Finding the right person to hire for a specific role can be one of the hardest things to do. Not only do you have to be sure that you’re hiring the right person, but you also have to ensure their future fellow employees will get on with them also. There can be a high quantity of pressure resting on the shoulders of a recruiter. An array of factors makes the recruitment task that of a difficult one but there are a plethora of methods and techniques that can be used to put yourself in the best possible stead. Recruitment agencies specialise within distributing the right employee to fitting roles, and here is a list of tips they will use to fulfill their tasks sufficiently.
Envision a Fitting Candidate
The first thing to do before even meeting a potential candidate is to attain an understanding of the role and then try and envisage what you would deem as the ideal candidate. If you consider all the qualities that are required to succeed within the role you are interviewing for, it will become an easier process to develop a complete, well-rounded understanding of what sort of person is needed. Reflect on candidates that have been in the role before and weigh up what they did well and which attributes they brought to the table. Which characteristics did they possess that you would like the new candidate to mirror? Alternatively, think about where past candidates have gone wrong previously so that you know the traits to look out for in the new interviewee that are unidyllic. Also, proactively envision the pathway that the new hire would undergo. Will they be able to progress through the organisation?
Discover The Real Person
The best way to begin to fully understand someone is not via asking standard interview questions. Instead, the most preferable route would be to have an informal, casual conversation. Not only does this allow the candidate to become relaxed and talk more rationally, but they will also become comfortable and talk about their life and their interests etc, which more often than not is the most telling thing about a person’s persona. Give them the platform to speak as frequently and for as long as they desire – the more talking they do the easier it will be for you to formulate a well-rounded opinion on them. Don’t ever interrupt them when they are speaking as it may restrict them from talking to their full capabilities and if it makes them feel inferior, their answers may not be trustworthy; they will be trying too hard to impress. Try your best to use as many active listening skills as possible. Some active listening skills could be:
- Nodding
- Leaning forward
- Brief confirmations such as “I understand”, “Yes” and “Sure”
- Eye contact
The ability to demonstrate active listening skills will allow optimum comfortability within not only the candidate but yourself also, henceforth allowing the two of you to make the best-informed decisions at that moment.
Ask the Correct Questions
There is a never-ending list of questions that you can ask when interviewing someone for a potential role. However, the vast majority of them would not assist you in formulating an informed decision on whether the interviewee is the right man for the job. It is for that reason that you must ask questions that will force the recipient to uncover things about them. Think of questions that will allow them to open up about their experiences, personality, and attitude. Ask them how they have behaved in certain situations in the past and similarly ask them how they would behave in a certain situation in their potential new role. Their answers to these questions will be really telling as they must apply themselves to a situation quickly without panicking. For example, one question you could potentially ask is “Has there ever been a time when someone has refused to do what you have asked of them? How did you deal with this situation?” as this question allows the candidate to open up about a sticky situation in which their answer could imply a multitude of things about them. Moreover, if you fill the interview with questions that lean towards discussing expectations and goals then it will become easier to formulate an opinion on whether or not the candidate and company are on the same wavelength.
At the end of the day, there will never be a rigid set of guidelines you must follow when recruiting. This is because it is all dependant on which role you are interviewing for and who the candidate happens to be on the day. With such a vast array of roles and people out there, it is very hard to employ the perfect person. However, if you follow the above advice then you will be a lot closer to becoming a recruitment expert than you may think.
