In a previous post, I wrote about how important it is to engage new hires the moment they walk in to start their new jobs. Lee Salz of SalesArchitecture.com wrote an article for ERE - "The New Employee's First Day" - that illustrates that point beautifully.

Salz created a composite character, Steve Harmon, and sent him to work for a company -probably also a composite - called Newman Industries. Newman Industries did everything right when they recruited Steve, a much sought after candidate. Sadly, Newman Industries made the mistake that many employers, according to Salz, make when recruiting top candidates - they didn't follow through.

Like a lot of employers, Newman Industries put all of their time, money and effort into wooing Steve away from the job he already had and completely forgot about making preparations for his first day at work. As a result, Steve introduced himself to a receptionist who had never heard of him, got assigned to a cubicle that still contained the belongings of the previous occupant - which he was asked to throw away - and spent all day trying to meet with his elusive mananager, Jamie. And those are just a few of the indignities Steve suffered.

By the end of the day, Steve was thoroughly disillusioned. Newman Industries wasn't what he thought it would be when he first accepted their offer. When his wife asked him how his first day of work went, Steve replied, "'I'm really happy that I didn't pull my resume off the job boards or tell the recruiters that I was off the market, because I don't know if this is going to work out. We'll have to see.'"

"The company thought they had Steve when he accepted the offer. That was their error. They failed to recognize that they had only completed the next step of the process," Salz explains. What Newman Industries lacks is a program that will preserve the positive impression made during the recruiting and interviewing process once the new employee arrives on his first day, he concludes.

Although Salz's scenario was specifically about recruiting and hiring salespeople, I believe his advice applies to any employer trying to recruit and hire the best college students looking for internships and recent college graduates looking for entry level jobs.

It should also be noted that Steve was a "passive candidate," which probably made Newman Industries feel even more proud of their accomplishment. Unfortunately for them, all that time and money was in danger of going down the drain before Steve had even been given a company email address. In this economy, it's safe to say that companies can ill afford to make such a costly mistake when hiring new employees.