GIGO is an acronym more common in the tech world than in business. It stands for “garbage in, garbage out.” In software development, it means that if the inputs are flawed, the output will be too.
The same holds true in any consultative work. Including recruiting.
I spend a significant amount of time on the front end of every search, working to understand — as completely as possible — what’s going to separate success from failure. For the candidate who is ultimately hired, and for the search itself.
Some of that information is straightforward for a client to share:
- What does success look like in this role?
- Where would the ideal candidate have built most of their experience?
- What specific accomplishments would signal that someone is the right fit?
- What will the successful hire need to learn in their first year?
Some of it is a little harder, because the questions can feel critical or uncomfortable:
- If the incumbent didn’t work out, why?
- What would draw a strong candidate to this organization over a competitor?
- What challenges will the new hire walk into in their first year?
- Who are the difficult personalities they’ll need to navigate?
And some questions are harder still, because they’re very pointed:
- Which companies might an ideal candidate be working at right now?
- What are the deal-breakers — the things on a resume that make someone a non-starter?
- What’s the salary range? Where do you want to land? What’s the absolute ceiling?
- What can someone realistically expect to earn in year one, including bonuses?
I don’t walk into a client meeting with a fixed list of questions. These are simply examples of what I need to understand before a search can begin in earnest.
It isn’t always easy to get all of that information. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned over 30-odd years in and around this business, it’s this: if I can’t get what I need, it’s better to walk away.
There are clients I haven’t worked with as a result. Deals I’ve left on the table.
I’m okay with that.
Because I keep coming back to the same truth: garbage in, garbage out. If I don’t have the right information at the start, I can’t deliver the right result at the end.