Burn Those Boxes: Un-Constrain Your Hiring Practices

Leading people in an organization requires getting many things "right" - by ensuring the right people are in the right roles doing the right things the right way at the right time, inspired by the right vision.

Piece of cake. (Cue sarcastic cackling.)

But filling key roles to execute these “rights” - not so easy, especially today.

The job market is broken. Insanely talented candidates are being ignored or ghosted, while insanely frustrated leaders can't find the "right" people. 

Many of the "right" candidates aren't considered because they don't fit into corporate boxes. 

Leaders - it's time to burn your boxes.

Boxes provide structure. They keep us safe. We’ve been operating within boxes for so long we don’t even notice their walls. But they can constrain our thinking and narrow our vision - just when we need to expand our approach to recruiting and widen our definition of “right." 

Consider these out-of-the-box perspectives.

Unemployed does NOT mean unemployable. 

When protected by anonymity, many recruiters say they prefer employed candidates. One recruiter participating in a research study said, “The sense is that if someone is good, they would be working.” And then acknowledged, "this logic is crap." Currently about 3 out of 4 U.S. workers become unemployed during their careers. Most often it happens DESPITE employees’ performance or potential. 

Judge candidates on their experience, their willingness to learn and how they'll contribute - not on their employment status. Don't rely on crappy logic.

Founders/freelancers/contractors are NOT high-risk candidates.

Your job description calls for "entrepreneurial spirit," for initiative and get-it-done drive. And yet candidates who are scrappy enough to monetize their skills, getting paid to do what they love, are undesirable? They're smart enough to run a business, to find work in a challenging economy - they're smart enough to adapt to your culture and will bring hard-earned gung-ho expertise. 

Mature candidates do NOT lack change agility. 

While Gen Xers and Boomers aren’t “digital natives,” they evolved from using typewriters in high school to Blackberries in early jobs. Today they have iPhones and love ChaptGPT. You don't think they can learn new skills and lean into cutting edge practices? 

Do not surrender to ageism masked as "culture fit" - saying no to seasoned professionals eliminates pools of potential "right" candidates.

Transferable skills and experiences REALLY DO transfer. 

A colleague shared a story about a recruiter refusing to consider him for a leadership role at a nonprofit. Despite sitting on a nonprofit board and having advised nonprofits, he hadn’t actually been employed by one. The recruiters prioritized “must have worked for a nonprofit” over “must have XYZ skills that will drive nonprofit outcomes.” What a missed opportunity to harness this leader’s commitment to bringing extensive corporate experience to value-driven work.

As always with this newsletter, we offer actions to apply the learning. Here are three fiery ways to start burning your boxes.

FACE your boxes.

Look at your recruiting, interviewing, and hiring patterns. Have you stayed within the constraints described above? What are the opportunities to increase the diversity of your candidates - and the benefits to your organization?

FIGURE out your (true) needs.

Separate “must have'' experience and expertise from “nice-to-have” - and then challenge those lists. What skills can you teach on the job? What capabilities and competencies distinguish the strongest performers? 

FREE yourself.

Look at your pile of resumes and choose the MOST out-of-the-box applicants. The freelancers who bring entrepreneurial spirit. The mature professionals with decades of brilliance to share. The candidates from adjacent fields and functions. Give them a chance to be your “rights.”

Escape from your boxes. Light the fires.

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Tina is waaaay out of the box. She's a redhead who has parrots and reads tarot cards. Get to know her and WorkJoy as you invest in yourself as a leader. Learn more by scheduling time with us today!