News Flash!! It is 2015 and it is an employee’s market. Have I said that this year? Only about a thousand times. Summertime does not mean hiring is slowing down. It means that hiring is hot as the Texas weather. That, my friends, is steaming hot.

Dear employers, you do not have the luxury of waiting to find the perfect candidate. You cannot put candidates through rigorous testing. You can’t low ball offers. You won’t win a heated negotiation battle if you frustrate the candidate by drawing out the process. You WILL lose to your competition. Trust me. I’ve seen it first-hand. It is heartbreaking to the company, the candidate, and it is causing me to lose hair. Can’t we just stop this?

You want to win the battle in recruiting this year? Here is the recipe.

• Have a process.
• Follow through with your candidates.
• Meet or exceed what they are looking for in their salary
• Have a speedy hiring process

Yep, that is about it. If you have those four things, the chances of you hiring someone go up exponentially. If you don’t do those things, you are going to have a long year. It is going to suck. You won’t get the hires you want, you will spend the entire year looking for candidates, and you will lose your job because you haven’t been able to deliver what you promised.

I truly can’t believe what I am seeing. Urgency has always been important in recruiting, but it is paramount this year. Since everybody has a plan to hire people, you have to be one foot ahead of the competition. If you want to hire in July, you should have started already and be PREPARED to make an offer when the right candidate comes along.

When the right candidate comes along, you need to move on it and fast. It is kind of like a hot real estate market. When you find the right house, you can’t afford to look at 15 others before making an offer. The house you found will be LONG GONE.

You better have a damn good recruiter on your side because you are going to need him/her. They are going to partner with you and sell and re-sell the candidate and the company. That is what it is going to take because THE MINUTE the person decides they are on the market and available to other opportunities, they are looking at EVERY opportunity out there. They are not just looking at yours! If a candidate tells you that they are only looking at your company when the process begins, by the end of your interview process expect them to have 2-5 other opportunities they are looking at also.

Another thing. Company culture? Meh. It plays a part in the candidate’s decision. Flexible workplace?  Definitely. Don’t forget though, employees want to be paid! They want to be paid market value or above and definitely want more than they are being paid today unless it comes with some other significantly impressive perks (and I’m not talking about ping pong and free lattes).  Why would anyone offer less than what they are currently being paid? IT IS HAPPENING! If you are making a change, you will want a promotion, not a lateral move.

In conclusion, we have made it halfway through 2015. If you are like most organizations, you need to re-evaluate your recruiting strategy if you are going to be successful this year. Managers and companies need to get rid of some of their old hiring tactics and just get over their need to be in control. You are not in control anymore. The candidate is in control. So change your process and your mindset. Be sure to follow through with candidates, be reasonable in salary offers, and make the process as painless as you can.  It will benefit you BOTH in the long run.