If you are a recruiter supporting an organization, then you know that there are two types of managers related to open positions:
-Type A – Views an open position as a critical need and will stay focused, doing what
he/she needs to in order to keep the ball rolling and close some business, and occasionally ride you in a nice way for candidate/sourcing status; or
-Type B – Hiring for open positions is never a priority, and if you weren’t there to force the issue after things started looking ridiculous, the time to fill for his/her open positions over the course of their career would be 198 days.
I’m reminded of the contrast in hiring manager urgency based on a conversation I had with a recruiting friend last week. My friend was holding an order for a CIO position within a Fortune 500 company, the type of fill that would have made his year. As luck would have it, they had the offer letter formulated and were waiting on the details of relocation for the selected candidate and ARRRRRRG… The company froze the position and decided they could make do internally until the end of the year.
Tick Tock. You’re always on the clock in corporate America.
A cautionary tale to say the least. Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys. And make sure you tell them that if they delay in getting their open spots filled, the Iceman cometh in the form of a hiring freeze.
PS – Couldn’t resist the picture of Val Kilmer as "Iceman" in Top Gun. Gen Y – have you seen this film? Rent on a slow weekday to better connect with your GenX/Boomer boss or peers….
Good post Kris! What about the hiring manager who says the positions is mission critical but behaves as though there is only one person in the world that can do the job and you have to find them?
Great use of “Iceman” from Top Gun. I just watched this movie in HD with full surround and WOW! Took me back to my youth in the theatre seeing this movie.
Maverick: Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby.
Air Boss Johnson: That’s a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full.
Ouch! I really don’t know too many people who haven’t seen Top Gun. My favorite part is the when Maverick and Goose sing “You’ve lost that loving feeling”. Smooth.
Geesh -
Since we’re sharing favorite Top Gun moments, mine has to be where Cruise looks at Iceman’s name tag and after a pause, calls him “Mr. Iceman”, then gets the “you’re dangerous” speech.
Goose
I recently went through a long phase of Type B until the higher ups threatened to pull any positions that didn’t have candidates in interviews. Instantly, everyone became Type A. And then…I certainly felt the need.
The NEED…For SPEED!
Ow! Great Balls of Fire!
Kris -
And it’s even worse when your department is being measured on cycle time to fill open positions! We used to do this at my last company and 90% of the “wait time” was on the hiring manager’s end.
Kris, Any reason for a photo of Val Kilmer works in my book
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As you know I’m not a recruiter but I have been thinking of this a bit as a hiring manager. It just seems bad business to not get moving on an open position ASAP. To my mind if you are not pushing to fill a position then maybe you don’t really need it. I have not had that luxury myself. If I have any glimmer of an open position I’m moving to get it filled.
Its certainly key to move with speed and focus in the hiring process. Hiring manager delays due to scheduling conflicts with the hiring manager or the manager’s interview team have derailed countless searches. Good candidates get snapped up by the competition, and more recently hiring suspensions have stopped searches that should have been easily completed given adherance to a reasonable timetable.
The looser in all of this is the hiring manager. If they could only see that time spent now would not only save time later, but also contribute so much to their success.