Insights into the forces shaping our industry.

We are now in a candidate driven market. Candidates have several companies interested in them. I recruit solely for lighting manufacturers and design firms and while 83% of the people I place were employed and not looking for a new opportunity, they still have other offers. You’d think companies would react with faster hiring processes and better offers but that’s not what we’re seeing. This month, I had 2 clients lose candidates they were excited about. One client lost a candidate due to the hiring authority being on vacation. The other due to the offer being equal to the candidate’s current salary, and he received another offer for 10% more in pay.

Companies must be proactive. To hire quality talent, shorten the hiring process.

Tips for shortening the interview process:

1. Coordinate a phone interview within 24 – 48 hours of receiving the candidate’s resume.

2. Limit the phone interviews to 1, or max 2; and if 2, schedule them on the same day or within 24 hours.

3. Coordinate the face to face interview within 24 – 48 hours of the phone interview.

4. Only bring the candidate in once for a face to face and schedule everyone they need to meet that day. Understand with vacations, they may not meet everyone, so have the person on vacation prepare a list of questions or concerns for the other interviewers to address.

5. Make an offer within 24 – 48 hours of the face to face interview.

6. Present an offer better than their current salary, or that matches their salary expectations; if you can’t, then you shouldn’t interview the candidate.

Brooke Ziolo, President of Egret Consulting, is a contingent and retained executive recruiter working exclusively within the Lighting Industry. To learn more about how she can help your Lighting company, LED company or Lighting Design Firm attract talent, check out her biography, LinkedIn profile or email her at bz@egretconsulting.com.