Interviewing and Hiring
First impressions go both ways! When finding new talent,
candidates are interviewing you as much as you are
interviewing them. Make sure you’re asking the right
questions and do your best to make a good impression
on potential employees.
Here are a few things to remember when
conducting interviews:
Be descriptive.
After introducing yourself and any other people present
in the interview, give the candidate an overview of your
business and how the role they’re interviewing for fits
into the organization.
Be clear about expectations and goals.
Finding the
Right Candidate
Job Description
One of the best ways to attract the right talent is posting an
accurate job description in the correct places. A generic job
description may garner a larger applicant pool, but you’ll also
be overwhelmed by resumes from underqualified job seekers
whose skills vaguely apply to the job. If you’re specific with
the work experience and skills you’re looking for, you’re much
more likely to get qualified candidates, and you’ll save yourself
a lot of time and energy in the process. Getting specific on a job
description can also help you reflect on whether that position is
vital to your business and, if so, how hiring for the position will
affect the organization.
The ideal job description would include:
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A brief background about your company
An overview of the role
Information on the day-to-day
Benefits and information on career development
An ideal candidate profile
Detailed instructions about how to apply
Where you post the job description is important as well.
While your options may depend on your budget, there are some
places that are more worthy of your time than others. You are
typically going to be more successful, for example, on job-seeker
websites such as Indeed or Career Builder than on social media,
apart from LinkedIn.** Social media can be a great way to
network with potential candidates, but be aware that hosting
official job postings on any of the major social media platforms
can get expensive. A great, free place that we would always
recommend posting your job? On your own website!
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SPRING / SUMMER 2020
Honesty benefits you as an employer and your candidate
as an employee. Be up front about the job and what the
candidate will be doing in the position; this will let you
both know whether they’re a right fit for the job.
Keep questions relevant.
While you may be interested in getting to know more about
your candidate on a personal level, it’s important to keep on
task and stay professional. Interviewers often stick to the
STAR interview process to set the scene, but you can create
follow up questions based on their answers.
The STAR acronym stands for:
Situation: Describe a difficult situation or
challenge faced
Task: Describe the specific task or requirement
Action: Describe what action was taken to
overcome the situation or challenge
Result: Describe the result or outcome due
to their actions
Ask if the interviewee has any questions.
What questions the candidate asks can tell you a lot about
their mindset going into the interview and their interest in
the position.
Consider the process you
use leading up to an interview.
When sifting through resumes, create a short list of
candidates who stand out and check the references before
your interviews. A quick phone call can save you valuable
face-to-face time in the future and give you valuable
information to take into an interview if you decided to move
them forwardin the hiring process. Also, don’t be afraid to ask
different questions for different positions you’re hiring for.