Standout Jobs

You do have hiring plans right? An estimate of the job openings that will become available for the next year?

Most companies put considerable effort into planning their years. And this work often happens at the end of the previous year or the beginning of the new one. Sales targets are assessed, company plans are put in place, etc. But it’s less common for companies to have an assessment of their human capital needs. And that’s a big mistake.

If you don’t know what sorts of people you’ll most likely need to hire in the coming year, how can you possible do a good job of recruiting?

You need to know as far in advance as possible that you’ll need - say a Web Developer - because you should start the recruiting process immediately. Yup, there’s no time like the present. Oftentimes when posting a job advertisement on job boards, you’re doing so months after you really could have used that person. It’s a reactionary move: “Oh oh…we really need a web developer to help us, this is getting desperate. Quick, let’s post on the job boards and hire someone ASAP.”

That’s precisely what you want to avoid. It’s not always feasible, and plans are never 100% precise, but if you had a hiring plan in place telling you that a web developer would most likely be hired, you could start the process right away. And recruiting takes time. To pick the best people you want to build relationships with them beforehand. You want to let them know as soon as possible that you’ll be hiring, so they have the time to learn about your company and decide for themselves if it’s a good fit. You need time to sell the best people on your company. A hiring plan helps you do that.

So before getting too far into 2008 sit down with your team, management, bosses, etc. and look at your potential hiring needs in 2008. And then…start recruiting…