Supercharge your hiring process

Dec 18, 2015 5:02:19 PM

Jake O'Gorman, winner of the 2015 Memory World Cup and honorary panda (aka Memory Panda), shares memory training tips and techniques to help you supercharge your hiring process.

How to supercharge your hiring process using your memory

Have you ever made a cup of tea and forgot to drink it? If so, you’re not alone, as it happens roughly 15 million times a day across the world. I find this statistic fascinating because it highlights just how prevalent memory lapses are in our modern world. Whilst there are many reasons why your memory might let you down, my favourite is the ‘Busy Lifestyle Syndrome’, a condition identified by a Glaswegian scientist used to describe how our high information, high stress lifestyles affect our memory.

With all the information we come across every day, our brains have trouble prioritising what information it should and shouldn’t retain, occasionally causing us to forget important things. This phenomenon can be seen in many aspects of business, but especially in the recruitment process. Not only are you having to deal with tens, if not hundreds of CVs that often seem indistinguishable from one another, but you may be having to spread yourself thin to cover the workload of the staff member you’re trying to replace. Add this to your normal set of daily tasks and it’s a recipe for disaster. The trouble is, the hiring process is something that needs to be done right and as i’m sure you know, there a big penalties if incorrect decisions are made.

How to deal with Busy Lifestyle Syndrome?

Briefly take yourself out of the situation.

I know from my years participating in memory competitions that your memory does not cope well with distractions. It’s safe to say there’s no shortage of distractions in the modern workplace. Until you take yourself out of the high stress situation and put some time aside to concentrate on the exact type of candidate you want, you’re going to face problems.

Do you know what you’re looking for?

It’s easy to draw up a list of qualifications and requirements needed to do well in the role. However, it’s also useful to draw up a list of qualities you’re looking for. After you’ve whittled down the candidates, most will have met the minimum criteria and may all seem similar. Your brain is not great at picking up on things that it’s not looking for (Don’t believe me...take a look at this ). Coming into the interview process with a prioritised list of qualities that you’re looking for can simplify the process as the right candidates may jump out at you.

Use some memory strategies

I’ve heard it time and again from the overworked manager, who cannot remember which interviewee is which; who did the work experience where? Which one liked playing tennis? To avoid this happening, revisit my last Cranberry Panda blog where I describe the journey method, a technique I recommend job-hunters use to secure their ideal jobs. The same techniques can be used for interviewers to store essential information about the candidates they meet. 

In summary

It’s crucial you get hiring right the first time. In order to make the best decisions you need to set some time aside to be free from distractions. This will allow you to make a list or mental note of the qualities you desire in a candidate, not just the experience and qualifications. An under qualified staff member who’s got a positive attitude and is keen to learn can be a lot better hiring decision than an overqualified candidate with no desire to adopt the company culture. Finally, you might like to try the Journey Technique as described in my previous blog, as a really useful way to keep track of important candidate information without having to take notes. 

Want to know more about Jake O'Gorman?

Jake O’Gorman Business Memory Coach

Winner of the 2015 Memory World Cup, Jake is one of the world's leading experts in applying memory techniques to the business environment.

A Business Memory Coach by day, he helps companies and individuals learn how they can use their memory for profit. His workshops and presentations show teams and individuals how they can improve their personal brand and win more business through effective pitching, presenting and networking, while also enabling businesses to save money on future training costs by teaching participants how to learn effectively. 

Ready to remember everyone's name? Eager to polish your pitching efforts? Want your team to learn like superstars? Well then, what are you waiting for ... get in touch with Jake. You can follow him on Twitter too! 

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