Inc.com offers up this slide show that nails it – 10 derailing mistakes that can short circuit any hiring process.

A couple of my favorites:

Jumping to conclusions
Don’t be too hasty when reviewing resumes. A 30-second glance isn’t enough to eliminate a candidate. Be fair, and take the time to discover the truth behind a resume.

I would take it one step further – don’t jump to conclusions after interviewing the candidate either. We have sat through many interview debriefs where the hiring manager took one piece of data from the interview and ran it out to a sinister trend in the candidate. There is nothing more frustrating than that. Ask questions. Ask follow-up questions. Ask clarifying questions. Don’t assume.

Letting personal attitudes and biases impact decisions
Everyone has pre-dispositions, but if you begin the process with bias for any reason, you may well miss out on a great candidate.

This mistake is subtle and difficult to expose. We see it often and try to work around certain aspects of it. Most often these biases are based on recent experiences. Heaven help you if you find a strong candidate who has any resemblance to the person who last held the position!

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From a promotional email from CareerBuilder.com:

Last year, job searches on CareerBuilder.com increased by over 60% in January, breaking all previous job search records.

Obviously, CareerBuilder is trying to sell employment ads, but the quoted statistic is remarkable.

We hear people complain about finding talented salespeople using the big online boards but we have consistent success with them. The boards may be a problem for some positions, but I don’t think that is the common cause. From what I see, many companies post ads that are . . . well, atrocious.

Here’s my Minnesotan view on it: Imagine you are on a large lake that is renowned for good fishing. Now let’s say you don’t catch any fish, or at least keepers, for an entire week. You could state that there are no keeper fish in that large lake, but few people would believe that statement. My initial questions to you would be, what bait were you using? What other bait did you try?

See, too often we encounter HR departments that have written a job description based on their internal criteria. That job description (which reads like technical instructions to a mechanical assembly) is then posted on a job board resulting in a flood of misaligned resumes in somebody’s inbox. Granted, there are automated responders on the major boards so you will receive some completely unqualified resumes. But the quality of response is directly proportional to the quality of the ad.

If you want to attract the right sales candidates, you have to write the ad so that they see themselves in the ad. The best approach is to outline the parameters of a typical sale and describe the skills and aptitudes needed to succeed in that sale. A brief description of the compensation plan is also a requirement. However, it is unwise to go into great detail about all of the rewards the salesperson will receive if they land the position. That information will enter the equation at the appropriate time in your hiring process – and hopefully the strong candidate will use their qualifying skills to discover it.

For more specific information, please read this article from our newsletter. The article is from 2 years ago, but the principles are still effective today.

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From Fortune/CNN Money.com:

A market research firm called Borrell Associates is now claiming that in 2006, online ad spending for employee recruitment – a.k.a., help wanted – has for the first time surpassed comparable spending in newspapers. The actual amounts are $5.9 billion on the Web vs. $5.4 billion for newspapers.We haven’t seen the full report, but in a thorough post, Alan Mutter quotes this nugget:

“When the history of Internet advertising is written, recruitment sites will undoubtedly dominate the first chapter,” says Borrell. “In 12 years, these sites have grown from a few job boards to hundreds of niche competitors. Online recruitment now accounts for 25% of Internet advertising.”

It’s definitely a major milestone. Moreover, the report predicts that online recruitment will grow to $10 billion by 2011.

Newspapers are bleeding readers fast and should not be used for printed employment ads. Our success with their online offerings have been marginal. I remember when we first started sourcing, we would submit ads and receive the press check (or whatever it is called) via fax machine to proof. Those days seem long ago.

Today, our preference is to use a combination of major online job boards and niche online job boards for employment ads. The newspapers just don’t have the juice they used to have. But we are watching the Yahoo development to see how that develops.

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Sales success is often achieved by consistent actions over an extended period of time. Many people have experienced the salesperson who starts out strong but eventually flame out. It seems the best salespeople have the ability to maintain success over an extended period of time.

Consistency & Reliability
This is the salesperson’s capacity to feel an internal need to be conscientious, consistent and reliable in their personal and/or professional efforts (life roles). This is an internal motivation as opposed to being motivated by external forces such as job, peer or supervisory pressures.

A salesperson with strength in this trait will be dependable and reliable – tending to perform in most situations with little or no direct supervision.

Weakness in this trait may result in a salesperson who is not dependable. Their work performance and schedules might be erratic. They might work very hard for a period of time. However, without external motivation or supervision, they might lack the internal desire to maintain this level of performance throughout the duration of the task at hand.

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Apparently yes. From a recent poll conducted by Career Journal of nearly 500 employees:

• 41% of respondents admitted they are actively searching for a new job
• 35% considered themselves passive jobseekers
• 21% indicated they were not looking for a job at all

So the obvious question is what are you doing to change those numbers within your organization? With 3 out of 4 of your employees potentially leaving, are you properly rewarding and motivating them on an individual basis? No two employees are the same so understanding their rewards and motivations will help ensure that your team is happy and content.

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I never thought I would write this, but you may be too rich if you need a “Santa Gifting Service” – Santa’s ‘Gifting’ Helpers Handle Holiday Shopping for the Wealthy. I read this article and was laughing and mildly disgusted all at once. Here’s why:

To some people, hunting for the perfect gift is more of a hassle than a holiday. Some of the wealthiest consumers across the country turn to consultants to find ultra-exclusive, money-is-no-object gifts from around the world.

First of all, spending money is one of my specialities. I like to say I didn’t earn it to save it. It is usually at that point I realize how blessed I am to have the wife I have (she is a saver). At any rate, I hate to see Christmas reduced to a gift-giving task that is categorized as a “hassle.”

Donum is the company that provides the shopping service to the wealthy. I have never heard of them which is probably a testament to my income. In case you were wondering, here is the pull quote from the founder:

“Donum stands for cutting-edge luxury,” brags Amy Frankel Nau, who founded the company more than a decade ago and is now a consultant to the company. “We are the most exclusive department store in the world, without the four walls.”

This quote got me to thinking, who sells their services? Better yet, what would the ideal salesperson look like in their world. Without profiling the sale, I would have to guess their most successful salespeople are a blend of two specific motivations – Utilitarian and Aesthetic. This is a difficult combination to find due to the relative scarcity of the Aesthetic motivation in sales.

Let me define the Aesthetic motivation so you can see its importance in this role:

• Driven by a passion for form, harmony and beauty
• Appreciate the finer things in life and strive to get them
• Empathetic to the feelings of others
• Aware of fashion and trends
• Susceptible to purchasing the newest and latest products

I think you can easily see why this motivation, tied to the Utilitarian drive for sales success, would be a tremendous fit for this type of sales position.

And one last trivial point from the article, “Donum” means gift in Latin.

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We’re working with a new customer who has brought up a topic which merits discussion. His contention is that he needs a salesperson who is a strong closer since their company competes in a somewhat commoditized market space. A fair conclusion.

But a wrong one.

Closing is the eventual outcome of a selling system but it is not the most critical phase. Qualifying is the stage at which most deals are won or lost. In fact, here is a bit of a shocker – qualified deals close themselves. It’s true. If a salesperson can qualify a prospective deal effectively, they can navigate to a successful close.

Salespeople who only know how to “close” are better suited for working in the holiday kiosks at the local mall. They can quickly jump passerbys and attempt to close them whether the passerby has a need or not. These types of salespeople subscribe to the approach that when all you have is a hammer, everything is a nail.

A salesperson who qualifies an opportunity will determine the prospect’s needs or pains, their budget to fix this pain and their time frame for making the pain go away. These are the pieces of the puzzle that lead to a successfully closed deal. This skill set is far more valuable in comparison to a salesperson who attempts to close any opportunity whether worthwhile or wasteful.

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We talk often at The Hire Sense about a salesperson’s ability to qualify a prospect. There are many points to qualify in any given opportunity, but one of the important items is time frame. Tirekickers abound on the web and often contact companies to learn more about their offerings. Yet, these tirekickers have no intention to make a short-term purchase.

A thought struck me as we work with one of our customers who is searching for a new salesperson. This position involves a technical sale and we have recently sourced a strong candidate that they want to pursue. We were involved in the initial interview and the candidate was quite strong (as we expected). Our customer liked him also and wants to pursue him. Unfortunately, they are in the middle of the myriad of year-end tasks most companies have to complete.

I tell you all this because they had hoped to pursue the candidate after Christmas. Well, the candidate is pursuing other opportunities simultaneously and will be receiving an offer early next week. This is not surprising with the low unemployment level across the country and especially here in Minnesota.

The time frame for a successful hire in today’s marketplace is rapid. If you find a strong candidate, you need to move on them with some speed lest another company close them before you. Our customer is now making adjustments today (Saturday) to be able to pursue the candidate on Tuesday with a final interview.

A good piece of advice – accelerate your hiring process if you want to hire the strongest candidates in this present economy.

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Interviews are stressful for candidates as we posted this morning. If you want to gain an even more in-depth knowledge of the candidate, take them out for a meal as part of your interview process. Selling Power has a quick article worth the read – Out to Lunch?

In case you were wondering what to watch for at the meal:

Business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter says that by taking a candidate out to a restaurant you will be able to observe interpersonal skills that you may not be able to witness during a more formal interview. First, is the candidate on time? How do they treat the server? What do they order? Are they decisive or indecisive when ordering? Do they keep changing their order? Do they send their meals back? Some red flags to watch for include treating the server as a second-class citizen, ordering the most expensive thing on the menu, ordering alcohol during the meal, and having bad table manners do you really want this person talking with his mouth full or licking his fingers in the middle of a $3 million deal with a potential client?

Licking the fingers – classic. I have sat with some salespeople who smack while they eat which, to me, is about as unprofessional as it gets at any meal.

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Sales, in its most basic form, is convincing others to change their behavior. One of the aptitudes we use to objectively assess this important trait is Influencing Others.

Influencing Others
This is the capacity to convince others – to present ones viewpoint in such a way that it is accepted by another person.

A salesperson with strength in this capacity can not only see but talk from another’s point of view. A salesperson who has the ability to understand other’s objections and concerns can then respond to them in an effective manner.

A weakness in this area can indicate a salesperson who is insensitive to others – not knowing what they want to hear. This weakness can also be generated by having excessive role confidence and in thinking that the other person needs to hear what they think is important.

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