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As technology continues to boom, the need to adjust to new trends is more important than ever. Reuters recently published an article that discussed major changes in the hiring process of Goldman Sachs. The process of hiring people looks vastly different than it did even just a decade ago.
There are three hiring lessons every business leader should learn from Goldman Sachs’ changes to their hiring process and what it means for your team.
1. Startups Are Booming
There are more startups now than ever before. According to a 2015 Fortune.com article, MBA graduates are opting to launch startups over joining existing firms, in record numbers. Large companies like Goldman Sachs are feeling the reality of this trend, as ivy league business graduates are opting into startups and out of corporate America. If you’re a startup or small business leader, this is great news, as you’re likely to have an easier time recruiting high capacity MBA graduates these days. This startup fever gives me great confidence in the future of our economy, as young entrepreneurs start new businesses and use creative problem solving to advance our future.
2. Culture & Value Are The New Currency
Goldman Sachs’ decision to look for talent beyond business and finance degrees to those who have a “liberal arts and or history major” is a sign that simply having the right degree or alma mater isn’t enough anymore. Culture fit, value alignment, and creative thinking are the new workplace currencies. In this age of connectedness and social media, the need for entrepreneurial thinking is at an all-time high, and Goldman Sachs isn’t just the outlier to the rule. They’re late to a party that’s already started. Other major companies have already adopted this mindset. Google doesn’t place much value on SAT scores, GPAs, and alma matters anymore. Whether they’ve been replaced by big data at Google, or by cultural alignment for small businesses, the old measuring sticks are taking a back seat to the new methods of hiring.
3. Virtual Interviews Are Valuable But Should Be Used Wisely
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Goldman Sachs is wise to adopt virtual interviews as part of their hiring process. According to the Reuters article, “Goldman Sachs Group Inc is scrapping first round interviews on college campuses for summer and full-time analysts and will instead use a video platform to hire them.” But what’s important to note is that the virtual interview is only the first step to a thorough interviewing process. The article goes on to say, “The bank will still make visits to college campuses to meet with students and will continue to conduct second round interviews in person.”
I see too many hiring organizations think that video interviews can replace in-person interviews, only to be disappointed a few months after the hire is made when the hire just isn’t a culture fit and is underperforming for the organization.
There was a time when I thought that video interviews could replace in-person interviews for lower level hires. I founded Vanderbloemen Search Group, an executive search firm that helps churches and ministries hire the right people for their teams, in 2010, and for two years, we tried doing virtual searches at a reduced rate from our premier face-to-face executive search process. In theory, it was a win-win. Our clients got to save money, and our team didn’t have to get on a plane to interview the candidates.
However, the reality was that our success rate went from 98% when we did interviews in-person to 65% when we interviewed virtually. What we learned was that technology can’t replace sitting knee-to-knee with someone assessing their body language in response to questions, the way they interact with people around them, and their overall cultural fit with the hiring organization. Today, we use virtual interviews as one step in a very thorough process. We Skype or Facetime with a candidate in the preliminary screening process, but the most important part of our full-service search process is a face-to-face interview.
The only time I recommend a solely virtual interview process is when the candidate is working virtually. But if the job requires the person to work as a part of an in-person team, you need to interview them in person. A good rule of thumb to remember with virtual interviews is the further you go in the interview process, the more they decrease in value. When it gets down to it, it’s hard to assess culture fit through a screen.
