Posted: June 1, 2010 at 11:48 am | Tags: Background checks, employment verification, interview tips, interviews, Reference checks
Reference checks. Do you swear by them, think they are a joke, or just get them over with quickly as an administrative formality?
Clients often ask us what we learn from checking references. Common refrains are: ”Isn’t it a waste of time? Don’t references just all say nice things?” or “Don’t most companies have a neutral reference policy just so they won’t get sued?”
We swear by them. We love checking references.
So what do we learn from checking references? Well, for starters we learn:
- How willing the candidate is to complete and return the release form.
- What kind of people are willing to be listed as references.
- How willing the references are to get back with us quickly.
- Whether the references were contacted in advance to expect our call.
- How willing the references were to share their time.
So simply asking for references tells you quite a bit. But going further, what do good references actually say when you talk to them? We advocate asking the references about job competencies, just like you did when you interviewed the candidate (”Tell me about a time when …”). But beyond their answers to your questions, what else should you be listening for?
Often references go beyond a candidate’s job competencies and tell us the candidate is:
- Personally engaged in their work, invested in getting results, but “does not take thing personally” when setbacks occur
- Curious to learn more about their work
- Willing to share information
- Happy to go above and beyond what is expected, perhaps working too hard. Sometimes not knowing when to stop improving something
- Easy to work with, accommodating, upbeat
- Professional in demeanor
- Likes to be challenged
- Willing to take the ball and run with it
- Good at asking the right questions, tracking down resources, and solving problems
- Great at communicating, easy to manage
By and large, great people have great references. At the end of a good reference call, you should feel more energized and excited about hiring the candidate. If you don’t, it should be a red flag for you.
So, if you are not getting a signed reference release, or if you are getting a release and not calling the references personally, or if you are calling the references personally but not hearing glowing feedback like this … well, then you might want to adjust your hiring process.
Posted: March 5, 2010 at 1:36 pm | Tags: hiring freeze, recruiting, staffing, temporary, thought for the day
“If you hire people who are smaller than you are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. If you hire people who are bigger than you are, we shall become a company of giants.”
Posted: February 1, 2010 at 10:51 am | Tags: advertising, hiring freeze, interview tips, interviews, Job performance, staffing
Finding qualified candidates for many positions has gotten a bit easier. But paradoxically, finding candidates who “wow” the hiring manager has actually gotten harder. Much harder.
Why? One reason is that manager expectations rise in a downturn – and this is just how it should be. Because it takes a higher caliber employee to get the same business results now – you simply must raise the bar on hiring expectations or your company performance will inevitably decline. And for people who do not accept this business imperative, that is exactly what makes hiring in this job market so frustrating.
Posted: November 25, 2009 at 1:42 pm | Tags: ads, advertising, recruiting
All online advertising attracts some bad candidates, but poorly written job ads seem to attract only desperate candidates. Bad ads look like all the other ads: ”XYZ company, located in Miami, is the foremost widget maker in the region. We are seeking a Controller. Responsibilities include… blah blah blah”
Research shows that job seekers look for jobs using the title they have, or the title they want. Time will not permit me to cover all the things wrong with the ads, so I’ll just give you the highlights (lowlights?).
1. Context. Not one of the 10 ads answered the 4 key context questions every Controller asks about a new opportunity. (What position do I report to, how many people report to me, what are the annual revenues, and are you profitable?). No answers to these key context questions means no critical context for the “conversation” and no interest from people who are not desperate. (Candidates for different positions ask different key context questions, so I’m just using controller as the example).
2. Expectations. Not one of the ads described what success looks like, or what tangible business accomplishments were expected. The way I see it, the only reason to hire is to get business results. So why not list the results you want, right in the ad? After all, it never hurts to let people know what you expect.
3. Communication. Not one ad painted a mental picture of what it was like to work there.
4. Meaningless words. These are the hackneyed, stale, old meaningless phrases thrown into virtually every ad to “jazz things up” or to describe the ideal candidate (in the most boring way possible). Many of us think these words mean something, but without context they mean nothing. What are they?
- Dynamic (found in 22,000 local ads)
- Hands On (found in 12,000 local ads)
- Motivated (found in 10,000 local ads)
- Fast Paced (found in 9,000 local ads)
- Exciting (found in 8,000 local ads)
- Team Player (found in 4,000 local ads)
- Self-Starter (found in 4,000 local ads)
Are you still posting ads on the job boards? How’s that going for you lately? Is your “signal to noise ratio” (ratio of good to bad applicants) trending up or trending down?
Posted: October 30, 2009 at 3:53 pm | Tags: Admin., administrative, interview, interview tips, interviews, Job performance
Do you have Resume Bias
One of the biggest causes of your staffing problems may be your own resume bias. No, I am not referring to age, gender, race or religious bias. Hopefully you are not biased in that way – none of us want to think of ourselves as biased in any way, but most people are “resume biased.”
We all form these mental pictures of what a good resume should look like, and then we reject everyone who does not fit our mental picture. In my experience, this ”resume bias” is just as damaging to your hiring as any other kind of bias because, like other forms of bias, it excludes highly qualified people you need to be considering.
A resume bias overemphasizes how, where and when a candidate acquired their skills and experience while ignoring attributes than are not easily demonstrated on paper. It assumes you know something about someone solely based on the facts presented on the resume. Remember, you are hiring a person, not a resume. And a resume cannot demonstrate vital work behaviors, those all important attributes that we call “fit.”
We work hard to avoid resume bias in our search process, we celebrate the non-traditional candidates and don’t put much stock in the “perfect resume.” While many resumes may appear to be well-aligned with a position, we know we will rule out about 70% of the people we talk to – and some of the people we rule in will have very non-traditional resumes. Often the non-traditional career path (the “bad” resume) is the best qualified candidate.
A resume is a poor representation of a person, yet a recent survey showed that “relevant work experience” is the major criteria on which top executives are hired. And while, on the surface, that appears to make sense, the survey showed that “fit” factors - like the ability to work with teams, or learn new things – were almost completely overlooked. That is the very definition of resume bias.
Knowing that, it’s really no wonder that executive tenure is shortening, declining to an average of just 2.3 years.
So, if you have someone screening resumes for you, be sure to insist that they present to you at least a few “non-traditional” candidates. You’ll be glad you did.
Posted: September 30, 2009 at 12:48 pm | Tags: anniversary, staffing, technology, temporary
Well, it seems like yesterday that we opened up our first office in Boca Raton, had a desk, file drawer, phone and alot of energy. The file drawer is now a networked computer system, but finding people jobs and jobs for people is still what drives our company. Has technology changed in the last 25 years? You could say so. The newspaper was our main source of finding job applicants. Faxes were S.O.P. Then we went high tech with AOL and 14.4 modems. The methods will continue to change, but the mission remains.
Posted: September 14, 2009 at 10:25 am | Tags: Admin., administrative, administrator, financial admin.
I have a really good career opportunity for anyone who is interested in the Financial planning industry. I am working with a Financial planner in the Fort Lauderdale area that needs a sharp, computer savy graduate with a positive attitude to learn his business. Start out assisting with all aspects of the office. He will train you and guide you through the licensing required to grow in his field.
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 9:28 am | Tags: follow up, Post interview
As an employer, I want to hire people that want to work for me. People that are excited about the prospect of working for my company.
During the interview process I meet many qualified applicants, , especially in today”s job market. When the time comes to make a hiring decision, I sometimes agonize over who is the best candidate. Most of the time, the decision is based on the information obtained in the interview. An excellent way to set yourself apart from other applicants is to follow up after the interview and let the employer know that you are really interested in the job. Believe it or not, most people don’t follow up. Maybe that is because they really are not interested in the position.
I suggest a 3 step process to help land the job after the interview:
First, “close” at the end of the interview. Let the interviewer know you want the job. So few people do this and it is so important.
Second, send an email or hand written note thanking them for the interview. Use this to also reiterate your desire to work for the company.
Third, call the company in a week or so, depending on there timeframe, and check to see if they have made a decision. This may be the time to offer to come in again to discuss any other concerns they may have, or to clearify any questions from the first interview.
Be sure to let the employer know how you feel about the prospect of working for him/her. It help them make their hiring decision and it will help you get the job!
Posted: July 23, 2009 at 2:25 pm | Tags: interview tips, interviews
I can’t tell you how many people I have seen actually lose their jobs over being late. Just this week I had to release someone for that reason, and the sad part is their actual job performance was not a problem.
So much of success is just showing up, but you must remember to show up ON TIME!
Posted: July 23, 2009 at 2:00 pm | Tags: bi-lingual, call center, sales
My client is looking for someone that has worked taking inbound calls from interested prospects and convincing them to buy a very professional product. This is not hard! If you have ever convinced anyone to take action, then you can do this. The job is in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area. If you’re interested please contact TransHire at China@transhiregroup.com
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