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PRE-GAME Create a profile of what your ideal
candidate would look like Transform your profile into actionable
items know as a performance profile Example: Implement a constant contact
system within the first 30 days.Deliver an average of 100 new leads per
month through optimization of marketing messages.
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Must Haves Nice to Have Doesn't matter Absolutely Not
Assertive Good ListenerAdvance educational degrees Meek
Good Communicator Hard worker Detail oriented 9 to 5 Mentality
mentally quick Completed High school patient Bad attitude
Impulsive Industry experienceHas paperwork avoidance Shy
Persuasive Competitive High Intelligence Has analyzer logical personality
Willing to travel Warm & Friendly OrganizedOverly exaggerates everything
Willing to work base plus commission Animated Drug user
Literate to eighth grade level
Expressive social personality
Is not worse than an average liar
Self-starter Builds Rapport quickly Minimum of two years of successful sales track record
Interested in the job
Measurable results produced
Willing to do necessary paperwork
Prefers to work for commission
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Common Mistakes Made by Interviewers Don’t get emotional attached to candidates
Ever have a manger tell you they like a candidate but have no facts to back it up.
Spend more time talking than the candidate does
Jumping to conclusions and making assumptions
Projecting answers by prefacing questions and asking questions that obviously express a desired answer
Projecting judgment and judging a candidate too quickly
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Who is involved: Hiring manager Hiring manager’s supervisor Other managers from different departments
Hiring manager should be involved in all interviews but only dominate the one they lead, Good to ask clarifying questions.
Peers Consider having job shadowing days to allow your
candidate to get to know your company and you to get to know them more
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Finding candidates Key is to speak with as many people as possible,
this is a numbers game. Make an investment in time needed to find the best people and establish a well thought out process
Referrals The best source of good candidates
Job Boards Post on more than one. Optimize for best placement
Industry specific job boards and associations Social Media outlets Direct contact
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Finding candidates… Temp Agencies
Good for filling lower level positions without much effort, takes the pressure off to find the best or discover the temp meets your expectation.
Recruiting firms Will typically provide good candidates just be careful.
Outsourced labor solutions Direct inquiries through career page on web site Sourcing
Contacting passive candidates
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Resume Screening Looking for longevity
This is getting harder to do 3 years for lower level people 4-5 for mid High level positions are wild cards
Career development Moving up within an organization Significantly better positions each move Involved in lots of activities and associations
Clear successes Look for instance where the candidate sites specific
accomplishments that are measurable and significant
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Resumes continued… Gaps in employment
Great people find jobs in any economy
References Look for those who list past supervisors as references,
either way you need them. These people are proud and not afraid for you to speak with their past bosses
Education Very little value unless the position absolutely requires
some type of special training, other indicators are better predictors of success.
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Resumes continued… Gaps in employment
Great people find jobs in any economy References
Look for those who list past supervisors as references, either way you need them. These people are proud and not afraid for you to speak with their past bosses
Cover letters I don’t read these until I am serious about a candidate,
before the first in person interview. Pay history
Visualize whether this person fits your pay range based on their experience, education and credentials. Are they overqualified?
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Phone screen Make them feel comfortable
Briefly discuss what you do and the position
Find out what they know about your company and the position, don’t worry if they don’t know much. The ones that know a lot give them a gold star.
Do a chronological interview, find out about all their jobs what they did and why they left. Find out pay history, and future expectations. Manage your time with this one.
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Phone Screen continued…. Discuss deal breakers
Money Commute Schedule Missing relevant skills Criminal or Credit background issues Driving record Lack of good references- Make sure candidate knows you
will be checking these upfront
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Phone Screen continued….
Give them an opportunity to ask questions, the type of questions they ask tell you a lot. Take note of these.
Keep it short, under 15 minutes
Reiterate the next steps and set the expectation.
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Skill or other testing This is a great time to give candidates a skill test
or multiple skill tests. If they pass then you know they are worth spending more time with.
Special assignment For more advanced positions you may want to give them
a mini assignment to work on. A coding project or develop a marketing idea. The quality and thoughtfulness of the work is what is most important. Do not mark candidates down for having a poor idea.
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In Person Meeting Keep pleasantries short, but don’t skip this step.
Be prepared and professional, don’t be late or take phone calls if possible.
Have your interview questions ready. Focus these on accomplishments and work history.
Have follow up questions from the phone screen ready to dig deeper in to areas you have questions about.
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In Person Meeting… Give the interview at least 20 minutes before
passing any judgment
If you like the candidate at the end give them a quick tour, introduce them to a few folks along the way see what happens
Have them do the more in depth assessments at this time.
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Two Really Good Interview Questions What is the most significant
accomplishment you have made in your professional career?
If you got this job how would you handle this problem or significant challenge?
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What is the most significant accomplishment you have made in your professional career? What challenges did you overcome?
What was the result of the accomplishment? Why were you chosen? What was your title and title of those you worked with? What skills did you use to accomplish this task? What was your plan for achieving this goal? How did you
contribute to the creation of this plan? Do have examples of where you used initiative? Do you have examples of how you coached or mentored others? When did you have to influence and persuade others? What conflicts did you face and resolve? How did you grow through out this process? What was your favorite and least favorite part of this project? Did you receive recognition for your efforts?
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If you got this job how would you handle this problem or significant challenge? This is a give and take. An opportunity to work
through a real problem or challenge in an open environment.
Give the candidate some tools and information to assist.
Present this question in the phone interview give the candidate some time to ask questions and prepare. Look for the candidate to ask good questions
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Second Interview Interview to get more info on questionable areas Include a new leader in your organization, make
sure hiring manager is there too Take advantage of interview questions provided
from their test results Questions this day should be more behavior
questions touching on soft skills or other qualities that are important to success in the position.
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What’s next? Reference checks
Introduce yourself, make friends if you want this person to open up to you.
Have some basic questions ready, that cover attitude, competency overall ability. Ask good follow up questions to uncover the whole story
Ask about areas you had concerns about in the interview process. If you hit a sore subject you’ll be surprised how candidate they will get.
Check social media, web for issue with candidate
Back ground check, drug screen, credit issues
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Fourth Contact More follow up interviews
Dinner with spouses
Completion of assigned or presentation
Making the offer