The First 72 Hours in Hiring Are Critical

Whether it’s solving a crime, responding to a disaster, treating an injury, or search and rescue, the first seventy-two hours are critical. As it turns out, the same is true in recruiting. Failure to understand the crucial first seventy-two hour cycle in passive candidate recruiting is a common reason for candidate fall off and yet another reason that the hiring process must be streamlined and swift.

The “burned-over” district…

Fifteen percent of employed adults are actively seeking employment at any given time. The competition for this low-hanging fruit is intense. So intense, that the candidates in high-demand career fields find the attention overwhelming. An active candidate may receive up to fifty calls a day, particularly after posting a resume. Many of these active candidates are chronic job seekers with checkered work histories and besmirched backgrounds. All are heavily recruited.

The fresh, green fields…

Meanwhile a full eighty-five percent of employed adults are happily and productively working with no interest in new opportunities. These are the choice candidates and the most difficult to find and recruit. But these are also the employees who are most likely to be happy in their next job and to stay for a long time. This is the province of the top notch professional recruiter who is not only able to locate and contact them, but sell them on considering new possibilities. This is the big leagues.

The window for harvesting….

Like picking Black Walnuts the window for harvesting passive candidates is short. Many hiring authorities fail to get this for the following reasons…

1. Hiring authorities are still in the mindset that they have the goods; that the job is the commodity rather than the employee. But these passive candidates do not NEED a job, they are happily working and well paid in their current position. We are in the position of having to sell them on us. Recently we recruited a physician for an Alaska assignment and the client asked us, “so why is he interested in Alaska?” The accurate response is: “He was not interested in Alaska. In fact, he was not looking for a job. If he relocated he wanted to move to Arizona! We sold him on Alaska and a substandard salary. That is what good recruiters do.” However, once we get them excited about your position that enthusiasm has a short shelf-life….
2. Employers tend not to understand the chemistry of passive candidate recruiting. Passive candidates are frequently almost offended when asked if they are open to new opportunities, after all they are not on the market! But once a savvy recruiter convinces (activates) them that they should consider an alternative, it doesn’t stop there. They almost immediately begin to look around, which means they start online window shopping. The result? An activated passive candidate very quickly becomes an active candidate. They view jobs, upload a resume, set a job alert and search online for your job, one among many.
3. Most hiring timelines are excessively long – An activated passive candidate’s enthusiasm for your new opportunity lasts for about seventy-two hours. If they don’t get an interview, interview and receive no feedback, or are forced to jump through too many preliminary hoops, their interest in the new opportunity begins to wane. Meanwhile, other companies and recruiters are showing interest in them and their current employer may notice the change and make a counter offer. Disillusionment begins to set in.
4. The GOVT hiring timeline is almost eternal – If the department has the right of review they may take 10-20 days providing an approval. Many GOVT Contracting Companies take days or longer to put together an offer. Then credentialing may be necessary adding another 30+ days. This protracted process puts the candidate at risk of receiving a better offer or simply second-guessing the decision, deciding to stay put, and not move forward with the new opportunity.

Best practices would indicate that we should capitalize on the first seventy-two hours and be prepared to make hiring decisions and issue offers and contracts within the first three days realizing that this process is not about us – it’s about them. The first seventy-two hours are not only critical in rescue and recovery, but also to the hiring process. We need to be prepared to:

• Remove as many preliminary barriers to review and approval as possible
• Put the review, interview, and decision-making process on a short timeline (24 hours)
• Have offers and contracts prepared and ready at hand to facilitate the candidate’s commitment

Make the most of the first 72 hours.

The challenge of managing the protracted credentialing and security timeline is covered in a related article here….