20 Recruiting Strategies to Hire the Right Employees
Recruiting Strategies before the Interview
1. Talk to the potential candidate on the phone. Brief phone conversation before the interview can help you get important information about the potential candidate you are about to interview.
2. If you have not received yet the candidate resume this is the time to ask for resume and cover letter from the job applicant.
3. If possible whenever it is appropriate you should give a small assignment before the interview. This will help you assess how serious the candidate is about the job opening and also assess his skills and attitudes in a practical way.
4. When the candidate arrives before the interview take the candidate for a walk around the office. This is a chance for the candidate to see the potential future office as well as for your team to get to know the candidate.
5. After you read candidates’ resumes ask for opinion from your colleagues or if it is appropriate review all the resumes with your team members.
6. Before you start the interview go through the job requirements and the job description and ask yourself what the most important part of this job opening is and why this job position is important for your organization. This will help you manage your interview on the right track and focus and pay attention to what really matters for your organization.
Recruiting Strategies during the Interview
7. Culture fit is very important. During the interview pay attention to the candidate personality and assess the fit between the candidate and the potential coworkers and candidate’s future team. Is there a good fit? How good would they communicate and work together?
8. During the interview ask all the important questions you have prepared. The candidate could be strong in one area and she could talk in more details about it but try to cover all important aspects of the job including the culture and passion requirements for the job position.
9. Create friendly environment during the interview, try to have fun and be open with the candidate. This will help you get honest answers and it will open more detailed discussions during the interview. As a result you will learn more about the candidate.
10. Be focused and pay attention to every minor detail to identify any inappropriate behaviors and attitudes from the candidates during the job interview. Pay attention to everything.
11. Take notes during the interview – especially take notes regarding the critical information about the candidate. After the interview you need to create a profile for the candidate including major strengths and weaknesses.
12. After you cover all the important questions and answers focus on an area where you have a strong expertise. This discussion will help you assess the candidate thinking process and creativity regarding issues you really understand.
13. Whenever appropriate, especially for the final candidates try to do team interview. It is easier and more objective to assess the candidate with your colleagues.
Recruiting Strategies after the Interview
14. After the interview ask the candidate to follow up after a few days. This is a good opportunity to test how professional the candidate is. At the same time this is a good test for how interested the candidate is in your job opening. Many candidates won’t call back because they are not really interested in the position. This is a good step for you for additional candidate screening step which is very helpful and important.
15. Give a simple relevant task to the candidate such as reviewing non-confidential project assignment or opportunity relevant to this position. Ask the candidate to evaluate the issues and opportunities based on the information available and see how the candidate thinks, how confident he is with his answers and how fast he is able to think about critical issues.
16. Be honest and talk about potential issues with this job opening including workload, potential team issues, risk, etc. This is an important step for the candidate to get the real picture of these job requirements. In many cases this approach communicates better than the official job description and the requirements.
17. Be honest with yourself and ask yourself – If this was my organization would I hire this candidate? Would this person really be able to contribute to the organizational success?
Recruiting Strategies – Checking References
18. Call the candidate references for a check. Try to talk to as many references as possible.
19. Do a quick research on the candidate. Simple internet research can reveal important information regarding additional aspects for the candidate. Use search engines and social media to search for the candidate.
20. For top positions and critical job openings you and your team can easily identify industry peers who know the candidate. Talk to them to learn more about the candidate. This is a way to learn additional information as well as a reference checklist for the candidate.
