KIRKUS REVIEW
A recruiter advises readers to change the hiring process for corporate success.
In this debut business book, Lowisz, an experienced recruiter, lists common myths about hiring. He proposes that recruiters adopt a more targeted and personalized method in order to successfully build strong workforces and satisfy both employers and employees. The author argues that despite the development of LinkedIn and online job sites, recruiting has fundamentally changed little since it was developed in the 1940s, and often does a poor job of filling employers’ needs. The book’s recommendations include instituting a more holistic approach to evaluating candidates—assessing “head, heart, and skills” in Lowisz’s terms rather than the traditional appraisal of skills alone—and rethinking how hiring managers determine what they need in a new employee. Other suggestions include forging genuine connections in relevant fields, improving internal data management, and understanding the role of marketing in the recruiting process. Lowisz is clearly knowledgeable about the strengths and weaknesses of corporate recruiting, and the volume is an informative one, although the text is fairly short. The work is at its strongest when giving concrete tips, such as examples of questions to ask in interviews and techniques for establishing credibility with communities of potential recruits (“Emphasize that you want to know more about them as a person and the next steps they foresee in their career”). The inclusion of the trademark symbol in the many references to “Results-Based Interviewing™” is excessive, but aside from that annoyance the writing is generally strong. Lowisz does not hesitate to indict his fellow recruiters as needed: “Recruiters are making decisions for people without talking to people, and they’re basing those decisions on the assumption that what matters to the candidate is money and title (extrinsic motivators), not intrinsic motivation”; “Looking at a resume or a LinkedIn profile for a few seconds is not enough.” In addition to this forthright examination of the mechanics of recruiting, the book leaves readers with a fair amount of actionable advice.
A solid, if brief, addition to business bookshelves that makes a compelling case for a new approach to employee recruiting.