I decided to take a break from writing about writing. But that does not mean I’m turning my attention AWAY from sharing news about my new book, Never Ask for the Sale. In fact...

‍BARNES AND NOBLE IS RUNNING A PREORDER SALE THIS WEEK ONLY!

‍Go get your copy(ies) right now, then come back for a totally different topic.

But today, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about the courage to make a hard decision without getting external validation. I want to talk about creating trusted processes to hire and retain talent, and in that context, I want to share my view of a thing that happened recently to someone in my network.

That someone is interviewing for jobs in a field in which, like many fields right now, there is not a ton of hiring, especially for less-experienced people. Ok. Fine. A few months ago, this someone interviewed with a prestigious company. That company took two months to get back to the applicant with a decision, and the decision was no. Darn, maybe next time. The notification letter said there was no role for the person, and then it added: “Please let us know if you get another offer in the near term.”

The no was unpleasant, but the person took some heart in what seemed like the company’s genuine interest in staying in touch.

But from my point of view, this no was a no in terms of superb hiring practices. Here is how I would've read that letter with its addendum: There is no role there for me now, but if I get an offer from another company in two weeks, you want to hear about it. So you can do what? Realize that I’m as awesome as you didn’t think I was and then change your “no” to a “yes” because that other company had real vision?

No.
No.
No.

If your company doesn’t have an active role or think someone is a fit for said role, you ought not be moved by the halo theoretically bestowed by one of your competitors giving an offer to that person. That’s cheating, fueling an inadequate hiring process. Messing with candidates’ minds. Creating awful situations where a candidate does get an offer and then has to decide whether or not to do something the offering firm might think of as cruddy (if they hear about it)...reaching back out to you to use their legitimate offer as chum to arouse your interest.

Yuck.

This person did get an offer. And this person made the decision to let the other company know. And I have no idea what will happen from here.

But in addition to letting hirers know that hiring well without ad hoc hiring help from competitors counts as 100% responsibility, I want to offer this to candidates:

In my opinion (and truly, I am open to being wrong, and I respect this person who made a different choice), go where the people really want you. When you start on Day 1 at a company that aggressively pursued you, it will feel fantastic. Be embraced. Show your appreciation for the fact that they saw you as worth hiring. Start off on a great foot.

For me, the possibility of going to a firm that only hired me after they rejected me and after someone else gave me an offer is like starting on the B team. It can’t feel as good. Some people at that firm will know it. Not to mention, you’ll have confirmed for that firm that they can pit candidates and competitors against each other to their own advantage.

To go all out hippie on you all: follow the love.

For what it’s worth, I feel exactly the same way about companies refusing team members’ raises and then losing their minds when a team member gets a far more lucrative offer to go somewhere else. Of course there are exceptions, but if that person was underearning at your shop to such an extent that they got a major bounce by leaving, you missed something. If you’re willing to pay the new market price now, you should have been game to do it before.

This is controversial. And I see a ton of companies keeping their keepers happy. Bully for them. If you have a contrary take, lemme hear about it on LinkedIn. Let’s get messy on this topic.

Then, pre-order a book for someone you love who is in sales. 😉