Randi Frank HR Consulting

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Interview Tip 5. Review your resume and letter before your interview, so you don’t have to refer to them to answer questions like, “How long have you worked for ABC Agency?”

 

In most cases, the interviewer will have a copy of your resume and letter, so you need to remember what you sent to this specific organization. In some cases, they will not have your resume and letter, so bring an extra copy just in case. You need to be able to talk about your past experiences without having to look continually at your resume. Review the materials so you can provide dates of employment and/or how long you worked for a specific agency.  If you have to look at your resume, the interviewer will wonder if you really have the experience you claim.

If your resume says as an office manager you handled accounting, purchasing, and recruiting, then be able to provide examples of those activities with some short details. It is impossible to describe everything you did in each position without creating a 10-page resume, so have additional examples for each position, such as “assisted the organization with the implementation of a new Health Insurance Program.” Make sure you can provide details of your role and responsibilities.

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Interview Tip 4. Ask who will be at the interview – how many people, their titles, format of interviews, and timing of interviews.

 

When you are called for an interview, make sure you get all the details: location of office, specific room of interview or where to check in, parking arrangements, time and who will be involved with the interview.  Ask how many people will be conducting the interview and their titles. Interviews can involve many formats, including:

  • One-to-one interview.
  • A round robin interview where you meet one-on-one with various people in the organization.
  • A panel of 2 to 10 people.
  • An interview over lunch.
  • A tour and “meet and greet” scenario, where they observe how you handle yourself in different situations.
  • An in-box exercise where they present you with sample in-box memos and ask you to prioritize them and respond to them.
  • Assessment Center interviews that bring you and other candidates in the same room to deal with sample problems that are typical of the position – they watch how you work as a leader and team member in these situations.
  • Practical exams such as a driving test, written test, computer test, or any test that has you actually completing tasks that would be assigned to your position on a normal day.

As you can see, understanding the format will enable you to be prepared and be less nervous, and to know how much time to allow for the interview.

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Interview Tip 3. Obtain and review the organizational chart of the department or division for which you are seeking a position.

 

In addition to learning about the firm or agency, you will need to understand the organizational chart of the organizations so you can determine which department or division you will be working with if you receive an offer. Find out the name of the Department/Division and its function related to the other departments/divisions.   How many people work for the department/division, and what types of employees work in the department/division?  Is your position one of many, or is it unique?  What type of management structure has been established for the department/division?  Is it divided into sub groups?

If you are unable to discover this information from your Internet search, then ask Human Resources for more information. If you know someone who works for the agency, contact them. If you understand more about the department/division and the position, then you can provide better answers to the interview questions and show that you have done some research. If you are unable to gather this information before the interview, use some of these questions at the end of your interview to ask the person(s) you meet with. This shows your interest in the specific organization and position.

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Interview Tip 2. Research the company/organization or firm before the interview – understand their product or service.

 

Before your interview, research the firm/organization and find out whether it is non-profit, government, corporation or small business. The best place to look is their web site—look at all the pages on the web site to determine what types of services or products they offer. The web site will also provide some of the organization’s terminology that might come up in the interview.  For example, if they are in the health care business, are they selling health care products to doctors and hospitals, or are they selling to the general public? If they are in the insurance industry, do they only provide one type of insurance (such as health insurance) or do they provide homeowners and automobile insurance? Who are their customers?

You should also find out the names of the officers or board of directors in case their names are discussed in the interview. Research the size of the organization, the budget, how long they have been around, and their financial status. All of this will prepare you for the interview and assist you with determining if the organization is the right fit for you. In this day and age, you need to know if the firm will be around for a while – you don’t want to be looking for a new position next year.

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Interview Tip 1. Prepare questions you would ask if you were the hiring manager – and then be prepared to answer the questions.

 

A few days before the interview, brainstorm a list of questions you think they may ask you. Prepare the answers and then practice them.  Ask yourself what you would want to know about candidates if you were the hiring manager. The day before the interview, review the questions and answers again to make sure they are clear in your memory.  This will help you remember the important things you want to tell the hiring manager about yourself, even if he or she doesn’t ask the same questions.

Some typical questions or issues to think about include:

  • Why are you interested in this position?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses related to this position?
  • What experience do you have that makes you qualified for the position?
  • If you are a recent graduate, explain how your education prepared you for the position or what you learned in your classes that would help you with this position.
  • Why should we hire you? (This is an opportunity for you to sell yourself!)
  • Be able to use the jargon related to the position.
  • What did you like or dislike about your last position or supervisor?
  • How did you handle a difficult situation or customer?
  • What project management skills do you have that will help you be successful in this position?
  • Why are you a good team player? Give examples.

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Recruitment Tip 1. Review all materials on position; develop or revise job description to meet the real need.

The best time to review a position is when you have a vacancy. If there is an existing job description, make sure it is accurate for the position today and the needs of the organization. This is a perfect time to decide if the position is still the right fit for the organization or whether it is time to change the position to meet new and growing needs of the agency.

Talk with the other members of the department and management staff to make sure you know what is needed for this vacant position.  Then develop or revise a job description that reflects the changes, to include:

  • appropriate equipment used
  • education and experience needed
  • skills, knowledge and abilities
  • the responsibilities and objectives of the position.

Take a look at what work was completed by the previous employee.  Is that what the organization still needs today?  Is it time to increase the responsibilities of the position to a supervisor or management level?  Do you need more technical experience for this position to meet the needs of your customers/clients?  What were some of the complaints from the department in the past that may mean you need different resources?  If you make a change in the position, make sure you research the salary and whether you have enough funds in the budget for the change.

Now you are ready to continue with the recruitment process.

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Recruitment Tip 2. Develop profile of position to mail and email to potential candidates.

 

Question: Why do you need a profile for the position?
Answer: To make your position stand out among all the other advertisements.

A profile tells candidates that you have really thought about the position and the type of candidates you want for your organization. The profile can be put into many formats depending upon the specific needs and type of media. The Profile can be a colorful PDF attached to an email, or a color brochure that is mailed or shared at meetings. You can also refer to the profile in your advertisement, giving the URL address where it can be found on the Web.  That way you spend less on the advertisement and more on the development of the profile.

The profile will enable candidates to really get to know your agency. It should use colorful pictures and catchy phrases to capture readers’ attention so they want to read more—more about the position, your organization, and why they should be interested in your exciting opportunity.

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Recruitment Tip 3. Profile includes: description of agency, description/financial information of organization, description of department, job description, job qualifications, challenges facing position, mission statement, positive programs or accomplishments.

 

The job profile should sell the position and your company or agency through pictures and detailed information to attract professional candidates. Once a profile is developed, it can be used again and again, with slight changes for different types of positions. The profile will let candidates know what is expected and answer many of their questions, as well as screen candidates who don’t have the qualification and experience to handle the position as described.

The Profile should include at the minimum:

  • description of agency
  • description/financial information of organization
  • description of department
  • job description, job qualifications, challenges facing position
  • mission statement
  • positive programs or accomplishments

A job profile can also be used for entry level positions without the financial information and short summaries of the information listed above.

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Recruitment Tip 4. Develop timetable for recruitment.

 

To develop the timetable for the recruitment, you need to know when you want to fill the position and work backwards.  Set the date for the new employee to start, and then anticipate the time needed for each step so you know when to start the recruitment.

Unfortunately, you do not always have the luxury of knowing when a position will be vacant and will need to establish dates for each step and move forward as quickly as you can to fill the position. Flexibility is key because you cannot always anticipate the unexpected, such as candidates needing to give notice to past employers, hiring manager’s vacation during the interview week, and the like.

Timetable for recruitment should include the following steps:

  • Evaluate position and needs of agency
  • Review, develop or revise job description
  • Develop advertisement and profile about position
  • Place advertisement with at least 2 weeks for candidates to respond
  • Proactively recruit through various methods in addition to advertisement
  • Screen applications and resumes
  • Rank candidates
  • Test candidates (written, oral or practical examinations such as telephone interviews or driving tests)
  • Interview top candidates with appropriate staff and managers
  • Possible final interviews
  • Background and reference checks
  • Job offer with date set for new employee to start

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Recruitment Tip 5. Decide on types and amount of advertising to be used.

 

This is always a difficult decision because you want to get the word out to as many candidates as possible but you don’t want to over expend your budget. I recommend you look at targeting the correct candidates by focusing on publications and web sites that relate to the position. For example if you are looking for a Chief Financial Officer for a Town, you might advertise with the Government Finance Officers Association. If you are looking for a Human Resources Director for a business, then you might advertise with the Society of Human Resource Managers and their various chapters. Advertising in a newspaper for these types of positions will not produce as many qualified candidates compared to advertising with the Professional Associations.

Another decision that needs to be made is whether to do a national or local search. Entry level positions lend themselves to local searches but most professional and management positions should include a national search. You would be surprised at how many people are willing to move to come back home or to be close to family.  Sometimes it is harder to move from one side of the state to the other compared to across the country. Using professional association web sites will enable you to reach a local and national audience.

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Recruitment Tip 6. Develop list of target candidates and professional organizations to tap for qualified candidates. Email, contact or mail literature to target candidates.

 

Once you have your profile and advertisement prepared, you are ready to send out the word about your position.  In addition to the advertisement, you need to contact professionals in the field and let them know you have a vacant position that is a great opportunity.  Ask colleagues to spread the word about your position.  If you are the Human Resources Manager and are not connected to the specific profession for the vacant position, then you should find the professional associations.  Once you have found the appropriate professional associations, you can email the officers of the group and ask them to spread the word.  Always attach your colorful profile to the email.  Many of the professional associations will also email your information to their membership or post your position on their web site for free or a low price. If you have an address list of potential candidates, then mail your profile.

The more people you contact, the better the chance you will find the person who knows the perfect candidate for you.

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Recruitment Tip 7. Receive, review and evaluate candidates’ materials. Develop rating system to determine the highest quality of candidate.

 

Once you start receiving resumes for position, create a list with candidates’ first and last names and email addresses (or postal address if no email is provided).  This way you can keep track of the number of candidates and send them a thank you email or note. Once you start reviewing the resumes, you can separate them into piles of “meets minimum requirements” or “does not meet minimum requirements” and record this on your list. Then review the candidates with minimum requirements and evaluate them based on the job description and needs of the agency to determine your top candidates.

There are many ways to rate candidates, but the easiest is to use a number system or just put them into A, B and C candidate piles. For example if the position requires a Bachelor’s degree and prefers a Master’s degree, you can give candidates with the Master’s degrees more points.  If the position requires 5 years of experience, you can give candidates 1 point for 5 years of experience, 2 points for 6 to 7 years, 3 points for 8 to 9 years, and 4 points for candidates with 10 or more years of experience. You can also rate the type of experience they have as it relates to your position.  Is their experience in the same industry?  If so, does that mean they necessarily will fit in better with your organization?  Some companies are looking for diversity of experience and candidates may receive more points for that type of experience.  Candidates with the most points, or the A candidates, should then be reviewed in more detail by the hiring manager for further screening.

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Recruitment Tip 8. Possibly develop a written evaluation form for top candidates to complete to proceed in process. This tool can be used to limit the top number of candidates to be interviewed.

 

In this economy, there is a chance that you will have more than 20 top candidates, yet you do not want to interview that many.  Using written evaluations or other tests can reduce the number of top candidates called for interviews. For example, police officers have to pass a physical test and a written test before they are called for an interview.

Written tests can include facts and figures about candidates’ background, such as number of years of experience in specific tasks related to the position. For example, for a Human Resource Director, you may want to know if they have experience with benefit administration, labor relations, recruitment, performance management, pension administration. Once you have gathered general facts about a person’s background, you can proceed to essay questions related to their field of study. For example, for a Police Chief, you may want to know how they handled implementing community policing programs in their past community, or how they handled promotions or discipline in the past.  I have found that using these types of written documents separates the best of the best candidates and the ones you want to interview.

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Recruitment Tip 9. Develop interview process for top candidates.

 

The interview process can take many formats, depending upon the organization. Panel interviews can be arranged for candidates to meet various members of the management team at one time so they can work together to select the top candidate.  Some panels are also made up of experts in the field from outside the organization.  They serve as a screening panel for management to create a list of the top 3 candidates.  Some interviews are one-on-one interviews with the hiring manager, or round robin scenarios with one-on-one interviews with various members of the organization, such as Human Resources, Operations and the CEO. Interviews can also include a tour of your facility and organization, where the candidates are introduced to many employees to observe their people skills.  Some interviews entail the candidate making presentations on their background or topics of interest in the field to test their skill in public situations.

Once an interview format has been determined, make the arrangements. All participants should receive a calendar of events with names, times and locations.  All candidates should also receive information about the format, who they will be meeting with, and specific locations and logistics such as parking or hotel arrangements, if necessary.

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Recruitment Tip 10. Second Interviews & Reference Checks

Conduct first and second interviews as necessary. Conduct reference checks on top candidates as required.

Sometimes one interview is all that is needed because all involved agree on the top candidate.  In other situations, a second interview is needed to determine the best of the best candidates and to delve deeper into each of the top candidates. As long as you—the employer—are paying for the expenses related to the interview, the candidates will not mind returning for extra interviews because it will enable them to learn more about the organizations. Remember, they are interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them.

We recommend background and reference checks to insure there are no surprises in the future. Depending upon the position, you may want to do a drivers’ license check, criminal and civil court checks, credit check, education verification, Google check and, of course, reference checks.

Once this is complete to your satisfaction, offer the candidate the position and negotiate a salary, starting date and other arrangements.

View 10 Tips to Remember About the Recruitment Process

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