Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

ATTRACTION - Attract The BIG Fish … Not The Carp!

ATTRACTION - Attract The BIG Fish … Not The Carp!

What we don’t realize is that the first key to hiring success, is attracting the right applicants. If you are advertising in the wrong places, then perfecting your interviewing skills will not help you. You will merely be picking the “Best of the Worst” rather than the “Best of the Best”.

When you are responsible for finding and choosing people, you are very much like a tournament fisherman. Everyone wants to catch the world’s largest fish. Unfortunately he/she may not live in the pond in which you are fishing. Even if you are lucky, and the largest fish does live your pond, everyone else in your market/industry is also fishing in the same pond.

You have to settle for the best fish available. There is no inventory of what is in the pond. Some employers will take the first fish that comes along that looks acceptable. Others decide before they go fishing, what the smallest fish they will take home will be, and they start to measure against their standard. Others aim for the biggest, and don’t go home until they catch it. One thing we all agree on is nobody wants to catch carp.

Once you have decided what type of fish you want, you have to select your pond. There are various ways of choosing where you are more likely to find suitable applicants. Customers are one creative (yet not obvious) place to start. Perhaps posting an opening on tables will help, or asking customers if they know anybody who might fit within your team (if they’re loyal and you have developed a long and solid relationship with them). The advantage is that customers know the level of your service and your expectations of staff. They are not likely to recommend someone, if there isn’t an obvious culture fit.

Asking your employees (preferably your Top Performers) if they know anybody has also proven successful at times. Similar to customers, your employees know what to expect from the job (and the employer). If they are a Top Performer then they understand what it takes, and they are likely to only recommend people with similar characteristics.

Always keep an eye out in local newspapers and industry publications for companies who have announced cutbacks. There is nothing wrong with taking advantage of someone else’s mistake. If they announce cutbacks, they will likely be letting people go. Often it is their Top Performers who go first. Their loss can be your gain.

Some companies see great benefit in monthly or quarterly hiring events. Specifically hiring fairs where the public is invited to come to a specific location at a specific time for an interview. You might be inviting the whole pond, but at least you can focus on meeting the person (v.s just getting a piece of paper in your office) and then weeding out the carp, before you take time out of your busy day to interview people who don’t have potential.

Make sure your employees always portray an image that attracts the type of people you want to hire. A national courier company used to let their drivers dress casually for work. They noticed a big problem with too many under-qualified candidates applying. As a pilot project, they required all of their drivers in a province to wear ties while driving delivery trucks for 3 months. The result was that higher caliber candidates were applying for jobs in that province. They were attracting higher educated and motivated people.

Your front-line staff should also be trained on how to accept an application/resume. One of our clients, an international well known company, spends considerable money in perfecting their hiring process and attracting the best applicants on a daily basis. While I was recently in their store to purchase something, an applicant approached an associate with her resume. The employee did not smile, appeared tired and de-motivated, and did not know what to do with it. Furthermore he spoke down to the applicant to make her feel more intimidated than this process probably already was for her. Not to mention that he conveyed an image which isn’t the ‘fun and exciting place to work’, that they claim it to be in their job advertising.
Make sure your current employees do not scare away applicants who might be your future Top Performers.

The author, Michael Shuster is President: HIDDEN CONCEPTS INC.
His expertise encompasses strategic employee attraction and hiring processes, sales & customer service training, ongoing employee performance management, and curriculum design. His goal setting, coaching programs, and tracking formulas, have been used by managers within over 250 organizations across North America, to successfully inspire and achieve excellence at hiring and managing top performers!





ATTRACTION Attract The BIG Fish Not The Carp - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Shuster's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback

To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Michael Shuster
(Visit Michael's Website) Whether you are still working towards your first time at investing in real estate, or you are looking to expand into other methods of investing in real estate, our program will take you from beginner investing to expert investing! Offering Real Estate Investment Training Programs, Joint Venture Deals, and Private Mentoring for real estate investors of all levels!

Michael Shuster is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Michael Shuster's

Complete
List Of
Human-Resources
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Michael Shuster's Complete List of Human-Resources Articles For FREE!

More Michael Shuster
DO YOU HIRE SMART
ATTRACTION Attract The BIG Fish Not The Carp
Employee Orientation A Good Start for Long Employment
Effective Interviewing Are All Job Interviews The Same
MANAGE YOUR TIME
Buy American I Am
HIRING GOOD PEOPLE IS TOUGH Keeping Them Is Even TOUGHER
Investing Near Universities
Negotiating
The Mystery Of Managing Your Staff
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
John Power  
John Brennan  
Jeff Foster  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Explode Expo Results Icon Explode Expo Results
Fortune Small Business Icon Fortune Small Business
Book of Leadership Icon Book of Leadership
Special Report Icon Special Report
10 Ways To Go International Icon 10 Ways To Go International
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
Top 50 Geek Business Blogs
 
Email The Reporters
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Hortance Umutoniwase Nyarugenge/Kigali, Rwanda,
Hortance Umutoniwase
Nyarugenge/Kigali, Rwanda
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Brian Scudamore, $200k to $8 Mil in 5 years
Brian Scudamore
$200k to $8 Mil in 5 years
Razor Suleman, $143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
Razor Suleman
$143k to $5.4 Mil in 5 years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks
Steven Spielberg
DreamWorks
Thomas Watson Sr., IBM
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Michael Gerber, The E Myth
Michael Gerber
The E Myth
Seth Godin, Ideavirus Author
Seth Godin
Ideavirus Author
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Cold Calling - Tips to make it easier
By David Acheson
     Foot Canvassing
By David Acheson
     The Transition from Sales Person to Sales Manager
By David Acheson

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information