Responsible for hiring? In the recruiting business? Food for thought.

I don't own/run a successful business like many of the thought leaders in the world that most people admire and often want to emulate.

I don't have a management degree from a world renowned educational institution.

I'm not a human resources person with years of experience.

I'm not a recruiter or in the recruitment business.

Why am I telling you this? I am hoping that your expectations in terms of what you're about to read, are framed appropriately.

After nearly five years, I recently moved on from the very first organisation I worked for here in Australia. Conventional wisdom suggests that we give notice at our current job only when we have secured a new opportunity. So, at the start of the year, I began my search. I had updated my resume and ensured that my profile on seek.com.au was current as well.

I wasn't obsessed about the job search but knew that I had to be serious about it. I quickly realised that the vast majority of organisations (on seek) were on the lookout for superheroes! Often, I wondered about the person who approved the listing because the skill set and experience required (or desired) were mind boggling!

Some of you might be thinking that I am saying this because I simply wasn't qualified for the positions I was looking into and am bitter about the whole experience. If you have a moment, please have a look at my LinkedIn profile and you can then draw your own conclusions about my qualifications and experience.

I digress.

The point I am trying to make is that those who are responsible for hiring new talent, don't seem to live in the real world.

In the real world, there are no superheroes.

In the real world, one person cannot be an expert in everything.

In the real world, the latest isn't always the greatest.

In the real world, people should be given a chance to learn, adapt, grow and prove themselves.

Here's a piece of advice for those who're looking for technical talent: Don't conjure up fancy titles and seek superhumans with otherworldly skill levels and impossible amount of experience in tools and technologies that are barely out of diapers! Instead, be realistic and hire people who are passionate and hardworking, have a strong character, respectable skills and experience and most importantly, are willing to learn and have a teachable spirit!

No, this isn't as easy as scanning through a resume or LinkedIn profile (or worse, letting some automated system do the dirty work for you!) and looking for industry buzzwords or references to the latest trends.

What I am suggesting requires more of your personal involvement but will help you in the long run. It involves much more and is for those who are sincere about hiring the right people for the right job and wanting to do it the right way so that everyone wins!

If you don't genuinely care about people and don't want to really help them (not just yourself), you might fill positions with the right candidate (on paper), but it just won't be the same as finding the right person.

Please take a good look at yourself and how you have been going about hiring people, whether you are a human resources person, a manager, a recruiter or the CEO.

Are you getting carried away with job descriptions, requirements and expectations?

Are you looking for superheroes?

I challenge you to

• purge unrealistic expectations (whether it is your own or those you work for)
• rely less on automated systems (they may reduce your workload but you have done so at the cost of allowing a machine to decide who's right and who isn't)
• figure out why you do what you do (is it because you care about people or is it all about the bottom-line)

While I applied for a few positions that I believed I was right for, not once did I get a chance to interact with a real person to discuss my potential and what I had to offer. I am gainfully employed again so I am no longer searching but I speak on behalf of all who are. Who you are and how you do things, can have a significant impact on another person. They're not just sending you a resume or applying for a job, they're surrendering themselves to you. They are at your mercy. This can get to your head or it can touch your heart.

By no means am I saying that everyone who is doing it currently, is wrong. There are always exception to the norm and you may be that exception.

I have shared this based on my observations and the experience I went through recently. We have all gone through the process of looking for a job. Now, whether you work for yourself or someone else, if you are responsible for hiring, please don't ever forget how hard the whole process is on the job seeker and the toll it takes.

Value every person and treat them as the individual they are and do so with care.

We all win this way.

In closing, I want to leave you with the words of those much wiser than I.

Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.
Henry David Thoreau

Time spent on hiring is time well spent.
Robert Half

Please share your thoughts and comments below. We can all learn and grow from each other.

Thank you for reading.

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