PPB October 2019

WANTED: Experienced Salespeople Five proven strategies to help you attract and hire the best candidates. by Claudia St. John, SPHR, SHRM-SCP S o, you’re looking to hire a sales representative? Unfortunately, with this incredibly tight labor market, finding qualified talent, particularly in sales, is a significant challenge. That’s great news if you’re a candidate looking for a new sales position because many options are available. But it’s not so great if you are the hiring manager because hiring salespeople can be tricky and challenging and in this job market, competition is steep. If you are planning on filling an open position or adding to your sales team in the coming months, here are five tips to remember. 1 Start fresh. Don’t reuse or recycle. All too often, employers reuse an old job description, post it on Indeed or LinkedIn and wait for the resumes to come in. This approach is not going to work. In today’s labor market, talented people have their choice of job options. They’ll recognize if your offer is old and stale. Instead, think strategically about what skills and qualities you truly need, not just today but tomorrow, too. It’s important to assess future needs because the right hire can take you there and the wrong hire likely can’t. Most importantly, make sure your job post communicates your strategic vision. The goal of your job post is to get potential talent excited about your opportunity. 86 | OCTOBER 2019 | THINK