How to Recruit and Hire the Best of the Best

Abstract

Administrators, faculty and staff are easy to come by if you'll settle for fair to middling. The best candidates hunt for jobs differently and you need to recruit differently to find them, or somebody else will grab them up before you even know that they exist. “Most organizations have people who will apply for every job that comes up,” said Glenn Powell, executive director of human resources and diversity for the Lone Star College System, comprising five community colleges near Houston TX. “Active” job seekers who apply for everything usually are not the best candidates. Speaking at the CUPA-HR conference in Las Vegas in October 2009, he described the more desirable recruits as “passive candidates.” They're successful and happy in their current jobs while open to opportunities. They'll go to a niche job board in their field but they don't waste time on Monster.com. They may not follow your college Web site's jobs list. “They're too busy working,” he said. Instead of sending out rafts of applications, a passive candidate is building her network. She'll probably start through professional organizations. “When you go to a conference, you should be looking for people you might hire in the future,” he told WIHE. Build the relationship before a job comes open. When a position comes vacant, you'll know who you want to approach and she'll already know you. Active candidates make tactical choices; they take the offer that pays the most. If they come to you just because of the pay, what's to keep them from jumping ship to somebody else who pays more? Passive candidates know money is only part of the story. That's good news for public community colleges and other mission-driven schools that may not pay top dollar. “These people tend to use a more strategic decision-making model,” Powell said. They look at the total compensation package, who they'd be working with, and what the job could mean for their personal and professional futures. Powell listed seven job characteristics that the best candidates are looking for: Advertise in terms of factors the best candidates are looking for. “A job description is a pretty boring document,” Powell said, one that won't attract passive candidates. Give your job ad the pizzazz of a Super Bowl commercial. Offer them something other employers don't offer, whether it's mentoring, teamwork or the chance to have an impact. Address their potential concern that the job isn't big enough. “There is usually a gap between what the person has now and what you have to offer,” he said. When they challenge your pay levels, take advantage of their strategic orientation to explain what they'd gain by taking a job with you. “When you start to recruit these passive candidates, they're going to be a lot more picky. In order to recruit them, you have to give them more information. You have to convince them that the move is worthwhile,” he said. Women are often constrained by relocation issues or concerned about the community for raising a family. The Lone Star College System in the Houston suburbs touts good schools, plenty of nearby job opportunities for spouses and lower housing costs than most big cities. Three of its five colleges have women presidents, signaling career opportunities for women candidates. Public community colleges are looking for a different mindset from private and four-year colleges. They have less faculty tenure and try to keep tuition much lower. Getting a third of their funding from the local tax base and basing their offerings on local needs, they're looking for someone who is active in the community and willing to give back. They want people who are innovative and have community college experience. Finding such people is an ongoing effort, especially in areas of constant need, such as nurses who want to teach. He learns when current employees will be going to conferences and trains them how to approach potential employees, exchange business cards and follow up. Interact with executive types at leadership conferences. Connect with general positions such as accountants through niche job boards and associations. Scholars generally move within a limited niche, so go there to find them. “You don't want the leftovers. If you recruit like everybody else, when you start advertising the best people will already have a job,” he said. Be clear on what you offer as a quality employer and build relationships early to recruit the best of the best. Contact glenn.r.powell@lonestar.edu or 832.813.6726