About 7 Faces
- Problems with senior recruitment performance are widely reported. When wrong leaders and bosses are appointed, it affects us all, harming personal wellbeing (of the individual and their colleagues,) organisation productivity and national economies. Why do so many employers find it so hard to choose the right candidates? We’ve seen how the problem often arises from the fact that candidates demonstrate 7 different faces throughout a recruitment exercise, and employers make choices based on the wrong face.
Face 1
The CV- The first impression an employer usually gains of a candidate is from their CV.
Face 2
First Interview- The second impression forms when you meet at interview, frequently giving rise to a response of “this is not what I expected from the CV!” But the interview is really a performance and job offer decisions made at this stage are little more than a throw of the dice.
Face 3
Subsequent interviews- As discussions go into more detail, the interviewer learns more about the candidate, and Face 3 appears. But interviews can prove to be delusional as ‘researched’ formulaic questions lead to no more than ‘researched’ formulaic answers, assessing interview ability, not job ability.
Face 4
Contract negotiations- As the employer moves to make an offer and negotiate the contract, a new side of the candidate surfaces. Face 4 is often the first negative impression given by a candidate, and can create doubts and suspicions among employers.
Face 5
Day 1- New employees turn up for their first day, and the employers get to see them ‘on the job’ for the first time. No more hypothetical interview insights; they’re at the ‘coalface.’ But Face 5 is still a performance, as the new starter still tries to be what they think the employer wants them to be.
Face 6
End week- Generally speaking, most new-starters can keep up the ‘performance’ for about a week but by the end of week 2, the cracks are beginning to show, the mask slips, and glimpses of the real person begin to appear.
Face 7
Month 3- Experience shows that it can take about 3 months for the ‘real employee’ to turn up, as they give up trying to be who they think they have to be. This is the person who’ll turn up from now on. If only employers could discover this face earlier.
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Discovering Face 7: We can help
We’ve 30 years’ experience of discovering real candidates, and selecting those who fit well within our client’s culture. We can help you by recruiting the right high calibre candidates for you, or by training your people to improve their recruitment skills. Contact us to find out more.
