Recruiting is about selling. In this case, the product bundle you’re selling is your company and the open position. The job applicant is your sales lead. The interviews (esp. the first one!) are the sales calls.

Candidates will fall off at every step of the funnel. You will likely talk to hundreds of candidates at the top of the funnel to make your first few hires.

The pass-through rate depends on multiple factors:

• your company’s brand
• candidate experience
• where you find candidates (source of hire)
• length and complexity of the hiring process
• competing offers, etc

Some of the factors are completely out of your control. The candidate might get an extremely above-the-market competing offer, or some personal changes can impact their decision (like a family relocation).

Though most of the factors are the ones you can define, observe, improve, and eventually take over.

Things you can and should control:

1. Stir up enough interest among the desired candidates so they consider your organization their first choice for employment. Ask yourself, “Why would a candidate want to work for me?”
2. Make sure you are not losing great talent due to some issues with the recruitment/interview process itself.

Initial Sales Conversation

Interviewing is a give-and-take. Let’s face it: we operate in a candidate-driven market, so the best way to start your hiring process is with a sales call.

Ideally, a Design Manager/Lead, CDO, or CEO could drive these initial 30-minute calls with the hand-picked candidates. Why?