GoodRecruits

Similarties of Interviewing with Dating

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:06:10 -0700

When you think of job interviews, you don't automatically think about dating right? Well, this article certainly delivers a new side to it as comparing interviews in dating. As I read through this blog post, it certainly justifies as to why these two things are being compared side by side.

I wanted to share this with you so here are the 7 similaries of interviews and dating:

1. Desperation is not attractive.

2. Be choosy and deliberative and don't just take the first thing that comes along.

3. Make your interest personal, not generic.

4. Use flattery.

5. Remember to ask if you like them, not just if they like you.

6. Don't badmouth your exes.

7. Keep your ego in check.

I really had a laugh when I read this one. How about you? Do you agree or not? Please share

Image source: Stockxpert

Headhunters: Real Value in Partnership

Sat, 10 May 2008 10:00:39 -0700

Choosing a headhunter to partner with is not an easy task to do. There are several things to consider when dealing with them or in making a partnership with them.

In the company's side, there is the cost. Headhunters should be a worthwhile investment not something made just in name. There should be a real partnership formed in here meaning that the quality of applicants that these headhunters endorsed should really be worthwhile and not just something that should be done in order to add up in numbers. Aside from that, an understanding prior to the establishment of the relationship should be done so that these partners could really select the applicants that they are looking for the companies that they venture into partnership.

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Preparation: An Interview Need

Fri, 09 May 2008 23:40:02 -0700

Preparation is considered as a vital aspect when interviewing hence this should be practiced either by the recruiter or the applicant themselves. This video which I found somehow shows the scenario where both parties are not prepared during an interview and this is what happens:

It somehow shows that the applicants is not really 100% confident about the interview and the job that the candidate is applying for. Aside from not being knowledgeable about it, the video also shows how the interview process could be affected if a candidate is not prepared even in bringing basic materials like resume or pen. In the case of recruiters, this kind of situation makes the interview process a little awkward because of the elements that are missing.

Have you ever been in this kind of situation?

Resume Screening: An Alternative

Wed, 07 May 2008 09:29:14 -0700

Aside from the application form, an applicant's resume is another thing which reruiters focus on when asking questions. This is very important because the information written here came first-hand from the applicant themselves thus showing what they did, they are doing and what they can possibly do in the future.

Of course, analyzing this should not be a difficult feat.

Instead of starting from the usual which is the course, one alternative in resume screening could be starting from their present job and moving backwards. One of the reasons why I sometimes do that is to know what are the things and experiences which he realized from themselves when they look back at their career path. In this way, you would know if the candidate is really conscious of their career path as well as career goals.

This kind of resume screening is not that new but practicing it every once in a while could really help you in practicing your screening skills as a recuiter.

Image source: Stockxpert

Looking for the Best in Recruitment

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:10:09 -0700

There is one thing that recruitment should always remember when recruiting people for job vacancies and this is looking for the best. Of course, looking for the best does not always mean that you would end up with one. That is why the recruitment process should help recruiters in making sure that this task is implemented.

Here is a guide which communicates with applicants but I decided to alter it a bit and make it more recruiter-inclined. These tips could serve as a guideline for comparison and see if these people would be able to stand up if compared to these factors. Here are some tips which helps in determining who is best in the position:

a. Give an overview of the job and company
b. Show them the most important aspect of the job
c. Look for the best answers and specific examples
d. Look for personality
e. Check if they listen

I hope these tips could somehow aid you in your recruitment process.

Image source: Stockxpert

Recruitment Goals

Sat, 03 May 2008 08:43:05 -0700

We all know that recruitment is part of the HR department which means that this type of HR function should have its own strategy or goals in order to have purpose.

This strategy would really be dependent on the real nature of the organization because it should coincide with the goals of the HR department. Here is a good example of possible goals which could be used in the HR department:

- To create significant jobs that is vital to meet the goals of an organization
- Appointing right personnel in right position, thereby ensuring that required knowledge, expertise, and skills are blended in right proportion for the accomplishment of goals
- Developing a framework in order to help employees to effectively carry out their tasks and responsibilities
- Creating a favorable environment for employees to work within the organization
- Providing employees with feedback regarding their performance
- Creation of a positive working environment
- Retaining competent employees
- Assist employees as well as the firm to face challenges and changes

As part of the recruitment team, functioning towards these goals would ensure that you are doing your job in a way wherein you implement the goals of the organization.

Do you practice that when recruiting?

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The Essence of Interview Questions

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:51:52 -0700

There should be a definitive guideline as to the different things that interview questions should have. Of course, having the company's own standardized question is good but you should also ensure that these questions would embody the different things considered important when interviewing.

This is a good guideline in terms of the wordings of questions:

-Wording should be open-ended. Respondents should be able to choose their own terms when answering questions.
-Questions should be as neutral as possible. Avoid wording that might influence answers, e.g., evocative, judgmental wording.
-Questions should be asked one at a time.
-Questions should be worded clearly. This includes knowing any terms particular to the program or the respondents' culture.
-Be careful asking "why" questions

Do you think that this guide is helpful? Please share

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Retention Upon Recruitment

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:20:03 -0700

Attrition is not something that companies take lightly. If they could, companies would make sure that they would have none to minimal attrition rate. Of course, recruitment plays an important role in making sure that this goal would be implemented.

This suggestion was discussed in this article which also discussed the same topic. Here is the summary of the suggestion mentioned:

One of the effective ways for staff retention is to recruit right personnel to fill the positions in an organization, via methodologies such as competency tests and behavior tests. Another key step for the successful retention of staff is to follow the policy, 'Hire Only the Best,' ie never recruit an employee unless you as well as your organizational team are satisfied with a job applicant.

Personally, I think that this suggestion should be in the minds and hearts of recruiters and not just during interviews. This means that recruiters should always keep this is mind when doing their jobs.

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The Rating System in Recruiting

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:06:17 -0700

This is a very interesting article that I read about which deals with the interviewing system. One of the things that recruiters could do is to incorporate the rating system during the interview. This could be done before the interview during the resume screening or even during the interview proper.

This is a very good interview rating system which interviewers could adapt:

5 - Completely meets this criterion
4 - Mostly meets this criterion
3 - Just about acceptable on this criterion
2 - Below the minimum requirement.
1 - Unsuitable on this criterion.

I think that the rating system would be a good way to promote standardization when conducting interviews. What do you think about it?

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Sourcing Your Candidates

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:57:56 -0700

In order to have good candidates, you have to have your pool of qualified candidates and then from there, you are able to implement a selection process which would weed out the best among the rest.

For you to get the best, you must also know where to search these people and how to get them interested in the position that they are applying for. There are certain sourcing strategies involve which you could implement your recruitment activities. Here are some effective suggestions to source out candidates:

-Internal sources, either from employees or their family and friends
-Word of mouth via employees
-Past applications on file.
-Schools and colleges for graduates or school leavers
-Government agencies like Fás
-Advertising, locally, nationally, or internationally
-Employment agencies

Using these channels would enable you to get a lot of candidates and also to evaluate on which sources are able to produce qualified applicants. From then on, narrowing and focusing on that strategy would give you double than what you are targeting for.

Image source: Stockxpert

Being "Constant" During an Interview

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:12:14 -0700

In an interview process, it is very important that you would be maintaining consistency during the interview because it means that you implement standardization. Of course, this does not happen instantly considering that interviewing takes time to learn and you actually need to practice this in order to know your strengths and weaknesses.

There are several ways to ensure that you have this factor when interviewing. One is through ensuring that you have your guidelines with you. If you want to have a more personalized guideline, you could try reviewing your past interviews and see which question you consider as relevant in a recruitment process. From thereon, implementing a proper selection process would be a breeze.

Interviewing, as I mentioned is a learning process hence the need to be on the look-out for improving this process. Aside from that, there are still new things being discovered here and then and making sure that these things should be included is a very innovative way in recruitment.

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Implement Change in Interview Process

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:03:31 -0700

Of course, interviews done should be a standardized one and it should be based on the qualifications that companies are actually expecting in a candidate. Though that is the case, you should still find ways to ask "unexpected" questions that could shake things up during an interview.

What are those unexpected questions? Well, it could be mundane things such as their favorite film or movie. The purpose of such questions is to learn a bit more about the candidate's personality as opposed to just knowing about their professional attributes. Including a scenario question could be considered like what are the things that they are going to do when faced with this kind of challenge or situation.

Stepping out of the box as a recruiter is not a good thing. In fact it shows how versatile you could be. Just remember that you still need to incorporate the necessary things to make the interview work.

Image source: Stockxpert

Tip 3: Study the Behavior

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:50:31 -0700

Studying a candidate's behavior is the main goal of a behavioral interview therefore recruiters should be aware of the things that they should focus on when conducting a behavioral interview. There are two things which you could focus on: their work background and their skills which they are actually aware that they have.

These things would eventually lead to more in-depth assessment and would also help interviewers to determine the future behavior of candidates. Some sample questions would include the following:

-"Tell me about a time when you took charge of a situation and made something positive happen."
-"Describe a situation when you were given a tight deadline to perform, and tell me how you managed to get it all done."

Making sure that these are open-ended questions would ensure a good job interview.

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Tip 2: Avoid Judging First

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:54:13 -0700

During an interview, it is best that you collect your facts first and reserve your judging after you are already done with the interview. This is important in order not to make any harsh judgememt or criticism without even understanding the reasons first.

Here is a good advice on how to eliminate this kind of action when dealing with applicants:

Stop doing this! When a candidate enters your office for a job interview do whatever it takes to not form an immediate opinion of them. If it helps, say to yourself that you believe this candidate to be a certain a way, and then flush this out of your head any way you know how.

Starting from the beginnning of the interview would be able to help you in terms of determining if the person is qualified for the job. Aside from that, you also give that person a fair advantage of having that post by eliminating pre-judgement.

Image source: Stockxpert

Tip 1: Do Thy Homework

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:48:29 -0700

As the name suggests, doing extra homework before interviewing is actually helpful because it makes people prepare for the things that they need to focus on.

In an interview, preparing could be in different ways. This could be by reviewing the resume, application form or even the examination scores first in order to have a direction in terms of conducting the interview. You could also write important details beforehand so that you would save your time in writing all these things during the interview. Another way would be preparing a set of interview questions and having it before the interview.

The main goal of preparations is to help recruiters in conducting a complete and thorough interview in a sustainable time as possible. Do you usually do your homework before interviewing?

Image source: Stockxpert