March 27, 2007
Avoid Super Candidate Syndrome
Monster provides some great resources for employers including free webinars on timely topics when it comes to hiring. Click here to see a recent presentation or here to see what other scheduled (or completed) webinars on on their docket.
The top sources for finding new opportunites as used by candidates are:
- Family & Friends
- Job Boards (large)
- Past Managers & Colleagues
- Job Boards (niche/speciality)
- Recruiting/Placement Firms
As you are probably aware, many people consistently keep an eye open for new opportunities. So why don’t more people apply to ads? Here is what the researchers discovered were the biggest frustrations for candidates is their search:
- Vague Job Descriptions
- Inflated Requirements – “Super Candidate Syndrome”
- Lack of Response from Employers
- Omission of Key Information in the Job Ad
We run into the second frustration for candidates quite often as we speak with companies looking to hire salespeople. Here is how candidates define the Super Candidate Syndrome:
- Raising candidates’ expectations by advertising for candidates with “God-like abilities” and then offer McDonalds-like wages.
- Turn candidates off by using impossibly long and complex skill demands of potential candidates. It communicates€¦that the company doesn’t respect the learning and preparation it takes to achieve high performance levels in each skill.
- Missing candidates with transferable skills, employers focus on direct experience, even if there are candidates with exceptional transferable skills.
It is far easier to teach some one your product and industry than it is to teach them how to sell, but yet many companies focus on finding salespeople with industry experience.
Why is that?
It could be that they don’t have the time to train, or manage, a new salesperson. Or it could be that it took a long time for them to learn the industry and they assume it will take everyone an equally long time. I don’t have the answer, but the one thing I do know is that it is the extremely rare expert/engineer who can be turned into a strong salesperson.
It really boils down to this Super Candidate Syndrome. You will have more success hiring if you look for candidates who have transferable skills that will make him or her successful in your sale.
