The hiring process is a difficult job even for the most seasoned employer, and things in this area have only become more difficult in recent years. So to perhaps make things a bit simpler, here are five guidelines to help employers improve their hiring efforts brought to you by the professionals at executive search firms.
Keep in Constant Communication: The first thing that employers have to remember is to stay in communication with their candidates. From that first contact point when an individual submits their resume the employer should be ready to respond; letting it be known that the resume has been received and will be carefully considered; letting them know if their resume has been declined or accepted; keeping them up-to-date throughout the whole process, giving them realistic time frames of when they can expect to learn more.
- Strategy in the Interview Process: Interviews are a complicated and stressful process not only for the candidate but for the employer as well. However, even as many employers might carry out their interviews on the fly, this already complex and trying process is only made all the more difficult by lack of planning. Strategy is an essential part of the interview process as, in order to effectively carry out these duties, the employer should know beforehand what questions they plan to ask and if they will be bringing in others to help assess the candidate.
- Don’t Wait to Debrief: One of the best practices an employer can make use of in the interview process is to bring in other employees or managers from the company to help make a better, more rounded assessment of a candidate, their skills and knowledge, and their compatibility with the company’s corporate culture. However, in order for this techniques to be truly effective those that participated in an interview should convene right after to share notes and thoughts on the individual, as waiting to do so will only dilute their first impressions and instincts.
- Don’t Make Things More Difficult Than They Have to Be: The hiring process is hard enough even when you break it down to the bare minimum steps; sourcing, resume review, interviews, making the job offer. Unfortunately, sometimes, these basic steps don’t seem to be enough and at these times employers find themselves adding extra stages to the process, adding extra steps to the interview process, making use of extra testing and assessment strategies, having top candidates shadow employees. And while all of these techniques can be highly valuable to helping the employer determine if they have the right candidate,
- Keep the Pace Up: From the candidate sourcing and executive search process, through resume assessments and interviews, there is a great deal of work that must be done. However, if employers are going to have any hope of keeping their most exceptional and talented candidates interested then they will have work quickly and stay focused. It happens far too often that employers will get tangled up in the struggle to find the perfect candidate, an individual who may not exist or that they may never find, and as a result wind up losing all of their other great candidates by dragging things out too long.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
