Written by: Alissa Hawkins
What You Need to Know When Hiring for a New Role
Remember when your business school professor shared that half of the jobs you will have, haven’t been created yet? Welcome to 2021-2022. A time when America is reimagining and transforming business. This requires new thought leaders with new skills. More than ever, we are hiring “new.”
When hiring for a new role, you don’t necessarily know all the details for the roles and responsibilities of this new position. You’re staring at a blank slate. This can be both good and difficult.
As search consultants, we see clients create new positions often and have seen the pros and cons as well as important things to look out for. Here’s what you need to know when hiring for a new role in your organization.
- Do some research.
Do any competitors or others in your industry have this position already? Is there something you can learn from others that have done it? Now is the time to network with your colleagues and ask around. See what has worked well and what hasn’t. Ask for job descriptions that have been shared with this position. This will at the very least give you a starting point. Focus on the new skills and experience needed from this leader.
- Be open and honest.
As you’re looking for the right leader to take on the new position, be transparent. They need to know it’s a new position for the company. It may be part of the job to help figure out what’s right when it comes to roles and responsibilities and it’s only fair to explain this ahead of time. Discuss in the interview process the challenges/problems you’re trying to solve with this new position. Talk through these with your top candidates.
- Be ready for change.
As long as you hire a Leader Worth Following, with the right experience, let them help you fully develop the role and its goals. After all, you brought them here to make changes. Organizational change is everywhere today and the right leadership has never been more important, even new ones.
If you need any help as you work on hiring a new position, please feel free to reach out. Our experience may help guide you through this process.
