Over 100 resumes to sift through. Boring covering letters that come pre-written thanks to several services offered by agencies and job boards. Sifting through over 300 profiles on networking sites.
Still struggling to get the right hire?
With so many modes and methodologies to choose from while hiring, and so much hiring information available for candidates, how, when, and where can you find the right fit?
Following are some hiring tips and strategies to help you find the right hire.
Define Your Objectives
As a hiring manager, this is one of the most important prerequisites that you should have. Defining an objective leads you on a process of discovery. You will begin to ask questions to the business to understand the ultimate goal that the business is trying to fulfill. As hiring managers, it is imperative that hiring decisions are in alignment with business goals. Human Resources is not a separate entity by itself in an organization. They are and should be the #1 business partners of the company.
Chart out Your Strategy
Very often hiring managers have a tendency to come out of a business meeting and immediately shoot the job requirement that they have been given to job portals and networking sites. This is the perfect recipe for disaster. Not only does this limit your ability to understand the requirements in detail, but it also limits your potential in hiring the right candidate. Create a hiring strategy sheet that defines the following:
- Time Line – what is the time frame to fulfill the hiring position?
- Geography – are there geographical considerations that affect the hiring process?
- Competing Companies – what other companies can you headhunt from?
- Target Salary- Research what are other companies paying for similar positions?
- Contingency Plan- if you are unable to find the perfect match, what other skills can you hire for and train?
Ask, Ask, and Ask
Keep asking questions to the business to get complete clarity over the job. Remember to keep in mind that the hiring team is selling the job and not the business. So if you want to be the best seller, get to know your product’s DNA inside-out.
Get Creative
Hiring managers today use a variety of conventional and unconventional sources in search of talent. Most organizations still rely heavily on job boards to post jobs. Studies show that some of the best and brightest hires come from a still relatively unexploited source—referrals. Employees are often the best brand ambassadors of their respective organizations. They are believable, have personal stories and experiences to share, and most importantly, they add the human element to an electronic job posting. So whether it’s the job boards or networking sites that you depend heavily on, never neglect the power of your employees. Word of mouth is fast, strong and credible.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
There is power to adding a video and embedding it to your organization’s web page or on the career page of job boards or networking portals. An impressive visual view of your physical infrastructure and employee testimonials is a persuasive and compelling tool that employers should take advantage of. Gaining a visual perspective through a few minutes of video can have influence over the candidate’s mind. It is worth more than a thousand words.
Winning Quotient
Candidates today have a variety of opportunities and organizations to choose from. A winning hire is made when a hiring personnel takes the time, effort and interest to develop a relationship with the candidate. Personal touch never goes out of style. There is still tremendous value that candidates experience when hiring managers send a personal note rather than an auto-generated email. This usually resonates strongly with a candidate when making a choice because such acts are intentional and thoughtful. And chances are the brain tends to have an overwhelming influence on what the heart says. So even if it isn’t a matter of love, it’s still an important decision. It’s a career!
About the Author
Susan Varghese heads business for Cynet Systems Inc. You can connect with her directly on Linkedin.
I saw a company that is able to hire creatively by implementing a unique test. They set up a situation and see how the employee will respond. Sometimes, it is better to hire people this way as you can test them on how they work before you even hire them.