Are you tired of gathering a huge applicant pool for an open position only to realize, on closer examination, that 75 percent of the resume submissions you receive aren’t acceptable matches for your position? Are you tired of moving a great candidate through nine rounds of a ten-round interview process, only to see your applicant signed on by your competitors just as she’s about to complete the final stage? Maybe you can convince talented candidates to submit resumes, but you just can get them to accept your offers. Whatever your issue may be, it’s probably time to reexamine the sourcing and screening aspects of your hiring process. Keep these guidelines in mind as you move forward.
1. Have a clear program set in place. Don’t just hire by the seat of your pants or make lasting decisions based on instinct alone. Establish clear interviewing and hiring protocols, and then constantly re-examine your program and fix whatever isn’t working.
2. Keep records. How can you tell what’s working and what isn’t? With a little science. Keep a clear record of each hire, including the script used for the interview. And then monitor that employee’s performance, growth, and job satisfaction over a one, three, and five year period. If she stays and thrives, great. If she’s gone in six months, take the file out and review it carefully so you don’t repeat your mistakes.
3. Shape your interview questions around the traits you want. Rely on both technical, knowledge-based questions and open-ended behavioral questions to find candidates with the traits and skills you need. If you aren’t sure how to trace the path between your questions and the success of your hires, refer to item #2 and start taking clear notes.
4. Treat all candidates with respect. Every candidate who cares enough about your company to apply for a job here deserves your courtesy and consideration. Keep candidates informed of the timeline as they move through the selection process, and keep interview cycles under three rounds (four or more is rude and unacceptable). After you’ve made a decision, contact all of the contenders and let them know.
5. Finally, when you find the candidates you want, bring them on right away. Don’t make them wait while you drag your feet and let the offer get caught up in red tape. Find workarounds, overcome delays, and get your new employees up and running with a smooth, welcoming onboarding process.
If you are looking for Massachusetts employment agencies, contact Techneeds today.