One of the keys to success is recruiting talented people to join your organization. Having a team of great people makes everything better-progress is made, positive relationships form, and everyone enjoys what they do. Strengths-Based Leadership by Rath and Conchie is a very good leadership text. Two quotes from their book include: "Recruiting talent is the key element because it solves all other problems," and "Strong teams are a magnet for talent." I especially like the second quote. People want to join a team of smart, motivated, and nice people. While I delegate much of the recruiting process to other chairs, I interview every candidate who is a finalist for a position. Interestingly, some organizations excel at recruiting and others are quite poor. Here is a recruiting playback that captures much of what I have learned through recruiting for our cancer center for over 20 years.
1. The Ad. Posting an ad in a few major journals is an important starting point. Obviously, it needs to be accurate, but do not make the ad a big deal. Keep it simple and direct.
2. The CV. Applicants reply to the ad by sending you their CV. Where an individual was trained is overrated. It's nice if the applicant trained at an Ivy League school, but it's much less important than other parts of the CV. Is this applicant a job hopper, never staying anywhere more than 2 years (big red flag)? If a researcher, are they funded-and what type of funding? Federal funding is key. Are they productive? Do they have first author papers or are they always middle author? What journals? We like to see that a candidate was a Chief Resident or Chief Fellow. Being a Chief is a good surrogate for clinical skill, something that cannot otherwise be easily assessed. All of this is important, but I believe emotional intelligence trumps innate intelligence and the size of a CV. So the CV is important, but it never tells the entire story.
One more thing about the CV. If you are recruiting for a leadership position in your cancer center, you must be OK with hiring somebody more famous than you are. Recruit the best people! As Chairman, you basically put your academic career on hold; so, therefore, you need to be okay with hiring those with larger CVs and more fame than you have.
3. Start with a phone call. Email is fine for a brief introduction, but using email to get a read on an applicant is a mistake. Email is a tool to cascade information, but it does not replace person-to-person conversations. Does the person listen? Are they articulate? Are the clear, or are they vague and meandering? Do they have a well-defined career goal and a plan to achieve their goals? Much can be learned during an initial phone call.
4. Letters of Recommendation are essential. Letters are a gold mine of information. After you read a few of them, it's easy to see patterns develop. All try to say something positive about the applicant, but is the praise glowing or muted? Are there red flags about interactions with staff? Would the institution keep the applicant if a job existed? Additionally, if the applicant has trouble producing recommendation letters, it's a bad sign.
5. The visit. The visit is a chance to make you and your institution look good. Be professional. Make sure somebody connects with the candidate multiple times about travel arrangements, and can manage travel issues the day of the visit. If this is a leadership recruit, consider hiring a driver to pick them up at the airport. Make sure the hotel is nice. If possible, have somebody escort them from place to place during the visit. Arrange a tour of your facility. Bottom line: you can separate your organization from many others simply by conducting a professional business-like visit.
6. The itinerary. It goes without saying that the applicant should meet docs they will be working with. Ideally, set the itinerary with a mixture of seasoned physicians and recent hires. Make sure they know what the recruit is for, and that they have a copy of the CV. If the candidate is giving a talk, make sure it will be well attended. Feed them! Lunch is important. Make sure there is plenty of time for walking between interviews. One person should be responsible for any issues that arise-the candidate needs to know exactly who to contact if a challenge arises, and that person needs to "own" the visit. Usually the first visit is designed to get to know each other. The second visit is hopefully one to discuss terms and start to achieve closure. A key is to frame the visit for the interviewers. Clarity about what the candidate is applying for is essential. Honesty helps to define your culture.
7. The dinner. The dinner is a wonderful opportunity to evaluate the candidate. You probably learn more about the candidate at the dinner than in an interview. The dinner should be fairly small-3-4 physician leaders for the candidate to get to know. While this is a social event, it is useful to ask the applicant about their work, their career goals, and how they plan to achieve their goals. Most importantly, the dinner is an opportunity to gauge their emotional intelligence. Do they make eye contact? Do they listen? Do they ask follow-up questions? Do they have interests outside of medicine? How do they treat the wait staff? Do they have a sense of humor? Do they appreciate the massive talent of LeBron James?
8. The interview. There are many long articles written about how to conduct a job interview that go beyond this essay. I would simply suggest you search for interview questions that test emotional intelligence, find some that make sense to you, and use them. Very few people in academic medicine do so, because 100 percent of candidates tell me I ask different questions than anybody else does. An essential point to discover is whether the candidate can be an effective team member, or whether they are a lone wolf.
9. Follow up. It is very important the candidate knows what happens after they leave. Who is the contact person, and when will the next contact occur? Do not be vague about this, and if you say you will reach out to them next week, do so.
10. Second visit. Many times the highlight of the second visit is the candidate's talk. A good talk can seal the deal, at least in your mind. A bad talk will do the reverse. One key to a good talk is confidence without arrogance. Another key is assessing how the candidate answers questions. An applicant that handles tough questions with grace and honesty is usually a good person to try to hire.
11. Verify. If you are considering making an offer, you must call people who know the candidate and confirm (or refute) your thoughts about him or her. Letters are useful, but always talk to people who know the applicant.
12. Make the offer. The offer should be face to face at the end of the second or third visit. Agree on basic terms. Follow-up the conversation with a written confirmation of the terms. Keep the offer as concise as possible. Be mindful of the words of Joe Simone in Simone's Maxims: "The longer and more detailed the written offer to a new faculty recruit, the more likely both sides will end up unhappy."
13. Show off your community. Frequently, it is important for the candidate and their spouse to tour the area. Find an excellent real estate agent to do this, and use that agent repeatedly. If you are recruiting for a leadership position, consider hiring a professional relocation firm to "sell" your town. This is vital if you are recruiting to an area that is not exactly San Francisco, like, possibly....Cleveland, Ohio. The key is to show off the cool parts of your community.
14. Red flags. I have already mentioned some red flags-job hopping, any hint of problems with support staff, and somebody who flunks the interview or the dinner. One of the easiest red flag to spot is if the candidate does not respond to emails. If your recruiting coordinator is trying to arrange flights, and they do not respond, then they are not that in to you (yes, I know it's a movie title). If you arrange to have them meet with a real estate agent with their spouse and tour the area, and the spouse does not show up, then forget it. They will never come to your institution. I cannot tell you how many candidates verbalize great enthusiasm for a job with you, only to back out after an offer is made (and accepted); the reason for the change of heart is that their spouse is unwilling to move. I truly do not understand this behavior, but it sure is common. A true red flag is if they are dismissive to the recruiting coordinator. If so, they will be a management challenge in many ways. You are better off looking at others if they treat your staff poorly.
In closing, treat recruiting as a big deal, because it is. Nothing is more important than hiring excellent people.
BRIAN J. BOLWELL, MD, FACP, is Chairman of the Taussig Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine. Cleveland Clinic is a top 10 cancer hospital according to U.S. News & World Report.
Straight Talk: Today's Cancer Centers