With so many companies competing for qualified workers in Las Vegas, the competition is getting fierce. Thanks to the ongoing labor shortage, employees have the upper hand when it comes to negotiating terms of employment.

Businesses get around that by providing attractive benefits packages to draw in potential applicants. Of course, not every company has the resources to do that. Small businesses looking to hire in this market face an arduous task if they stick to traditional hiring methods.

So don’t.

What Is Third-Door Hiring?

The “third door” is an alternative approach to hiring. If you imagine the hiring process as something like a building, the first door is the so-called mainstream way of hiring. It’s what everyone thinks of when hiring comes to mind: posting on job boards, waiting around for resumes to pour in, etc.

Sourcing your candidates internally, from people you’re already familiar with, is also a first-door practice. Second-door hiring practices, on the other hand, would be things like networking. They’re a more roundabout way to hire a new candidate, but they’re still well-known and often practiced.

Working with a consultant provides a third door. This isn’t traditional networking. Consultants bring their own independent professional networks within which they liaison, but that shouldn‘t be the focus of your attention.

Rather, it’s the “I’m an expert who knows another expert” angle that you’re after. Consultants can put you in touch directly with exactly the people who can fill your skill gaps. It’s like an express lane to accelerated business growth.

Instead of messing around with complicated back-and-forth negotiations in the crowded job market, go straight to the source. Speak to the precise person you want to speak with. Channel your resources with pinpoint accuracy. Those resources are precious, so use your energy more efficiently with third-door hiring.

Why Hire a Business Consultant?

Finding a voice of your own is one of the greatest challenges in any business space. Your brand identity is like your face online. It determines how and when people interact with you. But having a consistent face and brand voice isn’t exactly easy.

This is where external consultants excel. They can objectively assess your business, using their vast resources and expertise to help you improve. They can help you unearth your company’s real identity.

A strong consultant can help you identify your company’s core values, then project those values out into the vastness of the online world. Not only that, but they can help turn you into that kind of company people would love to work for — solving your labor problem in the process.

By working with a consultant, you can open up opportunities to which you would not have access on your own. Consultants can connect you with brand new companies and entirely different professionals, even those from wholly different industries than yours.

A Consultant for Every Project

Highly experienced consultants are available to advise in nearly every area of business. While some are well-rounded, providing direction and expertise in multiple areas, many others have narrowed their focus to a single niche. 

Some of those niches include:

  • Strategic consultants, who assist operations managers in taking on the most challenging tasks of leading their business.
  • Performance consultants, who optimize company workflows at a micro-level for increased productivity across the board.
  • Marketing consultants, who use their expertise to tap new audiences with clear and enticing messaging and advertising.
  • Leadership consultants, who work to increase the confidence and energy of a company’s leadership team.

There are as many consultants as there are problems that a business faces: financial planning, data analysis, risk management, and almost anything else you can imagine. If you have any aspirations at all for your business, chances are, there’s an incredible consultant you can speak to about them.

Finding the Right Match

Sifting through professional consultants is like searching for a long-term partner — you must evaluate the fit. Not every consultant is suitable to work with your company, just as your company may not be the ideal match for all consultants.

This form of hiring involves a more personal, individualized approach compared with more traditional practices. Creating an environment of trust and understanding with your consultant is part of the process. This goes well beyond just posting job ads and waiting for applicants to take the bait.

If your business goals are too broad, tighten them up. When you know what you want to achieve, you can find a specialist to help you achieve it. In this case, “If you build it, they will come” is true — refine your own business first to attract the best consultants. 

And that doesn’t mean signing the first consultant to come through your door. A good consultant smells desperation; a not-so-good one will take advantage of that desperation. Skilled consultants are picky people, interested in wasting neither their time nor your own. 

Adopt those same decisive standards and make your decision based on a consultant’s: 

  • Past references or reviews
  • Work history: Do they have a portfolio of successful projects under their belt? 
  • Relevant experience in your industry — note, this doesn’t mean they work in your industry specifically. 
  • Approach: Does their personality gel with yours? Use the initial interview to find out.    

Take control of the conversation and make your expectations clear. Professional consultants like to know who they’ll be working with and why.

You, not the consultant. are the one in charge, so you need to act the part. Their impressive accolades may feel awe-inspiring, but a consultant’s number one goal is to be at your service.  

Find Your Own Doorway

Saying “I can’t” is the easy way out. The market is cutthroat, the economy is fragile, and times are testing… but what’s that to do with you? You can be the one who innovates while others nervously tap their fingers.

Looking for hiring alternatives beyond your industry’s comfort zone is the first step. Partnering with NeONBRAND, you can hire a consultant for your business who understands your vision and can help bring it to reality. Just drop us a line and we’ll get the process underway.