Take time to effectively interview, research potential employees

by:Barbara Bauer

Chances are you can easily recall hiring promising employees whose lackluster performance proved to be a bitter disappointment. Your gut tells you that this new employee is going to work out great, but after he/she's landed the job and you've invested months of training, salary and benefits, some unanticipated behavioral problems surface. You're left feeling frustrated and wondering why you hired the person in the first place.

Hiring smart is more than using your gut instinct. Every company makes hiring mistakes--ones that cost money. But turnover can be avoided. Here are some tips to help you discover the art of hiring smart.

Recruiting. Running a "help wanted" ad in the classifieds section of the Sunday paper could be a big waste of time and money if your ad isn't carefully worded and targeted. Simply noting the computer knowledge needed, basic duties and salary range doesn't work, though that's what most employers do. Carefully consider the abilities, personality traits and attitude needed for the job. If you need a high-energy employee who can think fast on his/her feet and quickly close deals, be sure to include words such as "fast-paced," "challenging," "independent" and "assertive." Your ad will attract the more competitive, aggressive job seekers and scare off non-competitive applicants.

Using technology. "E-cruiting," or using the Internet to recruit candidates, is becoming an increasingly powerful recruiting tool. With field-specific job boards, dozens of Web pages for recruiting and staffing firms and online trade classifieds, more and more job seekers are using the Internet. As with the newspaper, though, be sure to use the right words to attract the type of person you need. Using words such as "dedicated," "team-player," "careful" and "professional" will result in a lot of resumes for administrative assistants and marketing staff but will not attract a top-notch sales candidate. Here's a tip: Look carefully at the personalities and paces of the best people currently working for you before writing your ad. There are several behavioral assessment tools available to identify the common characteristics of your top performers. Use your top employees as benchmarks for new hires. Workers who lack specific skills and knowledge can be taught these skills. Pace or personality traits aren't likely to change.

Preparing for the interview. Poor preparation leads to poor performance. As simple as it seems, this is one of the most common hiring mistakes. Most people simply "wing it" and don't interview enough people each year to be especially good at it. By carefully structuring your application and interview process, it's easy to establish a relaxed, flowing interview--one that seems more like a lengthy conversation than a Q & A session.

First, review the resume ahead of time. Many poorly planned interviews begin with the company representative reading the resume in front of the applicant! Take a few minutes to peruse the resume and cover letter--even if it is while the applicant completes your employment application, personality profiling tool, reference sheet and background screening releases. You can plan your questions, look for warning signs and appear more confident and professional.

Be careful not to overlook what the resume doesn't reveal. Fortune magazine reports that 66% of all job applicants stretch the truth on their resumes. Candidates "forget" to list jobs from which they were fired, they adjust employment dates or they embellish job responsibilities. Some warning signs to look for are listed below:

Dates of employment. Candidates who list only the years (rather than more specific dates) may be masking short-term employment. For example, a candidate indicating that he/she worked as an analyst from 1997 to 1999 may have been on the job for only one year, beginning December 1997 and leaving January 1999. Also, look for gaps between jobs and analyze the number of jobs held.

Career progression. Look carefully to see if the candidate held positions with increasing responsibilities or if he/she simply changed employers without changing jobs. He/she may have bounced around from employer to employer, indicating a lack of commitment, ambition, accomplishment or career direction. Also, be sure the resume includes detailed information about the job, not just the job title.

Credentials. Attending a university, qualifying for licensure, and completing certification paperwork does not necessarily mean that the candidate graduated from college, earned a professional license or received accreditation.

Questioning. When "winging" the interview, many people fail to prepare questions that provide solid clues about the applicant's competitive nature or follow-up ability. The interview ends up being a review of the candidate's work history and a lengthy narrative about the job opening. Prepare a list of questions before the interview. This not only helps you encourage the applicant to share more about his/her skills, knowledge and experience, it also allows you to get similar information from each candidate.

Consider dividing the interview among several people--one to probe the candidate's past and one to determine why he/she is available and discuss career goals. Use open-ended questions, those that begin with statements such as "Tell me about a time when ..." or "Give me an example of ..." Be sure that every question is job-relevant. Following is a list of sample questions to ask a candidate while interviewing:

Be sure you know what you are looking for in the answers. If you are looking for a patient, detail-oriented employee, the answers will be quite different from those from an upbeat, enthusiastic, and personable individual. Again, using your current employees as benchmarks helps.

Profiling. Even the most impressive resume and interview won't always tell you if a candidate is a good match for a specific position, workplace and management style. The best profiling tools are those that are easy to complete and provide an easy-to-understand report. These reports can help you understand the motivators, strengths, and challenges unique to each individual--information that is difficult to obtain from an interview. Profiling helps you measure "job-fit" by comparing the candidate to the job and workplace. Be sure to select an assessment tool that uses your company and your job for comparison purposes, not one that bases the assessment on a generic job description. The better profiling tools use professional analysts, not computer-generated reports.

Background checks. It's amazing how many employers bypass this important step in an effort to save time or money! But hiring an employee with a fraudulent resume or criminal history could put your company at risk for negligent hiring suits. A careful review of an applicant's history also can help protect your employees, customers and business from embezzlement, theft, harassment or other difficult situations.

A recent study by Omnia Background Search found a discrepancy between information provided by the applicant and information obtained through background searches in nearly one-third of the candidates screened. Verify even the most basic information--education, certification, licensure, etc. Some jobs, such as CPA or LPN, require specific licenses and coursework. Depending upon the job, you also may want to verify the applicant's criminal record and check for any worker's compensation claims. For jobs such as teller, accountant or financial planner, check the candidate's credit history. If a person does a poor job of handling his/her own finances, how will he/she handle yours?

Be sure to conduct personal references, asking for more than just dates of employment. In addition to asking questions about the candidate's work performance, ask how well he/she handled stressful situations, adapted to change or related to co-workers. Answers to these questions provide valuable clues about the candidate's temperament and ability to work with others. Don't forget the single most important question to ask a reference: "Would you allow the applicant to work on your team again?" A reference that refuses to answer or provides a negative response imparts some very valuable information.

When conducting background and reference checks, you might be tempted to handle them yourself to save money. Resist the temptation. Rely on a professional background search group that knows exactly where to get the information quickly, easily (and cheaply) and how to read the reports. Take advantage of background search firms whose final report summarizes the data in an easy-to-read, jargon-free format.

Finally, the offer. It is important to seal the deal with a handshake, but don't skip the details. Put the offer in writing and mail it to your new hire. Not only will your new employee feel valued and needed, but this simple step also will help make sure that the details are clearly understood from both sides.

Barbara Bauer is a Consultant for the Omnia Group, an employee selection and management consulting firm. The Omnia Group, based in Tampa, has nearly 12,000 clients in 15 countries. If you aren't currently using the Omnia Profile®, a complimentary Profile and interpretation will be provided to readers who call Barbara at 1-813-571-7998 and request one.