Recruiting needs two players- I am evaluating too !!!

In almost all of my posts related to recruitment, I have mentioned how important it is to put up your best front to the candidate as well. This post is about reinforcing this fact. 

Right from the time of your first contact with the candidate, he or she is judging and evaluating you & your organisation too. For now, mostly you, since you are being the face of the organisation. It is of utmost importance to remember all along that the best talent is also smart & careful. If I am good at my job, I will not compromise on the kind of Organisation that I want to be associated with. And the job role, compensation, perks etc all apart, I want to work with good trustworthy people. If a recruiter can remember this through out, he or she will know what behaviours need to be displayed & how exactly to go about the whole process. We are at our convincing best when we really believe in something. That means, we first need to acknowledge and understand that while we are assessing the candidates fitment to our requirement, the candidate is also assessing us & the Organisation.

Let us look at a few things that if we get right, we have most certainly marketed ourselves well -

1. Be polite, treat the candidate with respect, however junior the position be. Provide all necessary information & answer all the questions the candidate may have. This will help the candidate trust you & create a positive first impression.

2. All through out, keep in touch with the candidate informing him about the progress on his candidature. This will show that you value the candidate & are serious about the whole process.

3. Gather all possible information about the candidate & pass all or the relevant one to the interviewers.

4. Encourage the candidate to go through your website & have a clear understanding about the Organisation and its business. Let that pride show when you speak about the Organisation with the candidate. This will mean that you wish to be fair & transparent in all your associations.

5. Ensure the candidate receives the interview call on time. For a face to face interview, ensure the candidate is attended to as soon as he arrives. Inform all people involved in advance & the front office to expect him or her at the pre-decided time. This will show how organised things are & that people know him or her even before he or she arrived.

6. It is a good idea to ask the candidate to arrive say 15 minutes prior to the interview, so that you can get all the necessary forms filled & still start the interview on time. This will reflect on your values of punctuality & detail orientation.

7. Even before that, make sure the candidate has received your confirmation of interview email along with the map/instructions to reach your office. This is a display of organised behaviour & seriousness of the recruitment process.

8. Right after the interview, get back to the candidate about the further steps & instruct accordingly. Most importantly, communicate the feedback, positive or negative. If you deal with too many candidates and find this difficult, let the candidate know that you may take time to respond in case of a no.

Interviewing -

The interview, whether telephonic or personal is the most crucial part of the hiring process. We fail to notice that many a times, candidates come out of the interview feeling what a stupid interview !! and there go all our efforts in drain. As recruiters, we may go one step ahead & brief the interviewers before the interview. The should understand the must haves & good to haves of the requirement along with the detailed job description. It is absolutely necessary for the interviewers to go through the candidate's profile thoroughly before they begin the interview. Reading it in front of the candidate is a bad idea !! (though most interviewers think it is ok to do it)

I am listing a few things which if an interviewer can keep in mind, will lead to a good interview experience -

1. Make a mental note of the questions to be asked, directly related to the role. Pausing too long before asking a question or over explaining the question shows indecisiveness. Walk in confidently & introduce yourself. Mention that you are happy to be considering the possibility of a professional association with the candidate.

2. Begin with simple questions & let the candidate settle & be comfortable. Keep the interview conversational. If the candidate is not able to answer or has answered it wrong, according to you, leave it at that. Do not correct or preach.

3. Go in with an open mind & be objective. Do not let his or her appearance affect your impression too much. Maintain a balance between being friendly & professional.

4. Understand that there are questions with yes or no answers & there are questions whose answers are subject to perspectives. be ready to agree to disagree. Avoid arguments & steer the conversation in the right direction.

5. Evaluate thought process, attitude, ability to comprehend, depth of thoughts or ideas, look at the passion etc and not just right or wrong answers. 

6. Be polite & respectful. The fact that you are interviewing me obviously means you have knowledge & experience. There is no need to reinforce that fact with behaviour or attitude. 

7. Be very careful with facial expressions. Do not give away even if you think what he or she is saying is nonsense.

8. Make sure that the candidate has gotten a very positive feeling about you and the organisation and it stays that way even if he or she is rejected.

9. Always ask the candidate if he or she has any questions for you. End the interview on a positive note.

10. Do not begin discussing how it went as soon as he or she leaves, take some time to think it through.

I have attended a few interviews myself & I cannot begin to describe what a terrible feeling it is to meet people who have the answers that they want to hear already engraved in their heads & refuse to listen to anything else. This can be a major put off for most candidates and make them leave feeling sorry for the Organisation. 

I hope I have made my point about this two way process of recruitment, feel free to express your views or experiences about the same.

While posting for a Job..

All those recruiters out there will agree with me that the a Job Posting, if you are using a Job Portal or a social media, is the first thing that candidates get to see about a job. It can be a tedious task to screen through hundreds of resumes that you receive in response to a job posting.

While the fact remains that many candidates apply to a job posting without going through all the details mentioned, the importance of a job posting cannot be diluted. As a recruiter, you would want those exactly fitting profile to apply to your posting. And, to achieve this, it is imperative that the job posting gives precise details about the job so as to help me the candidate see a match between the job description & his/her skills.

Most job portals have a prescribed form that a recruiter has to simply fill in. So your job is slightly made easier here. However, you get to decide what information goes in these blanks. Posting a job is mostly a routine task for us & so we as recruiters may tend to not give this task the importance it deserves. I am sure quite a few of us can fill them up without looking at our computer screens ;) Let us simply pause here & re-look at this step.

Use simple words -
As a job seeker, I want to apply to a job that spells out the job description in the way that I would spell out mine or for the one that I want. This is especially important to note since all job seekers may not be aware of the jargon that we HR geeks use. So do not make the job seem complicated by using jargons or difficult terms. Use the popularly used terms in the industry to describe the job. You may stress on the most important responsibilities of the position if you wish to highlight the seniority or high accountability of the job.

Keep it concise -
A job role can involve a number of responsibilities. Priorities the responsibilities & if there seem to be too many choose the most important ones so as to list down not more than 6-7 of these. If it seems difficult to so so, try clubbing the ones that seem supplementary & strike out the obvious ones. Neatly put down responsibilities help job seekers match their skills easily. Also, it helps understanding the scope of the position & key accountables.

Some details to never miss -
There are a few mention details that a recruiter must never miss, they are

Years if experience - Give a decent range more like 8-10 years & not 8-12 years, there can be a huge difference in the level of exposure that a 8 year experienced candidate has as compared to that of a candidate with 12 years of experience. In my opinion, it is not fair to compare their skills & experience. It is always a good idea to clarify this with the Hiring Manager. Also, once decided stick to this number. I see a lot of job postings which give a different requirement of experience in the title & the description.

Qualification - If there is a specific qualification that you are looking at, do mention it. If there is a generic qualification, like any bachelors degree still mention it. 

Exact Designation - Designation for a particular job is as important as the job description. Many a times, the designation itself gives an idea of the exact job. For Ex, Manager - HR, unless specified otherwise would mean that the role requires managing a team. Having a small range of experience also helps here, you can stick to one designation & need not pass over the uncertainity to the candidate. As a recruiter, I would never prefer to tell a candidate that you will be hired as a Asst Manager if you have 5 years of experience & as a Manager if you have  years of experience, FOR THE SAME ROLE. This gives a very wrong impression & shows confusion on the hiring managers/Organisations part.

Candidate Profile - This part describes the kind of candidate that would be a right fit for the job. Again, keep it concise. It is okay to list down some essential soft skills also here along with the personality traits required.

Job Location - This is by far the first filter that most candidates would use while looking or searching for jobs. It is very very important to mention the name of the city that this position will be stationed at. Also, in additional details, specify if you are okay with outstation candidates who are open to relocate applying for the job. Most job portals have this filter inbuilt.

Highlight the major aspects of the Job-
If the job requires frequent travelling, overseas travelling, managing team across locations etc, it is certainly a good idea to mention these in BOLD. There are quite a few implicit requirements that become clear with such details. For Ex - you need to have a passport !!

Keep the target audience in mind -
While posting a job, remember that you are advertising. Just like a TV commercial, your ad has to appeal to the audience that you intend to target. Make sure you make the job opening sound interesting & challenging, ofcourse without faking it.

I have a strong belief that all recruiters have their own style of recruiting, sometimes varying & other times consistent. We all innovate in our own small ways. It is of utmost importance for us to reflect professionalism & give an impression that this is serious business.

However, I do hope most of you can relate to these details I've jotted & are smiling reading them :)

Job Search !!

Phew... I have always been on the other side of the table. Recruiting & interviewing. I just shifted to this side and I see a big mess. My own experience while looking out for a job makes me realise just how difficult things are, crazy almost. There are so many people out there, some posing to be recruiters, head hunters, some premium recruiters, some marketing guys just there to get contacts. and among all of these are the Real Recruiters, lost in the crowd. Most of them wondering why it is so difficult to source quality profiles & attract talent. The talent is probably being attracted & deceived by the fake ones.There seem to be a large number of these fake recruiters, faking job openings, clearly taking disadvantage of desperate people looking for an opportunity.

There is absolutely no clarity about what is really going on. One can never be sure whether a job posted either on the social networking sites is for real or whether this person that you sent your resume to is a recruiter at all. For all you know, this post may be a way of getting your contact details. The increase in hiring numbers via social networking sites is an only hope in this mess.

This chaos is making finding jobs an even more difficult task. According to people matters, India needs to create 1.5 million jobs in the next decade. About the numbers, I am not so sure. I wonder, how job openings  how much ever in number, will reach job seekers if this situation continues.

Recruitment or Hiring ?

I began my career (or my real world life, like I call it) with recruitment. And so, it will as a profession always remain my favourite. It is what taught me everything. Although today I call it hiring, I always hated this word. It sounded like something very temporary, say like hiring a cab or hiring a service. Recruitment, on the other hand sounded meaningful. However, I guess I started began going with the flow & calling it hiring. But the word still means the same to me.

Recruitment has always for me, been the most important function. And I strongly believe in the fact that People make an Organisation. It breaks my heart to see what has happened to this important function of recruitment & the way it is being managed.

Recruitment for all purposes, is that first step where you as a recruiter are letting the future employees, good or bad, be a part of the Organisation. The technicalities apart, recruitment is not just filling or closing a position, but letting a right fit; both a Technical Fit & an Organisational Fit take over a specified role. While a match of the requirement & the skill sets is vital, a cultural match is equally important. And a recruiters role is not restricted to finding a technically sound potential candidate but also to evaluate to whatever extent possible his personality, fitment & determine what he or she will bring along in terms of value to the Organisation. Having said that, it is crucial to note that recruitment is a two way process. While you as a recruiter & as an interviewer are assessing the candidate, the candidate is also assessing you - the recruiter, you - the interviewer & the entire recruitment process. It is therefore very important to ensure that the entire process is handled & carried out professionally, projecting the right & relevant information to the candidate, whether positive or not so positive.

Things that every recruiter should remember & follow, ALWAYS -

1. If skills & experience are important, so are attitude & ability to learn.

2. For every requirement, there are skills that are mandatory & skills that are a bonus.

3. Spend sufficient time with the hiring manager, get to know the requirement very well & in your own words.

4. Do your homework, before you start working towards hiring. Know what is possible, what is difficult & what is difficult but not impossible.

5. If a candidate cannot express it, he may not know it.

6. Treat all candidates as equal, however do not lose your ground.

7. Study the market, always know what is in & what is not.

8. Have a fair idea of what kind of position you are working on, what the possible challenges are or can be

9. Carefully choose your source.

10. Decide how the opening should be projected & stick to the plan.

Here are a few things that are absolutely important & which, if managed effectively will ensure a high degree of success in the recruitment process -

Before scheduling for an interview -

1. Shortlist the resume objectively. However, make an initial contact to get a feel of the candidate's ability. Strike up a conversation to discuss his/her professional growth. Assess communication, confidence & ease with which he or she can converse. Give equal importance to the non verbal communication & cues that you observe or feel. Trust your own judgement about the candidate's overall personality, attitude & skills.

2. Share details about the Organisation & the role clearly. While it is okay to generate interest in the opportunity, it is a good idea to let the candidate decide whether he or she is really interested in pursuing the opportunity.

3. On completing your own checklist as a result of your assessment & a go ahead from the candidate, schedule an interview.

 

4. Choose a good team to interview for the position. Two is good, for niche or tricky position 3 is fine. This also helps in deciding.

 

While Scheduling an interview -

 

1. Give the interviewer (technical) & the candidate, sufficient time & notice before & during the interview. The Hiring Manager is a "must be there" in the team of interviewers.

2. Choose a right time & place for the interview. Ensure the interviewers are on the same level of understanding about the role & have similar expectations. It is good to have an interviewing strategy in place, like one interviewer is supposed to evaluate 2 specific areas or skills & the other say 2 other skills, who starts first or what kind of questions to start first. Whether you want to start the interview with a "take me through your resume" or "tell me about yourself" kinda questions. Encourage interviewers to decide a few things in advance.

3. Make sure you have most things sorted out, so as to have a concrete yes or no & why answer from the interview panel. And ofcourse, be ready with your opinion as well.

After an  interview -

 

1. Have a good discussion on why a candidate is selected or not selected. Make sure the reasons are objective & relevant to the role.

2. Always remember, you along with the interview panel, are taking a "Hiring" decision here. Take a well informed decision. Be ready to own it up.

3. You may choose the let the candidate know about the decision after a few days. It is a good idea to inform rejection as well. If the candidate wants to have a feedback, give a genuine one.

 

If you were to ask most HR professionals, we do not considered a recruitment complete, unless the person selected has joined. Hence, this does not end with selection. Now that you have informed selection, the ball is in the candidate's court. And just because he or she has been selected by you, does that guarantee his or her joining. The time period between selection & joining is as crucial.

 

Between selection & joining -

1. Have a open discussion about the offer, clarify what the job has & does not have in store for the selected candidate.

2.Ensure that the candidate willingly accepts.

3. Keep in touch with the candidate between the selection or offer stage until joining. However, do not go overboard & annoy him or her with frequent phone calls or emails. Just do that much bit so as to sound interested but not desperate.

 

4. What can you do to keep in touch ?? Okay, check if the handing over is progressing well at his/her current employer, inform about the preparations at your end towards his/her onboarding, inform about the recent developments in the organization, while it is okay to sound "looking forward to having you on board", there is a difference between that & "I will so be in trouble if you do not join".

Let us also be aware that if someone is not interested in joining your organization & is using your offer to simply bargain for a better one from someone else, its just not worth it & no amount of being professional is going to get him or her to join. And honestly, you & your organization are better off without such people. So, be well equipped to deal with such situations as well.

 

Some things that you can do is, have back ups. If it is possible & affordable, offer two people in place of one. If you cannot offer two, ensure you have two or three final selections. If you have a not so good feeling about the person you are about to offer, don't waste your time. Look for any cues from the potential joiner about him or her having second thoughts on joining your organization. The sooner you get to know the better. If, at any point of time, between the offer stage & the joining date, the candidate begins to re-negotiate your offer, the call I yours to make. Do not hesitate to revoke an offer on grounds of unethical behavior.

 

While there is no full proof hiring, we all can do our best to ensure there are minimum or no loopholes. Ofcourse, time & experience are the best teachers.

 

Happy Recruiting !!