Theresa,
When you say major career opportunity websites, I assume you are talking about sites like Career Builder. If not, please let me know. Doing your homework on candidates is an important part of the process. You don't want to be surprised once you bring them into your organization. Both formal and informal reference checks needs to be a part of the process, as well. By that I mean using your network to investigate work history. It may be someone who is not on the reference list but may have information or be willing to share information regarding a former employee. Sometimes those references are better than those that the employee provides.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Vanessa,
Testing can give you a whole different view of the candidate. We used a consulting firm to profile our best employees. Using that profile, that firm conducts phone interviews with the candidates to see whether or not they display the traits that we have found to be present in our "best" employees. This is just one step in the process and does become a screening device for us.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We have used a variety of methods but what we have found what works well is having a panel interview with the managers and all applicants present. It has helped us in finding the best candidate. We have also developed a test based on the position to see who can answer the questions the best.
Don,
Using a variety of sources is always the best policy. Referrals are an inexpensive way to recruit even if you do pay a referral fee. Knowing the referring employee gives you a sense of whether or not you can trust their judgement in recommending others. If you current employee is a good organization fit, has a good work ethic, etc., the candidate referred will probably have some of those same qualities.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Our recruitment practices include posting the open position on major career opportunity websites, internal notices, and referrals. I find that the career opportunity websites provide us with the ability to gain a lot of information about the applicant or pre-screen candidates to those truly interested in the position. Internal notices and referrals tend to leave a lot to be discovered about the applicant due to the fact that most of the details about their work history is left out sometimes until after they have been hired. I believe that the traditional post/interview process works best than word of mouth recommendations.
We use a variety of ways to recruit qualified staff. I feel that the best practice is the referral from employees who know the job description and who you would trust from their conduct as employees. You will know who is looking out for the benefit of the team and the company. Of course the final decision is on you whether the referral is a good fit or not.
James,
I totally agree. You shorten the learning curve when you hire or promote from within. Having a program which develops internal candidates for promotional opportunities builds loyalty as well as a pool of possible candidates as positions open up. It also builds morale and employee satisfaction. Recognizing the potential in your faculty and staff is commendable.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Our practices focus on developing candidates from within; we encourage our staff to strive for the next level. Our teaching assistants are developed into becoming instructors, then into management positions. I have opened up campus positions to our entire school group of 30 campuses to see if anyone was interested in transferring, I feel that our program benifits from having faculty and staff that is very familiar with the curriculum that we teach.
Melodee,
I am not familiar with alumni page, but recruiting from and through you alumni is a good approach. You want to make certain that graduates have had an opportunity to work in their field generally before you hire them, especially if they will be teaching or mentoring students. How do you have candidates demonstrate their interpersonal skills and habits?
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Erin,
It sounds like you have a good process in place at your campus. Using multiple sources will give you a variety of candidates from which to choose. Some sources will be better for certain positions than others. Over time you will learn which source to use thereby saving you on your recruiting costs.
So much time is spent working in teams that your secondary interview process is great for weeding out those who might not be good team players. Organization fit is a key factor in hiring for any position these days. Since you generally have your pick, you do not need to settle for a warm body.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We primarily use internet services like craigs list and alumni page. We hire graduates from our school, and professionals who have worked in the field and have experience and demonstrate professional, interpersonal skills and habits.
We use several methods for getting the word out, be it a site like Monster or Career-Builder, a local site like Craigslist, as well as internal announcements.
When interviews are scheduled, we usually have a primary interview with the Campus Director, and secondary interviews are conducted in front of a panel of additional team members. This gives the rest of the staff the chance to weigh in on decisions, based on the ability of the candidate to work with other departments, etc.
I feel the group interview really allows the candidate to meet more staff members and get a feel for whether or not they'd like the environment. It also helps to have more people to promote the workplace.
Jeff Mann,
Your comments make perfect sense. One cannot change the intangibles because they are really part of one's personality.An employee might try to make adjustments after becoming aware of an issue but typically they will revert back to what created the problems in the first place.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We have used a wide variety of recruiting tools to help create an initial talent pool for a position. However, recruiting from our student data base has proven to be the most effective as measured by outcomes and longevity. The advantage, we are able to observe the person in many type of scenarios which gives us a good “read “ on the intangibles, work ethic, integrity, people skills. Etc. I am of the belief that task’s can be taught,if your working off the right foundation. It is my experience that the lack of the intangibles creates more of a management concern, then lack of experience or previous job outcomes.
Lauren,
You are right on target. We, too, are finding many more applicants for each position and many more who are not qualified. It seems that many people simply don't take the time to read the job description and, if they do, assume they are qualified if they meet some of the qualifications. I guess there are those who hope that we won't find anyone else so will accept them as that warm body to fill the position. That well written job description allows you to set the standard and maintain it.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Yes Dr Kapper I agree with you regarding the well written Job Description. With our unemployment so high in the US and so many people out of work I feel many individuals are just applying for any job that is available. The economy is so tough that from what I see with applicants they will drive further distances, take less pay and hope that somehow they will qualify for the job.
Craigs list does not do any type of screening or catagorizing of the resumes. This makes for an abundance of responses and resumes.
Lauren,
You are the first to mention Craig's List for recruiting candidates. I guess that is another possible source for creating your pool. Although some will apply for anything, whether or not they have the qualifications, a well designed job description is key. That helps to screen those many applications and getting the number down to something more reasonable.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We use Craig's List and employee referrals.
We end up getting hundreds of responses and and many of them do not meet the job or salary requirements.
Our best candidates are from our employees who best understand our business and what type of individual we need to fill the position.
I believe a source such as Monster may be better suited for the best qualified candidates.
Holli,
Not knowing specifically the kinds of positions for which you are recruiting, it is difficult to recommend a particular source. However, referrals are usually a good source. At least the individual has been identified as a good potential candidate. Someone has seen their work habits and thinks they might be a good fit with your organization.
Professional associations are another possible source. Usually those organizations are career specific and that might cut down on applicants who are not qualified for the position. Of course, this whole process needs to begin with a detailed job description against which you screen all of your candidates. Minimizing the number of qualifications which are "preferred" vs. those which are "required," should result in better qualified candidates. You will always have those who apply for everything regardless if they meet the qualifications or not.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
we mainly use Career builder for getting resumes. While I dont dislike Career builder I feel overwhelmed by the amount of resumes we get and the quality of the applicants. Even though we specify certain requirements I believe people are applying for everything and anything these days. Just my opinion. I do like Linked lately I find it to be geared more to the individuals assets. Just my opinion.
