Meet the Pretenders

By Scott Erker, Ph.D.

Do you remember how to hire good people? That sounds like a ridiculous question, but for many organizations it has been quite some time since job openings were posted on a career site or job board. But as the potential for economic recovery becomes more likely, we must keep in mind that today’s hiring environment differs dramatically from yesterday’s.

I often hear about the challenges associated with managing candidate pools and a common theme has been that while the pool is large (this would typically be a good thing), it is the size of the pool that also makes it hard to find qualified candidates. To make matters worse, candidates—especially those who have been out of work for a while—have become much better at demonstrating to recruiters that they are a good fit for the job even though this might not be the case. I call them ‘the pretenders.’ Consider this:

• Many candidates have been on the market for an extended period of time and have had a lot of practice interviewing and meeting with recruiters. With practice, they are learning the ‘right things to say’ even though they may not truly have the skills or experiences they seem to have on the surface.
• Resumes have been polished and re-polished, making them look good on paper where skills and experiences can be exaggerated.
• Armed with a wealth of information, today’s candidate is better equipped to predict what you’re looking for and could possibly fool you into believing they’re EXACTLY what you’re looking for.

My point in raising this issue is not to cast job candidates in a bad light. They are doing the best that they can under difficult circumstances. The issue is in how staffing professionals can bring the highest quality people into the organization and avoid being misled by practiced and polished candidates. Some ideas:

1. Update your job requirements and competency models to reflect today’s role. Don’t use last year’s job profile and ask hiring managers to provide up-to-date job requirements so that you avoid sourcing candidates for the wrong job.
2. It’s not like riding a bike. Conducting effective interviews is a skill that degrades over time. Refresh hiring managers’ skills so they can ask the right questions; avoid stereotype biases; make a nervous job candidate feel at ease; and objectively score interview data.
3. Don’t rely on gut feel for hiring decisions. Upgrade your recruitment arsenal and collect and review data to provide an objective view of candidates’ capabilities and qualifications.

Companies that polish their selection systems can avoid falling into the trap of hiring someone they don’t really know—and who is pretending to be the best hiring choice.

Listen to Scott's Podcast Hiring Success: The Importance of Culture Fit.

Scott Erker, Ph.D., is the Senior Vice President of Selection Solutions for Development Dimensions International.