Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:

I am so tired of dealing with human resources. I have a real job to do
and my boss dumped hiring three people into my lap as though there’s
nothing else that I am responsible for. The problem is that I first I was
flooded with people who are not right for the job, and now that I may
have actually found a few who could be trained, the boss is getting
antsy about making a decision. I swear if he doesn’t just give me the
authority to make a decision I am gonna bonk him with my laptop.
Thanks, I needed to vent! But seriously, what should I do? I have two
applicants who might actually be able to learn the job, but not one
who has experience in our field. I am scared if I pass on both of these
possibles that I will lose them and be stuck having to go through this
process again. Aaarggghhh! Can you tell me something I can say to
my boss to get this to closure, and/or to the applicants to keep them
on the hook while I do what he said, which is “run the ad again.”

Re-Run

 
Dear Re-Run:

He’s the boss so he gets the last vote on whom to hire. My advise is to
play for time. Let the non-starters off the hook and send the other two
(separately) an email that goes roughly: Dear Applicant – Thanks for
applying and interviewing for the ___ position. You have many of the
skills we are looking for in our future hire. FYI, we have more than fifty
original applicants, did phone interviews with half, and personal
interviews with fewer than a dozen. You are still on our short list of
fewer than five. That said, the owner of the company is not ready to
commit to a final decision at this time. I understand this many be
disappointing, and that you will continue to look for full-time
employment. We plan to post the position for two more weeks, and
depending on who applies, maker a decision by _______. I&'ll contact
you then if you are our first choice, and we can discuss where your
career goals intersect with our needs. Best …This doesn&'t obligate you to do anything other than sending the email.

If you don&'t have a better candidate you can go back to these two and
let your boss decide. If you do, tell him how wise he was to wait.