Discover the secrets of one of the world's leading talent acquisition expertsIn the newly revised Fourth Edition of Hire With Your Head: Using Performance-Based Hiring to Build Great Teams, influential recruiting and hiring expert Lou Adler delivers a practical guide to consistently identifying and hiring the best people and scaling that process throughout your company.This book will help you address your hiring and recruitment issues, not just by making you more efficient, but also by reforming your entire process to align with how top talent actually look for new jobs, compare offers, and select opportunities.You'll discover:* Discover what it takes to ensure more Win-Win Hiring outcomes by hiring for the anniversary date rather than the start date* How to use a "High Tech, High Touch" approach to raise the talent bar* Expand the talent pool to include more outstanding, high potential and diverse talent by defining work as a series of key performance objectivesPerfect for hiring managers, recruiters, and HR and business leaders, Hire with Your Head is a must-read resource for anyone seeking to improve their ability to find, attract, and retain the top talent the world has to offer.

FOREWORD 8INTRODUCTION PERFORMANCE-BASED HIRING FOUR EDITIONS LATER 9A Short History on the Importance of Hiring Top Talent 9Being More Efficient Doing the Wrong Things Is Not Progress 10Creating a Win-Win Hiring Culture 11The Big Three Hiring Challenges 12Clarifying Job Expectations Upfront Is the Key to Hiring Outstanding People 12Why Performance-based Hiring Is the Right Business Process for Hiring 13CHAPTER 1 DEFINE YOUR TALENT STRATEGY BEFORE YOU DESIGN YOUR HIRING PROCESS 16Stop Making Tactical Excuses for a Strategic Problem 16The Importance of Having the Right Talent Strategy 17Supply vs Demand Needs to Drive Talent Strategy 17Comparing the Scarcity of Talent vs a Surplus of Talent Strategies 19Win-Win Hiring: Hiring for the Anniversary Date, Not the Start Date 20Develop an Ideal Candidate Persona to Achieve More Win-Win Hiring Outcomes 20Remove the "HAVING" Mindset and Shift to a Performance Qualified Screening Standard 21Negotiate with the End in Mind 22More High Touch and Less High Tech -- Convert Strangers into Acquaintances 23CHAPTER 2 STEP-BY-STEP THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE-BASED HIRING PROCESS 24Win-Win Hiring: Hire for the Anniversary Date, Not the Start Date 24Performance-based Hiring Is Designed to Raise the Bar 24Suboptimization Prevents Win-Win Hiring Outcomes 24Benchmarking How the Best People Find Jobs and Get Hired 25Hiring a Great Person Starts with a Great Job 25Define Success as Performance Objectives, Not Skills and Experiences 26Source Semi-finalists 26Conduct the Two-way Performance-based Interview 27Measure and Predict Quality of Hire 28Close on Career Growth, Not Compensation Maximization 29Use Onboarding to Clarify and Prioritize the Performance Objectives 30Deliver on the Promise 31Summary 32CHAPTER 3 THE BEST CANDIDATES ARE OFTEN NOT THE BEST HIRES 33The Worst Candidates Are Often the Best Hires 34Category 1: Great candidates must have all of the basic skills listed on the job description 34Category 2: Great candidates must agree to the terms of an offer before knowing the job 35Category 3: Great candidates need to be prepared, make a great first impression and be good at presenting themselves 35Some Great Candidates Become Great Hires, but Many More Don't 36Great Hires Are Easy to Define but Hard to Hire 36Category 4: Great hires deliver the results without making excuses 36Category 5: Great hires collaborate with others and build strong teams 37Category 6: Great hires effectively organize and manage themselves and their teams 37Who would you rather hire, a great candidate or someone who delivers the results? 38Summary -- Avoid the 90-day Wonders 38CHAPTER 4 DEVELOPING A BIAS-FREE HIRING PROCESS 40Conduct a Pre-hire Performance Review 40Never Meet Anyone in Person Before Conducting a Phone Screen 41Only invite semi-finalists for the full interview 41Use Organized Panel Interviews 42Then eliminate the 30-minute one-on-ones 42Script the Interview and Give Candidates the Questions 42Wait 30 Minutes Before Making Any Yes or No Decision 43Be a Juror -- Not a Judge 43Use Reverse Logic to Reveal and Reprogram Your Subconscious Biases 44Treat Candidates as Consultants 44Kill the Gladiators 45Use a talent scorecard to share evidence 45Measure First Impressions Last 46Summary 46CHAPTER 5 USING THE BEST TEST TO REDUCE UNCONSCIOUS BIAS 47Two Huge Flaws in Personality Assessments That Are Often Ignored 47Statistical Validation Understates the Impact of False Negatives 48Personality Assessments Are Valuable When Used Later in the Hiring Process 49Take the BEST Test Before Interviewing Anyone 50Changes in BEST Style Reveals Growth and Flexibility 51Assess Team Skills by Observing Changes in BEST Type Over Time 51Assess Flexibility by Observing Changes in BEST Under Stress 52Increase Interview Accuracy by Becoming Your "Least BEST" 52Summary -- Use the BEST Test to Confirm Rather Than Predict 53CHAPTER 6 THE HIRING FORMULA FOR SUCCESS 54Win-Win Hiring Begins with the End in Mind 54Predicting Hiring Success Requires Much More Than Assessing Ability 54The Hiring Formula for Success Captures the Dynamics of Actual Performance 56The Big Four Fit Factors Drive Motivation to Excel 57Define the Fit Factors as Part of the Job Description 57The Fit Factors and Their Impact on Job Performance 58The Impact of Managerial Fit on New Hire Success 59Job Fit: Intrinsic Motivation to Do the Work Actually Required 59Team Fit and EQ 60Cultural Fit is More Than a Value Statement 60Summary 61CHAPTER 7 UNDERSTANDING THE REAL JOB STARTS WITH A PERFORMANCE PROFILE 62Define the Work Before Defining the Person Doing the Work 62Hire for Performance to Attract Outstanding Talent 63The Legal Validation for Using Performance-based Hiring 64Shifting to a Performance Qualified Definition of On-the-Job Success 65Different Techniques to Develop Performance-based Job Descriptions 67Take a Tour of the Factory and Call Me in the Morning 68Basic Techniques for Determining the Key Performance Objectives 69Use the Process of Success and the Timeline to Determine the Key Subtasks 69Benchmark the Best People Doing the Same Job 70Convert "Having" to "Doing" 71Use the Four Work Types to Map Performance Objectives to the Company Lifecycle 73Use the Master Checklist to Develop the KPOs 74Job Branding -- Creating the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) 76Prioritize the Performance Objectives 77Convincing Hiring Managers to Use Performance Profiles 77The "no time" rebuttal 77The "When are you going to tell the candidate?" approach 78The "become a top manager" rebuttal 78Conduct an "A vs B" test 78Tell some stories about people who have been promoted 78Dealing with the diehards 78Summary 79CHAPTER 8 CONDUCTING THE EXPLORATORY PHONE SCREEN 81The Exploratory Phone Screen Drives Hiring Success 81The Phone Screen Is the "Swiss Army Knife" of Hiring 82With a Phone Screen You Only Need 3-4 Semi-finalists to Make One Great Hire 83Use the Phone Screen to Find and Recruit Semi-finalists 83Conducting the Phone Screen Work History Review 85Semi-finalists Must Answer These Two Questions 85Assess the comparability of the accomplishments to the KPOs 86Connect the two accomplishments to see the trend of performance over time 87Determine if the person is recruitable 87Summary -- Use the Phone Screen to Control Your Entire Hiring Process 88CHAPTER 9 CONDUCTING THE PERFORMANCE-BASED INTERVIEW 89Checklist: The Performance-based Hiring Interviewing Process 89The 8-Step Performance-based Interview Guide 91Step 1: Introduction, Review Job and Discover Motivation for Looking 91Step 2: Put Your Biases in the Parking Lot by Measuring the Impact of First Impression 93Step 3: Conduct a Work History Review 94Step 4: Assess 2-3 Major Accomplishments 95Step 4a: Assess 1-2 Major Team Accomplishments 97Step 5: Assess Critical Thinking and Job-related Problem-solving Skills 98Step 6: Delay the Candidate's Questions Until the End of the Interview 100Step 7: Determine Candidate Interest and Recruiting Opportunity 101Step 8: Measure First Impression Again, Last and Compare 103You can never out-yell a hiring manager, but you can out-fact them 104Well-organized Panel Interviews Increase Assessment Accuracy 105The Big Reasons Candidates Should Be Interviewed by a Panel 106Steps for Organizing a Panel Interview 107Have all interviewers on the panel review the performance-based job description and the talent scorecard before the interview session starts 107Script the Performance-based Interview to use as an organizing tool 107It's vital that there is only one leader in a panel interview with everyone else acting as fact-finders only 107Leaders can be fact-finders, but fact-finders can't be leaders 108Capture everyone's insight right after the interview 108Key Highlights of the Performance-based Interview Process 108CHAPTER 10 MAKING THE ASSESSMENT USING THE QUALITY OF HIRE TALENT SCORECARD 110Keys for Conducting an Evidence-based Candidate Assessment 110Understanding the 1-5 Ranking System 111Share Evidence in a Live Formal Debriefing Session 111Invoke the NO 2s! Rule to Raise the Talent Bar 112The NO 2s! Warning Signs for Each Factor 112Step-by-Step Completing the Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard 114Basic Competencies 114Core Skills 114Overall Experience 114Achiever Pattern and Trend of Growth 115Essential Core Competences 116Situational Fit Factors 117How to Accurately Predict Managerial Fit and Ensure a Great Hire 118Culture & Environmental Fit 118Addressing the Balancing Act Between Recruitability and Competency 120Organizing the Interview to Maximize Assessment Accuracy 120Modification for Problem-Solving 121Modification for Team Skills 121Summary 121CHAPTER 11 COMPARING PERFORMANCE-BASED HIRING AND BEHAVIORAL EVENT 123Lack of Job Analysis is the Big Gap in BEI 123Behavioral Fact-finding is the Key to an Accurate Assessment 124Seeking the Advice and Counsel of Sherlock Holmes Himself 125Assess Team Skills by Finding Deductive Evidence 126A Simple Hack to Ensure an Accurate and Unbiased Assessment 126Summary -- Performance-based Interviewing is BEI on Steroids 127CHAPTER 12 SOURCING OUTSTANDING TALENT -- BLENDING HIGH TOUCH WITH HIGH TECH 129Semi-finalist Criteria for Prequalifying Candidates 129Small Batch, High Touch 130Understanding the Sourcing and Recruiting Funnel 130Two Buyers: The Hiring Manager and the Top Person 130Make It Personal -- Let's Go for a Career Ride 131Sourcing Checklist 132Implementing a Scarcity of Talent Sourcing Program 133Think Small Batch, High Touch: Source Semi-finalists 133Conduct a Career Zone Analysis to Find Out Where to Fish 133Use Supply vs Demand to Implement a Targeted Multi-channel Sourcing Plan 135Develop an "Ideal" Candidate Persona 136Prepare Customized and Targeted Messaging 138Job Branding and the EVP 138Job Postings, Job Boards and Reverse Engineering 139Tag Lines that Speak the Language of the Ideal Prospect 139Use Emails as the First Step in a High Touch Process 140Direct Sourcing and Networking 141A "Clever" Boolean Search to Learn the Basics of Direct Sourcing for Semi-finalists 142Diversity Matters 144Using LinkedIn Filters to Find More Achievers 145In-direct Sourcing and Networking 145Getting Referrals is Still the Best Way to Find Outstanding Talent Quickly 145Convert Strangers into Acquaintances Before They Become Candidates 146Weak Connections are Recruiter's Gold 147Leverage Your Employee Referral Program -- Create a PERP 148Summary -- Networking Rules! 149CHAPTER 13 START THE RECRUITING PROCESS WITH A CAREER DISCUSSION, NOT A SALES PITCH 151Conduct Career Discovery on Your First Call 151First, Put the Right People on the Bus -- Only Semi-finalists 152Only Ask "Yes" Questions and Don't Take "No" for an Answer 153Overcome Preliminary Objections and Concerns 153How to Answer the "What's a Career Move?" Question 154Review the Person's Profile Before Describing the Job 155Build a 10-minute Relationship by Controlling the Conversation 155Recruiting is Getting the Candidate to Sell You, Not You Selling the Candidate 156How to Handle Compensation by Not Discussing It Too Soon 156Gain Concessions to Negotiate the Offer as a Series of Steps 158Summary 158CHAPTER 14 RECRUITING AND CLOSING TOP PERFORMERS 160The Basics of Recruiting and Closing 160Recruiting is Not Selling, It's Listening 160Stay the Buyer from the Beginning of the Process to the Very End 162Make Passive Candidates Earn the Job to Increase Its Value 163Minimize the Negatives; Accentuate the Positives 163Don't Make an Offer Until You're 100% Sure It Will be Accepted 164Testing and Negotiating the Offer by Getting Continuous Concessions 164Position Your Job as a Career Move 165Avoid Job Hopping Syndrome 166Testing Offers 167Use 1-10 Test of Interest to Uncover Concerns 167Closing, Testing and Negotiating Offers 168Closing Upon a Concern 169Use a Secondary Close to Test Seriousness 169Use a Counterproposal to Get 100% Commitment 170Summary 172CHAPTER 15 LEVERAGING HR TECHNOLOGY TO IMPLEMENT PERFORMANCE-BASED HIRING 173Using the Trickle Up Approach to Validate the Impact 173Use SeekOut to Build a Talent Pipeline of Outstanding Diverse Talent 174Hiretual.com Offers a Unique AI Approach for Sourcing the Hard to Find 175Phenom Converts Workforce Planning into a Strategy Asset 176AI for Screening Has a Powerful Tool with pymetrics.ai 177Creating an Internal Mobility Platform Using SmartRecruiters 177Using Greenhouse to Maximize Quality of Hire 178Conduct a Reference Check Before Making an Offer Using Checkster 178Use Onboarding to Start Delivering on the Promise 179Feedback Process Control with OutMatch.com 180Create a Win-Win Hiring Culture 181CHAPTER 16 USE PERFORMANCE-BASED HIRING TO CREATE A WIN-WIN HIRING CULTURE 182Deliver on the Win-Win Hiring Promise 182The Performance-based Future of Hiring 183Create a Win-Win Hiring Culture 183Building a Win-Win Hiring Culture Starts with the Right Talent Strategy 184Hiring as an Integrated System, Not a Sequence of Separate Steps 185Benchmarking Best Practices 185Measure and Manage Quality of Hire 186Use High Touch to Create an Outstanding Candidate Experience 187Take the Risk and Bias Out of the "Yes" Decision 189Hiring Strong People Is the First Step in Managing a Great Team 190APPENDIX 191Performance-based Hiringsm and Legal Compliance 191APPENDIX 2 194Exploratory Phone Screen Talent Scorecard 195The Performance-based Phone Screen 196Quality of Hire Talent Scorecard 197The Performance-based Interview (1/2) 198The Performance-based Interview (2/2) 199The Ideal Candidate Persona (1/2) 200The Ideal Candidate Persona (2/2) 201About the AuthorIndex