Hiring can be daunting. Get it wrong, and the process can be slow and you might end up with someone unsuitable. That’s especially true in a world of labor shortages and the Great Resignation.
But getting it right could mean taking your organization to the next level. Here’s three easy steps to follow.
1. Define your ideal applicant
Get to the heart of what you need. It is important to be realist and look beyond your ideal applicant's experience. Does someone really need to have a four year college degree to do the role? Are you sure someone needs to have done the exact same job with another employer?
Be as explicit as possible about what you are looking for in your job description. You should include the following:
•who your company is - what will excite an applicant about what you do?
•why you are hiring for this role.
•responsibilities - the specific tasks or activities you are looking for.
•requirements - what are the absolute, non-negotiable things that an applicant should have? These should be as few as possible and include things like age restrictions and formal licenses and qualifications that applicants must have.
•availability- when do you need the applicant to work?
•skills - what prior knowledge do you need applicants to have? This could be things like basic computer skills, or math skills.
•qualities - what are character traits should applicants possess? This could be things like being a team player or being proactive.
•pay and benefits - would you spend time and energy applying for a job if you didn't know what it pays? Being clear upfront means that applicants can make an informed decision on the role.
2. Have a clear, consistent approach to decide who to interview
Plug for Huriot: we show you how applicants match your needs, across their experience, skills, strengths, and availability, making the applicant review process quick and easy. But even if you don’t use Huriot, make sure you are making decisions based on meaningful data. If you are accepting resumes, make sure you are looking at what the applicant can do and will bring to your organization.
And, when you’ve decided, don’t leave applicants waiting! The longer you take to decide, or the longer you take to make contact, the more likely you’ll miss out on your preferred applicant. You are also being evaluated by applicants. Who wants to work for a disorganized organization, who can't even make their minds up over who to interview?
3. Ask meaningful questions at the interview
The application stage is your chance to gather information on an applicant. The interview stage is your chance to validate what you found and get to know applicants better. Think of it like buying a car: do your research upfront, then visit a dealership to find out more. So you should ask two types of questions:
1. Validate what you gathered from the application – ask questions to help you to understand the extent of the experience, skill, or strength that they have said they have. Ask the applicant to provide specific examples of what they did and when: “You said in your application that you like helping customers. Can you give me an example of when you did this?”
2. Scenarios that reflect your role – scenarios are a great way to assess how an applicant would approach a particular situation or task. The great thing about them is that outstanding applicants don’t necessarily need to encountered the exact same scenario previously, they can adapt the experience, skills, and strengths they possess to the scenario. Examples of these types of questions include: “A customer calls the store, complaining that they did not receive a delivery. Can you talk me through the steps you would take to resolve their issue?”
Huriot can help!
The time you commit to planning and executing hiring is time well spent. But you don’t worry, if you still aren’t sure where to start then Huriot can help!
Huriot makes hiring hourly workers quicker and easier by getting rid of resumes.
Managers tell Huriot what they want, applicants tell Huriot what they can do, then Huriot shows managers the best matches.