I’m just checking to be sure I’m not the only one who values a complete and accurate resume’. I love LinkedIn to research a candidate but a recent experience highlighted how critical an accurate resume’ is to even getting an interview.

I contacted a candidate who had the credentials my client was searching for. When I shared the name of my client I received immediate push back. They had applied to the company’s online posting, completed a phone interview but had not been invited for an on-site interview. I probed more deeply in hopes of understanding why such a good match on paper was eliminated so early in the process. They seemed genuinely bothered that the hiring manager had asked for specifics about start and end dates and what they did during certain lengthy gaps in employment. During two of the gaps they were permanently employed but chose not to list those positions on the resume’.

I understand they didn’t want to highlight gaps in permanent employment. I believe not listing permanent employment caused the hiring manager to question the candidate’s integrity and ultimately cost this candidate a chance to pursue an attractive career opportunity.

How do you feel about resume’ accuracy?

I’m prejudiced for sure. I’m an external recruiter and I don’t like (ok, I hate) counteroffers.

A recent survey of the members of our affiliate network indicates counteroffers are more prevalent perhaps than they have ever been. But does it work beyond the short term?

Employers win in the short term either because they have thrown money at a departing employee or made promises that will be difficult to keep. If the promised changes weren’t difficult they would have made them already, right?

The employer secures an interim employee without knowing it, especially if more money was their answer. The employee earns a higher salary and keeps looking as they now have a higher base to negotiate from.

The same circumstances that created the desire to move on will likely resurface in the future, perhaps at an even less opportune time. Maybe what was a great fit before just isn’t a great fit anymore!

Maybe it’s time to try something different. Organizations that want to retain employees start by following a disciplined approach to hiring the right ones. If you really want to focus on retention check out this book by Richard P. Finnegan: The Stay Interview: A Manager’s Guide to Keeping the Best and Brightest

I’ve had a tough time with focus as I start a new year and I’d guess I have plenty of company. Energy isn’t the issue, I’m very excited about business and personal growth prospects for 2018. It’s just that every day I think about someone and a circumstance I can’t change.

My dear friend Tom Regensburger passed away on the evening of Thursday, January 4. Tom and I were Evans Scholars together at Miami University and close friends for more than 35 years. Tom had battled some health issues in 2017 and had been able to work from home while recuperating over the holidays. On that Thursday morning he fired up the laptop and was making progress on several assignments but began to feel worse as the day went on. By that evening he was in the ER where they diagnosed pneumonia in both lungs and proceeded to attempt to intubate him. His heart stopped in the ER and they revived him but when it stopped again in the ICU they could not revive him a second time. Tom was only 55 and leaves behind a wife, a step-daughter and her fiance’, and two sons – an 8th grader and a 6th grader.

Fortunately for me I believe that in the latter part of 2017 while Tom was battling those health issues I did have my focus in the right place, at least periodically. We corresponded via email missives regarding our monthly 3-club golf outings. We talked at some length following an event that had him hospitalized over the Thanksgiving holiday and we texted each other around Christmas and made plans about picking him up to go watch a football game after the beginning of the new year.

So while focus is indeed hard stuff, I encourage you to spend time focused on cherishing and nurturing those relationships that matter most to you. I’m still sad every day when I think about Tom but I’m comforted to know Tom and I both invested in our relationship.

Get used to it if you are trying to add talent to your team. “I can’t interview anyone else who isn’t committed to making a change.” I wanted to respond to my client with “well, get used to many fewer interviews.” My more diplomatic self said “I understand your frustration (believe me, I wanted to close the deal also) and our team will try and gain commitment to accepting a competitive offer as quickly as possible.”

Face it, everyone who is gainfully employed and not actively pursuing a new opportunity is a “tirekicker.” Perhaps every candidate, employed or unemployed, who hasn’t reached a point of financial distress is a tirekicker. Our advice to clients is to assume every candidate is the one they will want to hire and begin selling them on your opportunity as quickly as possible.

You must do the basics: 1) Be on time for the interview. 2) Set your smartphone to Do Not Disturb – PLEASE!. 3) Review the candidate’s resume’, any previous interview notes and their LinkedIn profile.

The important part of converting a tirekicker to a seriously viable candidate is being prepared to SELL what you believe to be the most compelling aspects of your organization and the specific role.

A 17 year-old I know pretty well thought they might like working at a particular clothing retailer but wasn’t going to quit the current part-time job before checking it out by working both jobs for a little while. The manager of the store at the local mall asked her to complete the paper application and return it the next day because she had an opening and was very interested in hiring someone who had already held a part time job for more than a year. She also said she could arrange an interview right away rather than waiting on the process with an online application. The application was completed and returned the next day, delivered directly to the above mentioned manager.

You guessed it – two plus weeks have passed and no contact from the manager. Now for the candidate experience – the 17 year-old young lady says “I’m not sure I’d even want to interview now because I wouldn’t want to work for such a disorganized manager.”

I commented in an earlier post that candidates need to relax because “some things rightfully take time and organizations have a process for evaluating talent.” I still believe that, but if you drop the ball on simple communication during the hiring process you can expect talented candidates to lose interest in the specific opportunity and maybe more broadly lose interest in your organization.