Recruiting the Best Person for the Job
Our website will enthusiam the candidates demostrating our atmosphere.
We also use staffing companies.
What type of recruiting practices or procedures does your school use? How effective are they? What do you believe is the best type of recruitment method?
Chris,
That is certainly a cost effective way to recruit. It's effectiveness is certainly dependent on the position for which you are recruiting, however. Some positions lend themselves well to hiring graduates. Other positions, like faculty, tend to be better served by hiring someone who is experienced in the field and can share that experience with the students.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Rachel,
Your post provides a different perspective regarding the interview. So often, we consider only our reaction to the candidate, but you are also looking at the relationship from the candidate's perspective. In an interview, it is really a two-way street. The candidate is assessing us just like we are determining their fit for our organization.
I also continue to agree with your support for multiple interviewers. Everyone reacts differently and it is important to hear those varying opinions.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Most of our recruiting is done by referrals from employees and recent graduates. We have found it effective knowing the quality of work the applicants have put forth as a student.
I believe that the best type of recruitment method is making sure a variety of people and methods are utilized. People tend use their own prejudice, so I believe that it is very important to utilize more than one interviewer within the process.
It is effective to have multiple interviewers because people are very diverse and their personalities, conversations, and questions may change as they interact with multiple people. I think that this allows the perspective employer to really get a full picture of their persective employee.
Arizona School of Massage Therapy does utilize mulitple interviews. Which I believe is very effective becuase it allows the interviewee to see many sides of the business as well as people they will be working with. It allows both parties to really get to see who they will be working with and what will be expected of them.
Sharon,
Someone earlier had mentioned Craig's list as an employee recruitment resource. I was surprised by this as, to my knowledge, the companies with which I have been associated had not used this resource. It does, however, make some sense. Obviously, you are generating lots of interest. A well-written job description is critical in order to be able to efficiently screen that many resumes.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
DENISE,
Wow! You are fortunate. Although you don't indicate a timeframe, posting a single position is low and rare. You are likely doing something right with such low turnover. Given that, you do seem to have a logical, effective process in place when it is necessary to recruit. The actual interview process needs to be as logical and planned. Preparation at every stage takes you one step closer to hiring the right/best person.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
My school uses Craig's list. We post and receive at least 80 resume's for a position. So we get a lot of qualifing canidates.
Our school goes through several resources, such as temp-to-hire agencies, monster.com, career builder, etc.
1) Before posting the position, the job description is reviewed by me and campus president, as well as my corporate director to ensure that the description of the position is accurate, but not overwhelming.
2) Resumes are reviewed and a group of candidates are compiled for the next step of the process, which is a phone interview.
3) Candidates who met our expectations based on their phone interviews are then invited for an in-person interview.
Fortunately, with my current position, we've only had to post a financial aid position once and were successful in finding a financial aid administrator who was able to meet our expectations.
April,
Recruiting the right person always begins with an assessment of the need for the position followed by the creation of a clear, concise job description. In your response, you mention getting the right fit. Organizational fit is difficult to assess but is very important if you want to hire the best person for the job. Have you found any effective way to make this determination?
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Making sure you recruit the right person, i.e. the right fit is important. Equally is finding someone with talent, not necessarily experience because you can always grow and mentor a hire.
Ken,
Through the interview process, it is important to get a sense of how the candidate will function on the job. One way to do that is through behavioral interviewing. Another technique is the script test. Both techniques require the candidate to describe how they would handle a particular situation. The interviewer then needs to exercise judgement regarding the appropriateness of the response. Knowing ahead of time some key elements that should be included in the response helps make that assessment easier.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Ken,
In order to be able to communicate the expectations, it is important to have a job description which thoroughly describes the job. In the rush of time, we often don't take the time to review and rewrite the job description if necessary before posting a position. But job responsibilities evolve over time and sometimes become reflective of the talents and skills of the individual in the position. Once this process of review is complete, it is easier to communicate expectations to the candidate.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
I really like how you include a script test with the manager. Having a real work world element probably gives the manager a excellent idea how the candidate will do in the real world/job.
I think that recruiting the right person is paramount. Communicating expectations from the beginning is also key to successful results.
Colleen,
Good response, Colleen. I agree with all of your comments. The one that always amazes me is Craigslist but others have shared how well that works for them as well. I like how you have approached the hiring of graduates. That has always been a concern of mine when campuses hire a recent grad who has little if any work experience. We have always prided ourselves on hiring faculty who are currently working in the field or have done so recently. The fact that they can bring real world experience to the classroom as opposed to research experience has been our forte.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We use many of the same methods mentioned in this thread: Advertising online (Craigslist, CareerBuilder), referrals from employees and hiring past graduates. If we are hiring for staff or faculty positions, the appropriate graduate will have suitable "past life" experience (our grads are often career changers) that makes them a fit for the job. We only look at more recent grads for reception or teaching assistant positions.
Employee referrals are great since they will usually have a good understanding of the culture of the company, but outside hires can often bring in "fresh blood" that is needed for perspective.
It's important to try several recruitment methods each time to try to bring in the best candidates.
Patti,
Students referrals are an excellent source of recruiting students. They may not be your best source for recruiting employees, however. Referrals from current employees are a better source of recruiting candidates for an open position. Employees know and understand the culture of the company. They know the job requirements and management's expectations. Knowing that, they can determine whether a friend or acquaintance might be a good match.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
I think student referrals are a good source of recruiting, career fairs.
