If Only Hiring Were as Easy as Drinking Coffee

Not everyone likes the taste of coffee; some prefer tea. Still, most people at least appreciate the aromas of a good roast. Picking the right candidate can be like finding your favorite coffee: the roast, the bean, and the storage all have an effect on the quality of a cup of coffee. If the coffee beans weren’t roasted properly or were stored in the burlap sack for too long, the brew may not taste great. Similarly, a candidate’s resume, work ethic, and professional training can affect their potential performance in the positions they apply for.

Everyone Loves a Good Roast

Like a coffee bean that was roasted for too long, a candidate’s resume can ruin their presentation of work history to a potential employer. Among the plethora of common resume mistakes, 58% of hiring managers mark resumes with typos as the biggest mistake of them all; 36% say generic resumes that are not targeted for the position are a similarly big mistake.

It’s All in the Bean

Although the roast has much to do with the flavor and aromas of a coffee bean, even the best roast can’t help a bad bean. It doesn’t matter how well constructed a candidate’s resume is: if their skills just don’t quite meet par, nothing can save them. The only way companies can prevent stagnation in their talent pool is to create cultures of training. That is how you will see a growth in the number of qualified candidates applying for your open positions. If your company projects the image of being a center for career development with a well-developed training program, you’ll attract candidates of the same caliber.

A committee of HR experts in the printing industry judges the best (graphic arts) workplaces in America every year, considering factors like management practices, work environment, training and development opportunities, recognition and rewards, workplace health and safety, health and well-being programs, financial security, and work/life balance. Out of all of these qualities, 89% of the award winners cross-train their employees, and they experience a turnover rate of 8.4% or less. There is a direct correlation between the two: good training programs mean more engaged employees, resulting in lower turnover rates.

Potato Sack Races and Your Candidate Races

When a coffee bean sits in storage for too long in a burlap bag, its flavor is distorted: it begins to taste more like the burlap. Employees can also go stale, like the coffee bean left to sit for too long: they grow too comfortable in their position and become lackadaisical and unmotivated. When a employee has been stagnant in a position for too long, without any development training, they can become sluggish in their work ethic. The top soft skill to look for in candidates — according to 73% of companies — is a strong work ethic. Current workers aren’t the only ones that see the importance of a healthy work ethic: recent college graduates believe they are prepared because they have a good work ethic. Business leaders and recruiters alike disagree — they determine work ethic by a candidate’s preparedness.

Your candidates look for employers who have a well-developed training program — at least, the qualified candidates will. A training program is not only good for your employees and candidates: a good training program will give your company a decreased turnover rate (and you’ll spent less money on rehiring).

Well-roasted candidates can have the best experience, but the worst resumes; that is a recipe for an application rejection. Their “flavor notes” — or work history — gets lost in a sloppy resume. Not everyone likes coffee, but most appreciate the aroma of a good cup o’ joe. Whether or not you like coffee, you have to be able to pick out the prominent “flavor notes” or work experience that you feel complements the position best.

Maren Hogan

Maren Hogan is CEO of Red Branch and general Bad@$$

Maren Hogan is a seasoned marketer and community builder in the HR and Recruiting industry. Maren started Red Branch Media and, before she hired all the smiling faces you see below, she ran it on her own. In marketing for over 15 years, she has deep experience in strategic campaigns and a long-term, results-based operational approach.