The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology Behind Recruiting Successful Employees

Andrew LaCivita
CEO of milewalk
author of Interview Intervention

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Andrew LaCivita, CEO of milewalk and author of Interview Intervention: Communication That Gets You Hired
Copyright ©2013 milewalk, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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My background…
Created milewalk, a Chicago-based executive search firm in 2004, after spending the
previous seventeen years as an information technology and management consultant.
A nationally recognized recruitment and business consultant and trusted media
resource featured in national TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, and website
appearances who has helped over 150 companies improve their business processes,
technology infrastructure, and employment resources.
Author of Interview Intervention: Communication
That Gets You Hired, the first of four planned
milewalk Business Books designed to help
individuals secure the right job and help
organizations make smart hiring decisions.

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How this evolved: THE QUESTION
Why do some recruitment efforts lead to successful employer and employee relationships
while many leave the parties with remarks or questions such as…
Why did he leave
the company so soon?
I thought he would be a good fit.
Why didn’t he accept our job offer?
Why didn’t I receive a job offer?
I thought the company
would be different.

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The contents of what’s to come…
 Evolution
 my background
 question that sparked this
 The Set Up
 focus of discussion
 main topics
 Questions & Discovery
 three tenets of recruiting
 our discovery: the model
 Challenges & Goals
 candidates & employers
 before & during engagement
 Recommendations
 three improvements
 additional references
 Questions & Answers
 q&a
 survey

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Our focus…
We will address the key success factors —
mostly related to the employer, but also
the job candidate, that affect a company’s
ability to make an effective hire.

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The areas we will address…
2. Major challenges the job candidate faces
when evaluating a career change and
how employers can address these
challenges to the aid the job-seeker in a
making an effective decision.
3. Two-way communication issues that dismantle
both parties’ abilities to make smart choices and
how to avoid the pitfalls of poor communication.
1. The best predictors of recruiting
and retention success and how an
employer can address them in the
recruitment process.

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Working backwards, we set out
to answer three questions…
Is the company
the right fit
for the candidate?
Will the candidate
actually leave
his or her current employer
to join the new company?
Is the candidate
the right fit
for the company?

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How we answered them…starting in 2006…using a combination of quantitative
and qualitative assessments…
Data capture through
job-candidate interviews and
post-candidate-placement
observation.
Interviews with individuals in an HR,
Recruiting, or Hiring Capacity
at over 100 small to large
organizations.
Interviews with
psychologists.
Survey data capture
and analysis.

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What we discovered: THE MODEL

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A complete profiling of fit…
Culture is collective
behavior of the
organization
including the values,
language, and beliefs
melded together to
define the corporate
personality. The more
in-line a person’s
natural state is to the
culture, the greater
the likelihood of
success.

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A complete profiling of recruitment ability…
Evaluation indicates these are the primary influences that affect job candidate’s ability
to make a career change…
• Longevity
• Relationship with boss
• Counteroffer
Our data shows 4/5
candidates cite current
boss as a top-3-reason to
leave company.
Exact opposite ratio is also
true regarding overstaying.
• Other options
• Similar offerings
Candidate’s evaluation of
other suitors consistent with
your position or company?
Know the gaps to ensure
candidate’s decision to
accept elsewhere isn’t
collapsible.
• Advice
• Other influences
Greatest distractor is
poor advice from
colleagues or inaccurate
information cited from
uncontrollable sources.
such as websites.
• Spouse
• Children
• Relocation
• School
Recognizing the legal nature of
questions related to this area,
it would be beneficial to ask
the candidate who he or she
would discuss the employment
opportunity with.

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Getting started…addressing the challenges that occur before engagement…
and the ultimate question for each party…
Employer
Will this be a long-term,
successful employee and can we recruit him?
Candidate
Is this the right company for me?

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At the start…realize you are interacting with a candidate who is likely thinking…
“I have a choice and I’m sure I see all
the options (even though I’m likely
narrow framing).
That’s okay because I’ll analyze it
objectively (even though I’ll do that
biasedly).
I’m sure that analysis will help me
pick the right choice (even though my
short-term emotion will tempt me to
do otherwise).
I’m confident my future will turn out
how I expect it to…
“Whew. Finally. A candidate
who looks like he’ll be a great
fit!”

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Understanding and addressing issues that occur during engagement…
the three reasons for breakdown…communication issues…
1. Accurately articulating your fit and value (encoding)
2. Accurately interpreting each other (decoding)
3. Capacity to remember (memory)

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Goals | an effective recruiting process generally…
 Hires as quickly and inexpensively (time) as is
required to secure the best candidates.
 Sells itself continuously throughout the
process using verbal and non-verbal cues.
 Eliminates unqualified candidates as quickly
as possible—fails fast.
 Maintains a level of checks and balances that
ensures objective analysis across interviewers
and candidates.
 Portrays itself as welcoming, prepared, and
unique.
 Leaves a positive impression on every
candidate interviewed.
 Wants to hire job candidates that become
long-standing successful employees.

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Recommendations… 80% of issues are introduced before you start…
1
2
3During The Process
Ensure good
communication by
understanding candidate’s
motivations and rationale.
At The Start
Profile candidate to ensure
severability and fit—
information will be used
throughout to help you sell to
the candidate and ensure she
makes a good decision.
Before You Start
Define specifically—WHO—
you seek based on past
knowledge and future
needs and—HOW—you will
evaluate and sell them.

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Before you start… define who you seek and how you’ll evaluate and sell to them.
Optimize the process by leveraging the appropriate resources to maximize the value
of each interview…
Cultural Fit
Specify and define the particular character traits
that best align the personality of the individual
with the collective personality
of the organization. Avoid using generic
terms such as entrepreneurial or
self-starter that can carry as
many different definitions as
people in your company.
Achievement Record
Identify the historical qualities and
evolutionary blueprint of
successful employees. This includes
not only their work history and
patterns, but also their decision-
making processes.
Capabilities
Define the demonstrations
that will provide evidence
the candidate has the foundation
to do the job—even if candidate hasn’t
done it before.
Skills
Identify, very specifically, not only
the particular skills the person
needs to have to do the job on the
first day, but also the level of
proficiency within each skill. Also, include the
desired preference of the skills in the event a
candidate doesn’t possess all of them initially.
HR or
Recruiter
Line
Personnel

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At the start… Part One… evaluate severability… because it doesn’t matter how good the
fit if you cannot secure the candidate…
Current Employer
• Current employment situation
• Length of service
• Tenure/relationship with boss
• Current wounds
• Conflicts to job changing
• Timing issues
• Commitment to leaving
• Counteroffer
• Compensation
Potential Employers
• Other active suitors
• Recent inactive suitors
• Recent pending offers
• Offers received or declined
External Sources
• Personal sources to gather
information or counsel
• Site-related resources to
gather intelligence
Family
• Decision-making process
• Sole decision/Joint decision
• Relocation issues
• Extenuating circumstances

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At the start… Part Two… profile candidate… aiding your ability to determine fit, sell
to the candidate, and ensure candidate makes an effective decision…
Based on over 7,000 milewalk assessments, statistics indicate
these are the top 12 areas candidates evaluate when changing jobs:
“let me tell you
about all the great things
our company offers…”
“that’s great, but
what I really care about is…
Company Type & Track Record,
Corporate Culture, Contribution,
Appreciation, Role, Boss,
Career Growth, Type of People,
Travel Requirements,
Compensation & Benefits,
Office Environment, and
Office Location…”

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During the process… raise your communication intelligence —
proficiency in accurately exchanging thoughts using verbal
and non-verbal cues to achieve a mutual understanding —
to improve your judgment…
Put yourself on alert —before you start—
that there will be ambiguity
and need for clarification.
Maintain awareness of your expressions
while simultaneously practicing curiosity
for the other person — Why? Why? Why?

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Recommended References…
You can access reference material via the milewalk website finding many resources that supplement the
concepts we discussed today. All are complimentary.
milewalk website milewalk.com | many insights related to the predictive methodology,
approach, services, Business Book series, and market insight along with
several complimentary value-adds for employers and employees. Sign up for
the email distribution list to receive quarterly newsletters and other
complimentary information.
Interview Intervention Book one in a four-book series. Receive a complimentary e-Book by signing
up for the milewalk email distribution list on the front page of the milewalk
website. Hardbound and paperback versions can be purchased through any
retailer.
milewalk blog milewalk.com/mwblog | Accessible via the milewalk website; topics
covering employment, recruitment, job-searching, interviewing, and more.
milewalk’s 2013
Employment Survey
Results
Review statistics that highlight current employee and employer sentiment as
well as information showing the outlook on hiring. Accessible via front page
of milewalk website.

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Questions and Answers…
Andrew LaCivita
milewalk, Inc.
847-685-2040
911 Busse Hwy
Ste 201
Park Ridge, IL 60068
alacivita@milewalk.com
www.milewalk.com

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