Interviewing to fill a critical job opening can sometimes be a time consuming and tedious process no matter if you are hiring a senior executive or a secretary.
In my more than 20 years of successful search and placement in the healthcare industry it is very common for me to hear from an employer that he/she doesn’t want to hire the first candidate that they meet. “I really like your candidate a lot but I’d like to see more candidates. I do not want to hire the first person that I meet.”
That’s fair, but what if the first candidate is the best candidate?
What if on the first interview, you stumble upon a rare find? Obviously “a rare find” is subjective but you know what? If you have any experience at all hiring people, you know one when you find one.
Do you really want to risk losing an absolute superstar just to go through the motions of seeing more candidates? Of course not.
Sometimes you just have to interview as many people as you can, but passing on the first candidate just to see others might be a huge mistake. Good candidates are perishable, just like the dairy section of a market.
What if you wait too long and that “rare find” is gone- to your competitor?
This is very common and very disappointing. We as healthcare recruiters innately know that “time kills all deals.” Let me be clear here- hiring the first candidate that you meet can be a huge mistake that can undermine your organization.
My point is: hire the best person, even if it is the first candidate that you meet. A rare find is a rare find, indeed.
Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc. I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com