What is the Secret to Getting Job Candidates Fired up about Your Company?

Have you ever arrived at the end of the interview process, worn-out but optimistic, only to be turned down by your top candidate? It's almost worse than the disappointment of a teenage date rejection. What's going on here? Weren't you supposed to be the person in the power chair? Shouldn't this person be overjoyed to receive your offer?

Unless the candidate received a better offer from another company, the reason for the rejection was probably your company's failure to develop a relationship with the candidate. Experienced top performers may be hesitant about taking a job with people whom they do not know or do not like; they are much more likely to accept when they feel that they have established a connection with future managers and co-workers. I myself got burned when I was a young and naïve college grad and have since become very careful about investigating future managers and team members. Let me share my personal experience.

My first interview after graduation went exceptionally well. I was thoroughly impressed with my prospective manager and enjoyed our conversation. The company made an offer and I accepted with excitement. On my first day, I learned that I would be working under another manager, an individual whom I had not previously met. Although I didn't ask why I was being moved, it only took me a few minutes to understand the reason: the real manager was the Wicked Witch of the West, complete with a pointy black hat, a nasty broom, and vicious flying monkeys. She was not allowed to be a part of the interview process because her coarse personality and a bad attitude would have terrified any good candidates. I sucked it up and stayed with her for exactly two years, the minimum amount of time I had set for my first position. I then transferred within the company and received a number of promotions. Although I loved the organization, I was absolutely miserable for the first two years of my employment.

Today's job-seekers are more cautious and less patient than I was. They are more likely to dismiss an employer and resign rather than work in an unhealthy environment. Since nobody wants a bad boss or back-stabbing peers, candidates need to have a realistic image of their daily interactions before they make a jump. As human resources professionals, we need to provide the information that candidates need to make a sound and informed career decision. That information includes meetings with their real manager and, when possible, their prospective peers.

Historically, companies have performed numerous, successive interviews to screen and approve candidates. This proceeding resembled a Native American gauntlet: if you made it to the end, your life was spared and you got the job. Today, arranging smooth, friendly meetings with management and peers is key to recruiting top performers. Good candidates require a full view of the company and the team that they are about to join. That's why The Hamister Group focuses on relationship-building during second interviews.

As a recruiter, I foster and promote connection between the management, co-workers, and candidates through meticulous preparation. I tell candidates about their prospective managers and co-workers during the first interview: I overview each person's position, their role within our team, their relationship to the position in question, and my own personal impressions. Keep in mind that I am certainly not giving any advice on how the candidates should act or what they should say in the second interview; I am simply building comfort and helping the candidates to look forward to the next meeting. Stressful interviews do not benefit anyone.

In order to give my team members an optimum opportunity to really get to know their prospective reports, I perform all of my due diligence before a candidate even arrives at the second interview. This means that during the first interview and before the second, I have already established that candidates share our values, culture, and work ethic. I have verified their fundamental skills and have provided detailed documents in the candidate's file, including the write-up from the first interview, reference write-ups , application, resume, motor vehicle check, background check, credit check, and any other necessary tests.

The information that I provide to the candidate and to my team members helps them both to develop a good feeling before they even meet. Time is better spent because my team members do not have to wonder whether candidates have the degrees listed on their resumes or why they moved from one position to another. At this stage, I have already obtained and verified this information, so managers are free to focus on the relationship. Conversation flows easily and smoothly and both parties can concentrate on the most important question: am I going to enjoy working with this person every day? If both can answer that question positively, I know that candidates will be overjoyed when they receive our offer. In this situation, everyone wins.

Dan Kutis is the Corporate Recruiter of The Hamister Group, Inc., a growing hotel and health-care management company. Feedback can be sent to him at [email protected]. For more information on The Hamister Group, Inc., see

The goal of a good employment ad is exactly the same as the goal of any advertising--it's sales. An employment ad should sell an employer and a position. I want the ideal candidate to feel that I am describing a position that is perfect for her. In The Little Blue Book of Advertising Steve Lance and Jeff Woll write: "successful advertising appeals on a one-to-one basis. Personalize it." The same principle yields improved results when applied to employment advertising, whether it is in print, on websites, or on free college career center sites. Since we began publishing attractive, individualized ads, our responses have increased both in quality and quantity.

Know the candidate
In order to make someone feel that I am speaking directly to him, I need to learn who he is. I have conversations with the person's future supervisor, with a successful person in the same or a similar position, and other colleagues. I ask them to describe the individual who will thrive in the job. Is she a student? A recent graduate? An experienced individual looking to take the next step in her career? A parent who needs flexible hours? What are his personality characteristics? The more I can learn about the ideal candidate, the more I can tailor the ad for him.

What's in it for me?
Once we know who the ideal person is, we can begin to discuss what will he enjoy about the job and what we offer in return for his service. This is different for each position and each business, so I individualize according to the position. I need to know specifics. Will she work with an especially supportive and knowledgeable supervisor? Do we offer training to less experienced individuals, a newly renovated building, an especially fun team, or promotion opportunities? For instance, some of our best personal care assistants are nursing students. We therefore wrote an ad (and placed it for free on the site of a local nursing school) with the headline "A Head Start on Your Health Care Career." We described our hands-on approach to geriatric health care, training programs, and our willingness to accommodate academic schedules. This targeted description continues to produce a steady stream of quality applications.

I also ask closely related co-workers what they like about the company or their jobs. These conversations take time, but they rarely fail to produce new and useful insight. The Little Blue Book of Advertising tells readers to find their difference: "You would never go to a singles club to sell yourself as ‘just like everyone else.' Why sell your brand that way?" Each of our businesses has several distinguishing characteristics. For example, we were searching for a new hotel general manager. The hotel was newly renovated and the general manager of its sister property was an extremely outgoing, supportive, and experienced individual. I therefore highlighted both the renovation and the mentorship capabilities of the other general manager in the description.

Sandwich Duties between Advantages
Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics told managers to "sandwich every bit of criticism between two heavy layers of praise." I sandwich requirements and duties between two heavy layers of advantages. I am very careful, however, to make sure that I emphasize the benefits and enjoyments that would appeal to our dream candidate; sometimes I even omit advantages that would appeal to the wrong person. For example, in some assisted living ads we have chosen not to mention competitive pay, even though we were offering a good salary. We did this in order to attract candidates who were primarily interested in the satisfaction caring for seniors and serving their families; a person motivated by a high salary would have been a wrong fit.

The proper place of qualifications and responsibilities
Necessary qualifications and duties are an important part of any employment description: the ideal candidate wants details about her future job and its challenges. But the ad should never become an insipid list of requirements (which is, unfortunately, what most employment ads are). Responsibilities and requirements need positive and specific presentation: the same duties can look like drudgery or career opportunities depending upon the way in which they are described. A mediocre ad for a hotel front office manager might say: "duties include: handling all aspects of group accommodation; resolving guest complaints; working with other department heads to ensure guest satisfaction; and supervising front office staff." A more appealing restatement of the same duties (targeted specifically toward a high-achiever without management experience) would be: "You will gain experience in group accommodation by handling all aspects of group arrivals, stays, and departures. You will have the opportunity to further your knowledge of other aspects of hotel operations by working in partnership with department heads. As our Front Office Manager, you will continue to provide superior guest care by supervising Front Office operations, interacting with customers, overseeing guest services, resolving guest service issues, and providing a shining example to your staff."

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (not!)
Names and titles are very important. "What do you do?" is one of the most common questions after a social introduction. I want to give people a title that instills pride, both during the application process and after they are hired. There is value in each job. We need to find a title that reflects that value. One of our assisted living residences recently had a culinary department opening. They wanted a "cook" with a culinary degree and various other qualifications superior to the credentials of an average cook; I was afraid that the ideal candidate would feel undervalued by the title. "Chef" did not work because this individual would work under the supervision of our regular chef. So we searched for a new title and found "Sous Chef"-common in the restaurant business, but not so frequent in assisted living. "Sous Chef" was the perfect title: one that reflected the value, pride, and duties of the particular job.

The Black List
Many phrases commonly used in employment ads are a waste of space and money: "professional appearance," "high-quality individual," "excellent communication skills," and "salary commensurate with ability" are among my pet-peeves. Do we really think that someone is going to say, "ah, they want a high-quality individual and I'm a low life, so I won't apply"? Or, "they want someone with a professional appearance and I don't have any dress sense, so I won't waste their time"? Harry Chambers, author of Finding, Hiring, and Keeping Peek Performers disdains the phrases "strong people skills," "self-starter," "strong technical skills," and "goal-oriented." According to Chambers, the problem with these global statements is that no one knows what they really mean. Not only are such phrases empty, but they are also a distraction from the more meaty parts of the position description.

Re-thinking employment ads as love letters to ideal candidates is not about getting romantic: it's about knowing whom you are going to love as a co-worker and showing them what they are going to love about their new job. High-achievers have their choice of employers. Love letters help increase the chances that they will choose you.

About Nektaria Hamister
Nektaria Hamister is Corporate Director of Communications at The Hamister Group, Inc., a rapidly growing assisted living and hotel management company. Feedback can be sent to her at [email protected]

About The Hamister Group
The Hamister Group, Inc. celebrates 30 years of excellence in assisted living and hospitality management. The company operates hotels, assisted living facilities, and a home health care agency in the eastern United States. All companies managed by The Hamister Group are committed to exceeding customer expectations every day. For more information on The Hamister Group, Inc. and its affiliated companies, visit