INTERVIEW EDGE • JAN 1997

Revving Up for the Talent Shortage

Don't believe all those front page stories about layoffs and downsizing. High-tech companies, at least, have too many openings and too few experts to fill them. In fact, the shortage of engineers and developers is forcing companies to woo workers with the kind of extravagant promises usually reserved for professional athletes.

In this kind of competitive atmosphere, firms will do almost anything to win skilled prospects. Software giant Microsoft recently landed a rival company's developer only after agreeing to relocate his twenty-seven dogs. All were shipped to their new home, individually crated, on a single flight.

With the market for skilled talent so tight, interviewers face incredible challenges. Here are some tips for capturing your share of competent employees.

First, streamline procedures so that your company can make hiring decisions and present offers at once sometimes by the end of the interviewing day. Interviews should be scheduled so that candidates don't need to return to your company more than once or twice. All interviewers should agree on job descriptions and competency profiles before meeting any candidate. Set up a communications system that enables interviewers to pass evaluations to one another as the day progresses. (e-mail can work wonders here).

Interviewers need to be adroit marketers of their own company, and managers should be briefed on how to sell an employment offer before they begin interviewing.

It,s a good idea to create resources for information on company and community services, fringe benefits and perks. That way, it's easier to tailor an offer to meet a particular candidate's lifestyle and professional requirements.

In today's job market, interviewers aren't just buying, they're selling. But it's important to find the right candidate first. Then consider better selling.