The Importance of Speed in Hiring

Haste makes waste, right? Well yeah, but too much analysis leads to paralysis. So on which side of the spectrum do you fall when it comes to hiring? Let’s start by stepping away from the cliches and getting a bead on when it’s important to make an offer.

Big Companies that Move like Small Companies.

So many big companies describe themselves as “agile” and “hungry”. They’re told at meetings they need to behave and think this way, that the market demands it. But what does that mean?

It starts with being able to quickly pull the trigger when it comes to hiring. Locking in on the right candidate moves your planning and decisions from more unknowns to less, and that is how you move your business forward. Don’t wait around for the “perfect candidate” with an impeccable track record. Go with the most adaptable; the one who will make your team better not on paper, but when it comes time to make real decisions and execute. Trust your instincts and trust the abilities of your team to onboard and acclimate.

Budgets Open and Close.

Most business decisions, really any important decisions, involve negotiating or balancing opposing forces. When it comes to hiring, one thing you have to keep in mind is how budgets are time-sensitive.

Hiring freezes are a reality at healthy as well as less-than-healthy companies. So when you have some room in the budget to hire, there’s no guarantee it will be there forever. That doesn’t mean you hire anyone, it just means it’s something you need to balance against the candidates that are before you.

A Changing Labor Market.

If you were looking to hire someone in 2008 or 09, you were in an excellent position. If you’re looking to hire someone today, well you’re still in an excellent position. But things have changed a little, and you can’t afford to have the same perspective. You don’t want to be the guy who says things like I remember when milk costed 4 cents a gallon! The market has changed and not only does that affect price and availability, it also affects the speed with which you need to make decisions. When you identify the right candidate, you have to move faster in a tighter labor market — like the one we have today. There is no 4-cent-a-gallon milk anymore.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.

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