The math of hiring.

If interviewing candidates feels hard, you’re probably doing it exactly right.

When you’ve hired the right employee, you will find them to be immediately good.

Even on day one, they’ll impress you with something they notice or handle before they’ve even been trained.

Hiring the right person takes gobs of time. And I would say that for every 40 people I interview, I find one qualified candidate.

Here’s how this breaks down:

  • 20 hours – resume screening & emailing prospective candidates.
  • 20 hours – initial screening on Zoom – 40 candidates x 30 minutes.
  • 10 hours – 5 candidates are invited in for 2 hours of in-person interviewing.
  • 4 hours – 4 candidates are invited for an additional hour of in-person interviewing with their prospective manager.
  • 4 hours – 2 candidates have lunch with our whole team.
  • 1 hour: The team meets to discuss candidates after lunch.
  • 30 minutes – 1 candidate is offered the position

During the interview process, I’m actively watching how the candidate behaves. For example:

  • Only a few will confirm the interview with me with a quick email.
  • Most will not have bothered to research the company. When I ask them, “What do you know about the company,” it’s usually a deer-in-the-headlights blank stare.
  • 98% of the candidates will not know I’m the company’s owner during their Zoom interview (I interview everyone first).
  • Rarely does anyone write a follow-up note after the interview.

So, while these stats seem dismal, the math on hiring the wrong candidate is even worse:

  • On day one, you’ll notice the exact behavior that concerned you during the interview process, but that you chose to overlook.

  • By day 7, you’ll see that a few of your expectations for them have not been met and hear excuses for why it’s not their fault.
  • By the end of the first month, you’ll have given them the “benefit of the doubt” a number of times.
  • After month two, you’ll hear a lack of specificity when they’re asked about progress toward their goals. “Identified issues.” “Improved my performance this week.” “Interacted with clients.” (additional time spent training, cajoling, and monitoring).
  • By the end of the first quarter, you’ll place them on a performance improvement plan (PIP). In my experience, I have never seen anyone on a PIP improve sufficiently to ultimately retain their job.
  • A few times while on the PIP, they’ll vaguely improve, making you second-guess whether you should keep them on for “just one more month.”
  • Envisioning letting them go plays out in your head 87 times.

You get the point.

Because of this hard-earned hindsight, I now choose not to grow my business until I find a “hell yes” employee first.

Takeaway: Hiring the right person takes a lot less time and energy than hiring the wrong person.

Leave a Reply