By Brad Schneider, Ph.D.
Opportunity passes by your door a thousand times a day……but it never stops to knock
– Ben Vareen
It was 30 years ago when I saw Ben Vareen on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I can’t tell you if he danced well or how he sang – it’s not what mattered. What resonated with me – and what I vividly remember three decades later – is what he said to Johnny as they sat on the couch.
Just to drive the point, since 1954 there have been thousands of guests on the show. Some, such as Joey Bishop, have sat on that couch 177 times. I don’t remember any of them.
Fast forward 30 years, and I’m sitting in a hotel lobby in Dallas. As I glance at the counter, the cover story in USA Today reads that high unemployment has resulted in perhaps the most talented candidate pool of all time.
In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, since 1948, unemployment has peaked 11 times, each coinciding with a brief recession. As we sit on the verge of economic recovery – an S&P 500 that’s above 1000 and 50% up from it’s low back in March, ever decreasing new unemployment claims, and a housing market with new signs of growth, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist – or a great singer and dancer, for that matter – to figure out that unemployment is going to drop. As it does, the cream of the current candidate pool will be hired right off the top….by either you or your competition.
Organizations have a brief window of opportunity to quickly and efficiently identify top performers from among the crowd—using tools like employment tests—and bring them on board before their competitors hire the best of the best.
The only question is whether you’re going to let this opportunity pass by your door.
Brad Schneider, Ph.D., is a Senior Consultant with Development Dimensions International (DDI).
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