Match.com: The Interview

Organizations fall short when they don’t look at their interview process as an asset to attracting and retaining talent. Somewhere along the line, we’ve collectively decided that we post a job, someone applies for it, we filter out resumes, we do a phone screen, we interview, maybe we interview again, and then we make an offer. Even the best companies still follow some version of this tired framework.

What many companies don’t realize is they’re leaving an impression on the candidate throughout every part of that process. Ask yourself: Are you writing a job description that meets the requirements that somebody made up at some time, or are you writing it truly from your culture, in your words, about what is good about working for you? Are you writing from a template, or from the heart?

At ERC (Steve Baue, LLC’s sister company), we want to build a relationship with our applicants. We’re interested in people, not just filling positions. For us, that means starting before we even have an open position—anyone sending a viable resume gets an interview. In the war for talent you must always be interviewing. If someone is excited about meeting us, we want to learn about them.

Really, isn’t a job search a lot like dating? We literally call it “attraction,” yet companies fail in so many ways to impress the candidate as much as the candidates want to impress the company. You should be showing your best, authentic version of who you are. You should include the people the candidate will be working with, because they’re the ones that matter most in creating a viable relationship. You should make a job offer with true feelings of excitement because you are making a long-term commitment.

Too many companies treat interviewing as a sterile process meant to generate options instead of attracting talent. Using culture and heart will make your processes resonate with the right type of applicants, and it will also make your company stand out above your competition.

Steve Baue has more than 25 years of domestic and international experience in organizational development, human resources and executive-level leadership. He owns Steve Baue, LLC a consulting agency focused on helping leaders and organizations be themselves, but greater and ERC: Counselors and Consultants, an employer benefit company helping lift the mental burdens that hold employees back from their full potential.