Stop Asking Job Candidates to Prove Why They're Right for the Job In today's recruiting landscape, hiring the best people means making the interview process a two-way conversation
By Michael Ruiz Edited by Frances Dodds
This story appears in the December 2021 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
Today, employers face hiring challenges at every level. The U.S. government reported a recorded high of 10.9 million job openings in July, and the National Federation of Independent Business said 51 percent of small-business owners were still struggling to hire employees in September. Understandably, franchise owners are anxious to recruit for right now. But they should also be hiring for the future, to ensure their company can grow with the right team. So how can they do both?
The answer: two-way conversations. In the past, employers and hiring managers have spent a lot of time talking "at" potential hires. They lord over candidates, so heavily armed with job descriptions, extensive checklists, and must-haves that they overlook how much candidates actually want the job. It's an easy mistake. When someone applies for a position at your company, you automatically assume they are very interested. But for potential employees, there's a difference between seeing a job's potential on paper and being convinced the opportunities they're looking for exist in a meaningful way. Understanding what a candidate wants not only streamlines the recruitment process but saves enormous resources in employee turnover.
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The key to two-way conversations is flipping the script. Instead of asking candidates to prove why they should be hired, hiring managers should ask open-ended questions about the candidates' goals and aspirations. Old-school hiring methods require candidates to show how they fit perfectly into roles they know very little about — at companies they are still trying to gather information on. But when you ask a candidate where they hope to see themselves in five years, you gather a lot more information about this candidate's needs, challenges, and ambitions. It also gives you an opportunity to offer concrete examples of ways your company can meet the candidate's needs and support their aspirations. You may even learn that a candidate is a better fit for a different role than the one they're interviewing for.
Take the example of candidate "Alyssa." Alyssa says she is looking to join an organization to gain more leadership skills and practice more independent decision-making. This gives your company's hiring representative an opportunity to show her how your training and mentorship programs give her a structured path to move up the company ranks. You can share written and video testimonials of employees who joined with similar interests and were able to lead projects more independently.
Take a different candidate, "Ben." Ben says he values a company that prioritizes work-life balance. This gives your company a chance to share your generous PTO policy and flexible work schedule, and to cite examples of how the company encourages its members not to respond to work emails and phone calls after hours and on weekends. Maybe you mention a few leaders at the company who take this very seriously, to show that the culture of prioritizing work-life balance comes from the top down.
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With both examples, it is key that these policies, promises, and work culture are genuine, and that they exist before you tell a candidate they do. Two-way conversations are powerful because they put authentic conversations about needs and desires at the forefront of the recruitment process. They won't work if there's a lack of honesty on the employer's part.
Given the acute shortage of staffing at all levels across the franchise industry, two-way conversations with 10 or 15 candidates can reveal trends and pinpoint ways your company can be more competitive, like offering supportive policies for family leave or flexible work hours. The pandemic has changed the recruiting landscape dramatically, and employers looking to hire for the future should be ready to play a more equal part in the interview process.
