I like Tina Turner. I mean, you've got to love a woman who has kept her music (and her body!) so "state of the art" for so many years. When I think of Tina singing and dancing around a stage, it just takes me back in time (and makes me want to go to the gym!).

I was reminded of Tina last week while at a networking meeting of women technology executives.

I got into a conversation with a very friendly woman who told me she was a marketing director for a software company. When I told her what I did, she immediately commented that maybe her company could use my help.

"You see," she said, "I've been looking for a marketing programs manager for six months." "Wow," I said, "that's a long time. What's been happening with your search?" "Well, I've seen quite a few people – probably about eight good candidates. But, I just haven't fallen in love yet."

"Well then, there's your problem," I said. "Remember, you're not getting married. You're hiring." With that, she quickly realized she needed another glass of wine, turned on her heel and walked away. I felt badly. I didn't mean to insult her but I just blurted out the truth. (I hate it when that happens!)

The Love-Ability Factor

I hear this more often than I like to — hiring managers who think they have to "fall in love" with a candidate before hiring him. They are not only judging a candidate on their technical merits, past performance, etc., they're actually waiting for some kind of a strong visceral feeling, much like the love feeling, that will tell them this is the right person for the job.

But, on the way to finding this visceral love-like feeling, they pass up very good, qualified candidates. That's a risky strategy in any hiring market, let alone one that is as candidate-constrained as this one. (And, while managers are passing up good candidates by waiting for "the right one," their supervisors are wondering why it is taking them so long to find someone to fill their open position. But, that's another topic for another time!)

Pitfalls Down The Road, Too

Here are two big post-hire issues you face if you insist on a love-match when hiring:

• As quickly as you fell in love with your candidate, you may fall out of love with your new employee when he disappoints in any way (and most assuredly he will sooner or later). Unlike the marriage commitment, however, it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to ditch this relationship and you'll be hiring again in short order, and the cycle starts again.
• More importantly, you cut yourself off from other candidates who are qualified for your job (did I say that before?). Why, I'll even go one further. Two of my very best friends were originally professional acquaintances of mine. In both instances, when we started working together, it was like oil and water. I'm not kidding! After a few weeks (well, maybe it was months), things got much, much better, we found our "groove," so to speak, and that was the start of a great working and personal relationship.

So, instead of searching for love, why not search for "like?" It's less stressful and you'll have more fun.

The Like-Ability Factor — A Numbers Game

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you should hire people that you clearly don't like, for any reason. I do believe that a candidate should "click" with you at a certain level - just not at the level of "love." It should be more at the level of "serious like." I've always felt, on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being antipathy and 10 being love), you should land somewhere between a 4.5 and 8 in your feelings for your new employee.

Employees Are Not Supposed To Be Valentines

So, trust me on this, save your love for your valentine. Save your love for your wife, husband, mother, girlfriend, boyfriend, dog, cat, best pal — whomever. Keep "likeability" factored into your hiring. Try to be more objective in your assessment of possible employees. Reconsider some of those candidates who didn't "blow you away" the first time in a new light. You may just have your next stellar employee in that "maybe" pile.

And if you do this, I guarantee, your boss, or your board, will love you for it!

And nothing goes further toward ensuring success than a $47M round of venture funding! New England leads the way in light-emitting diode (LED) technology and our client, Luminus Devices, is leading the pack. We were happy to add to their team with a Customer Service/Inside Sales Representative.