larger group of candidates.
  • Start a solid paid, internship program for up-and-coming superstars who you can mentor to join your team in the future. Have them work with high-producing Account Managers to help cover more accounts and allow you to take a bit more time in the hiring process.

Those of you who want to put potential candidates through spaced out interviews, projects, and take your time to make a decision will find yourselves low in hiring. It is crucial to have a strategy and a game plan in place at all times, to treat candidates with respect, and to engage them along the way.

Laurie Kahn is the creator and founder of Media Staffing Network. She has worked with media companies since 1993 helping them hire top managers and sellers.

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