Prepare some general questions about candidates’ background, strengths, weaknesses, their best supervisor in the past, what they liked and disliked about past positions
Questions? Contact me today!
Orientation & Onboarding Tip 4: Give new employees a tour of the office.
No matter the size of your operation, the office tour is essential to ensure that the new employee knows where to find things and who to go to with certain questions or problems as well as providing a good overview of systems and processes.
Three things to keep in mind as you tour the office with the new employee:
- Make sure new employees have a tour of the office. It’s important for them to get a feel for the agency’s atmosphere, and be able to find their way around.
- As you’re touring the agency, tell new employees about the functions and services provided by the different divisions so they can understand their part in the whole organization.
During the tour, current employees can meet the new employee and help make the new employee feel welcome and part of the team.
Job Descriptions Tip 3
3. Job descriptions can serve as a very good place to start when developing interview questions.
Once you have a job description, you can develop interview questions based on the essential functions, job responsibilities and skills by asking the candidates how they have performed these types of tasks in their past positions. For example, listed below are some essential functions and related questions:
Essential Functions for a human resources director:
• Develop, evaluate and administer human resource policies and procedures for all departments; review and evaluate the effectiveness of programs and services provided by the department.
• Oversee, supervise and perform recruiting services including: Placing advertisements, revising job descriptions, receiving and recording applications, reviewing applications for minimum standards, conducting and monitoring written or oral testing procedure for administrative and clerical positions, scheduling interviews, ensuring background investigations are complete, informing applicants of status of their applications through letters, setting up oral panels.
Related questions:
• Describe a modification you made to a human resource policy or procedures for departments that made your program more competitive or cost effective.
• Can you give an example of a recruitment that was difficult because you knew you wouldn’t get a lot of applicants? How did you reach out to promote the position and find qualified candidates?
Hiring an Intern Tip #1: Why should you think about having Interns?
Why Hire an Intern?
Even as a small business owner, I support interns when I have projects that provide a learning experience. I had 9 internships during my undergraduate and graduate degrees and have had several interns work for me in the past. This is a practice I intend to continue.
In this series I will review the following…
1. Why should you think about having interns?
2. What type of projects can interns handle?
3. What are the benefits of Interns for you and them?
4. How do you find interns?
5. Do you have to pay interns?
6. Should there be a formal agreement with the Intern?
Tip 1 – Why should you think about having Interns?
The number one reason to hire an intern is the benefit they can provide your organization. Interns can bring new ideas and new technology to your organization. They can work on projects that otherwise wouldn’t be addressed. Whether you are a one person organization or large corporation internships can be beneficial.
On a more personal note, if you were an intern when you were young or in college you know how grateful you were to get an opportunity to learn and show what you could do if given the chance. This is your chance to give back or pay it forward to the next generation. As you have heard, many college graduates can’t find a job because they only have their education but not the experience and they are competing against candidates with experience. Good internships will provide students with the experience they need.
I had a graduate program that required an internship each semester. I found it made the education process more fulfilling because I could see how my studies related or didn’t relate to the real world. I will review the other tips in the series to follow.
Questions? Contact me today!
Executive Search Tip 6: What is different using an Executive Search Firm once you have applicant resumes for the position advertised?
This is another frequently asked question. After all, now that you have a stack of resumes, why do you need an Executive Search professional? The answer is time. An executive search firm has the flexibility to speak with the potential candidates during various points in the recruitment process. Most HR departments do not want to give an unfair advantage to any one candidate so all communication is in writing such as thanking them for the resume, letting them know if they have been selected for a testing process or interview, etc.
The Executive Search firm will take the time to talk with the most qualified candidates or even those that may not have all the qualifications to learn as much as possible about the candidate to see if they are a good fit and to learn more details than a resume can provide. One method we use to learn more about candidates in addition to many telephone interviews includes a questionnaire to top candidates. It allows us to determine their real interest and their specific experience related to the specific position.
For example: when recruiting for an Economic Development Director we may ask about the details of their largest and smallest economic development project they completed. This process also allows us to evaluate their writing style. This process ensures that the agency has all the information they need to choose the right candidate.
Questions? Contact me today!
Interviewing for Employers Tips 4: Ask Candidates What They Know About the Position
Ask candidates what they know about the position and your organization to see if they did any research before the interview
Questions? Contact me today!
Orientation & Onboarding Tip 5: Make sure new employees are ready to work on the first day.
Prepare the new employee’s work area with the proper tools and equipment ahead of their arrival so the new staff member feels comfortable and has everything needed to smoothly transition into the new position.
Four essential areas to have ready at the new employee’s work station:
- Have the employee’s desk or other work area, and the materials needed to perform the job, set up when he or she comes into work.
- Make sure the employee has a working phone, computer, desk, chair and whatever else he or she may need for the job.
- Set up all computer protocols so the employee can sign on to organization’s Internet, intranet and specific software programs.
- Gather all the proper paperwork a new employee needs to fill out on the first day. (Outside of the usual Human Resources paperwork like department-specific forms—see the next tip about payroll forms.)
Job Descriptions Tip 4
4. Job descriptions can be used as the basis for training and career growth.
Job descriptions list the qualifications and certifications required for each position. For example, if a Social Worker I employee is interested in moving up in the organization, he or she can look at the job description for the next level position, Social Worker Supervisor. By reviewing the qualifications of the higher position, employees can determine the education, training and certification that may be required to move up. Career paths can also be illustrated by reviewing the titles of positions such as Analyst I to Analyst II and Analyst III. This information encourages employees to know they are not stuck in a position and they can be promoted if they are interested and qualified.
Hiring an Intern Tip #2: What type of projects can Interns handle?
Tip 2 – What type of projects can Interns handle?
In our last post we talked about why you should consider hiring an intern. In this post I would like to explore the types of projects that are ideal for an internship. Interns can handle any project that an employee can handle depending on the individual and the supervision provided
- Projects that include technology are often ideal since younger workers tend to be skilled in this area. This can include developing presentations in Publisher, Power Point or other software.
- Social Media updates are an excellent project as long as you provide some guidelines of what is acceptable on your various platforms.
- Content marketing is another option such as posting and writing blogs.
- Internet research is ideal for new projects, finding clients, researching the competition, or investigating product options related to your next purchase.
- Bookkeeping activities are great for accounting students
- Recording and analysis of data using Excel, Access or other data base systems
- Screening potential candidates for positions or other interns will allow the intern to learn about recruitment processes
- The list can go on depending upon your business needs
When I was an intern as an undergraduate I prepared an environmental assessment for a grant application and developed a comparison of Police Union contract benefits (before Excel) using the old green lined accounting paper. Twenty years later I completed both projects in my full time management position. Just be sure the tasks you need accomplish fit the interest and skill set of your intern.
Questions? Contact me today!
Executive Search Tip 7: How does the firm make a presentation of Candidates to Client?
Now that we’ve gone through all the resumes, conducted telephone interviews and asked candidates to complete a questionnaire we present a semi-finalist list to the client. This is prepared as a report which includes a list of the top candidates with their resume, cover letter, questionnaire and any other information we have gathered about the candidates. Sometimes the candidates are rated as A & B candidates to offer the client our thoughts and other times they are not ranked. The level of input regarding ranking would be determined prior to the report. Some agencies prefer this while others want to rank the candidates themselves.
We also provide an excel sheet with a summary of each of the top candidates pointing out degrees, past position titles, expertise in specific areas related to the position, etc. Some clients also request that we show them all the candidate names and why they were not included in the top semi-finalist list. This allows the client to hear our report, review the materials and decide which candidates fit their organizational culture. Once the selection is made we will start the reference and background work on each of the candidates.
Questions? Contact me today!
Interviewing for Employers Tip 5: Questions About Past Experience
Make sure the Interview Team has candidates’ resumes so they can ask questions about their past experience helpful resources.
Questions? Contact me today!
Orientation & Onboarding Tip 6: Have all paperwork ready for your new employee on day one, from Human Resources, Payroll and the Benefits offices.
A well-organized essential document packet will give the employee confidence that their employer is detail oriented and efficient and that all legal and financial documents are in place.
Things to include in your package might vary, but here is a list of commonly included documents:
- Federal W-4, State W-4
- Emergency Contact form
- I-9 form
- Health/Medical Benefit Enrollment form and Health Insurance Plan booklet
- COBRA form
- Direct Deposit form
- Life Insurance form
- Deferred Compensation form (401K) or Pension Enrollment form
- Credit Union form and description (optional)
- Employee Assistance Program information
- Workers’ Compensation Program information
Recruiting with Randi Frank
Tips on recruiting for executives and entry-level positions.
Job Descriptions Tip 5
5. Job descriptions help to develop performance standards and set performance goals for performance review.
Examples of job description responsibilities are listed below, along with how they would be interpreted into performance goals that would be evaluated during an employee’s performance review.
Essential functions for a customer service representative:
• Answers customer requests or inquiries concerning services, products, billing, claims and reports problem areas via phone, email, mail or social media.
• Responsible for improving customer retention through programs and service provided to the customer.
Performance goals:
• Improve customer satisfaction by 90% by the end of the year, as determined by customer satisfaction surveys.
• Reduce customer complaints about customer service by 20% by the end of this year.
Hiring an Intern Tip #3: What are the benefits of Interns for you and them?
Tip 3 – What are the benefits of Interns for you and them?
We touched on this in the first blog post in this series but I’d like to expand on this topic a little further. There are many benefits to using an intern for both the company and the student.
For the company the benefits include:
- Getting projects completed that would have stayed on the back burner by bringing in skills to your office that may not have been available
- Mentoring someone for a potential job in the future with you or others in the company
- Improving upon your training skills as you work with the intern
- Being re-energized by the intern who is enthusiastic to learn and share their ideas
- Increasing your productivity
- Feeling good about giving back and paying it forward to someone else
The Benefits for the Intern are numerous:
- Opportunity to learn if this type of work is really what they want to do
- Chance to see how things are really implemented rather than just reading about it
- Ability to get extra credit for the internship
- Learning from a professional – You!
- Possibility of leading to a full time position
- Learn about the responsibilities of a real job including business etiquette and practices
- Produce work they can be proud of and that they can use their new experience on their resume or for class projects
I had an internship that included assisting with preparation of a grant, which was also a final project requirement for my Bachelor’s. I worked with my supervisor to prepare and submit the grant which was awarded to the Town. Subsequently, I received an A since the grant process was successful.
Questions? Contact me today!
