I recently had a very revealing chat with a chap that has been out in the job market for some time. This individual is one of the most talented and diversely skilled professionals that I know. He would easily be a fit for leadership within a support function (ie. HR, Payroll, etc) or more “close to the action” (ie. sales, operations, general management). This individual had kept the job search very broad by pursuing both support and P&L roles. He was very open to going in either direction and those that approached him articulated that not only was he a very appealing candidate but that the support and line roles were “core” and critical to the organization’s success. The hiring managers also asserted that they look for talent that can contribute broadly as opposed to just filling a position. As time progressed, the actions of the organization’s revealed many things but mostly, separated the valued roles from the pack. It also became apparent that none of the support roles that were deemed as core had actions that supported this assertion. This list below is a summary of the actions that candidates can use to determine if a company really values the role as core and/or values you as “talent”.
- The hiring organization is mostly concerned with job/role fit as opposed to checking off if candidates match the job profile to the letter.
- The company has urgency around filling the role – the process moves very fast (you either have an offer two weeks from your first conversation or you know you are not a candidate).
- The organization will over hire for the position and beef up the role to fit the candidate
- The hiring manager is driving the process, not HR
There are no absolutes but rest assured that if a company’s actions are opposite of those listed above, you have reason to be weary.
