The Hiring Success 18 conference is rapidly approaching and, of course, we’ll have all the top speakers, influencers and professionals you’d expect from HR tech’s biggest event. On top of all that, we’ve also planned something rather special.

SmartRecruiters will break new ground in the HR-tech space by launching our first annual Hiring Success hackathon. The event, which runs from March 13th-14th, will see 10 teams of SmartRecruiters customers going under the hood, and head-to-head, to create the next great SmartRecruiters feature.

Jumping into a hackathon can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’re not a master developer or coder. However, whereas hackathons traditionally cater towards these professions, SmartRecruiters want to change things up by extending the invitation to anyone who’s ever wanted to make a change to our platform.

With that mind, we’ve compiled seven tips which will help any hackathon newbies survive, and enjoy their first time.

Develop Your Ideas In Advance

We start with perhaps the most important tip of all: prepare an idea. It doesn’t have to be a fully fledged plan with pie charts and Powerpoint slides, but you should at least come to a hackathon armed with some kind of basic premise. It could even be as basic as identifying a problem with a piece of existing software, therefore allowing you to direct the entire team’s brainwaves towards finding a solution.

Additionally, try to develop your idea into a quick and snappy elevator pitch. This will help you quickly and clearly explain it to your teammates, an important tactic in the hectic opening minutes of a hackathon.

However, do not be too precious with your idea. Let others suggest theirs, or make adjustments to yours. Perhaps they have some experience or expertise which could prove invaluable. Remember: hackathons are collaborative events.

Get a Decent Night’s Sleep

Hackathons, as the name suggests, are extended gruelling exercises design to test both your speed and endurance. Usually they’re at least 24 hours, but can run as long as 48. With this mind, it’s going to pay to get a decent night’s sleep before things kicks off. Although it’s quite possible to sleep during the event, it’s not guaranteed and any sleep you do get will not be particularly restful.

Instead, perhaps stay in and work on your idea, or even better, just chill out and watch your favorite TV show. You’re not going to get much ‘me’ time during the actual hackathon, so don’t be afraid to pamper yourself before you dive into the coding chaos.

Swot Up on Some Coding Lingo

By no means are hackathons only the domain of coders and developers. In fact, non-technical team members can often be instrumental in other ways, such as managing the project and directing team members.

Having said that, if you’re not a developer, it wouldn’t hurt to learn some of the basics of their work. This doesn’t necessarily mean writing code, but it would be helpful to know some of the lingo behind building a product. This will speed up communication and avoid you spiralling into a mire of confusion.

Keep It Simple

The objective of a hackathon is not to create a complete, glossy and expansive app. There just isn’t enough time for that. Instead, aim to create a functional product with features which clearly address the problem you identified. Not only is this easier to produce, it’s also easier to sell to the judges during your presentation.

Building a fancy product with great user experience and all the bells and whistles might look good, but there’s no guarantee it’s going to win against a basic, well-defined and functional app. In a hackathon, a working product is always better than a pretty one.

Don’t Forget To Eat, Drink and Rest

It might sound strange, but once you’re stuck into a hackathon, it’s easy forget about your basic human requirements.
Hydration, in particular, is critical to keep all your systems going. Failing to attend to this will result in sluggishness, lack of creativity and probably headaches. So, make sure you always have a bottle of water on the go. Additionally avoid energy drinks and sugary treats as much as possible. They might give you a temporary boost but in the long run you’re probably going to end up crashing.

Beer is a controversial subject. Traditionally, it goes against the above mentioned hydration rule, but for some it can improve cognitive functions – to a point. In fact, it has often been a drink of choice among coders, even leading to a phenomenon known as Ballmer’s Peak. Named after Microsoft developer Steve Ballmer, this suggests that chugging a couple of brewskies can endow the drinker with a peak in performance, although continued consumption predictably results in a massive decline. According to anecdotal evidence, the sweet spot lies somewhere around two pints. A University of Illinois study even confirmed its existence, and suggested a blood alcohol level of 0.075 is ideal. Don’t over do it though, no one likes working with a hangover.

Rest, even if it’s not full-blown slumber, is also of critical importance. If you’re struggling with a line of code, or you find your eyesight going a bit blurry, it might be time for a bit of a rest. This could be anything from a five minute wander around the room, to a 20 minute micro-sleep or an hour long extended chill-out. It might seem like a waste of time, but you will generally perform much better after returning from a break than trying to break through a wall.

Communicate

When working with any team, communication is key. This is especially true for a hackathon where you might be working with new people and in a compressed, and potentially chaotic, period of time. Of course, with only 24 hours to work you can’t afford lengthy arguments, miscommunications or continued explanations. This means, as well as being able to communicate clearly, you need to employ patience with other teammates, especially towards the end of the project.

Furthermore, if you’re feeling confused, do not be afraid to ask questions. It will make everything smoother in the long run.

Perhaps most importantly of all, don’t forget to laugh. Sure, there might be some money on the line, but at the end of the day, hackathons should be an opportunity for making new contacts, trying out ideas and having fun. Losing your patience, manners and sense of humor is the antithesis of this.

Don’t Forget To Bring The Essentials

Although food and drink is generally provided at most hackathons, you’re still going to need some vital equipment to get through the day.

Perhaps most critically of all, remember to bring your laptop, tablet or whatever other gizmo (and their chargers!) you’re going to need to get through the day – otherwise embarrassment will ensue.

If you think you are going to try and grab some shuteye during the contest, you’ll probably also want to bring a sleeping bag or blanket.

Finally, a change of clothes is probably also a good idea, especially if you have been selected to present your project to the judges. Although not essential, you (and everyone else) likely appreciate a non-funky T-shirt after a long days hacking.

Want to put these tips to the test? Well, grab your tickets for Hire18 and register for your first-ever hackathon. Head over here to find out the rules and how to get involved.

One of the first things that stand out is the LinkedIn profile picture. Leaving your profile photo blank is not a good idea. According to LinkedIn, your profile is 7 times more likely to be viewed if you have a photo. What kind of photo? A simple head shot will do – but make it professional, not personal. There’s no need for a goofy pic of you with your pet, OR you on the hood of your 1982 Pontiac Trans Am OR making kissy faces in front of your bathroom mirror. Remember this is a professional photo. Don’t follow in these folks:

2. Contact Info and URL

How can folks get in touch with you if you don’t give them basic contact info? LinkedIn has several options to choose from. Users can list their email address, IM, physical address and contact number as well as up to 3 websites including a direct Twitter profile link. I’d also recommend taking advantage of the personalized URL option. Make it as colloquial and visually friendly to the business card as possible (example right). Instead of being stuck with the generic user ID number, customize the URL by simply making it your name such as linkedin.com/in/davidnicola.

To do this, you must first be in “edit mode.” Click on “edit” next to your existing LinkedIn link in the contact section.

On the right hand side of the next page, click on “Customize your public profile URL.” Doing so will open a new small window to edit your direct link. Lop off the existing user numbers and click “Set Custom URL”. Once saved, you can now cut and paste this link into your resume, making it convenient for potential employers to learn more information about you.

3. Skills

LinkedIn has a very large auto-fill library of skills to choose from. This section allows up to 50, but don’t think you need to have 50. Identify and target your core set of skills to best fit your industry and/or experience. When thinking about your proficient traits, consider different skill categories:

Hard Skills – These are the types of specific skills you’ve acquired that are industry-based and can be taught, learned or trained. They represent the minimum amount of essential abilities needed to successfully function in a job. These are often the first set of identifiers that employers use to screen candidates.

Soft Skills – These describe your professional set of core values and interpersonal abilities. They can include characteristics such as honesty, integrity, flexibility, positive attitude, creativity and most importantly, communication – both written and verbal. If a skill you have is not listed on LinkedIn, you can always add it yourself.

Lastly, I believe LinkedIn should not replace your resume but can rather act as a supplement to it, providing an online resource of your skills and experience. There are other profile sections to explore and complete if you choose to do so (Summary, Experience, Education, Volunteer Work, Honors & Awards, etc.). And with anything else, the more time spent learning LinkedIn, the more comfortable you’ll be navigating its other features.

Happy exploring!

David Nicola has over 15 years of experience in various Human Services fields. He currently serves as the Career Services Director at Laurus College. You can also follow him on Twitter and connect on Google+. 

SmartRecruiters is the hiring platform, everything you need to source talent, manage candidates and make the right hires.

By now you must have heard the term Candidate Experience, and possibly even the nonprofit organization that started the Candidate Experience Award.

Companies spend a hell of a lot of time and money to have the most sophisticated Applicant Tracking System, a cutting edge career site and the most advanced HR technology to help build their brand and provide a better candidate experience. Unless you chose SmartRecruiters, in which case all of those features are free.

But who truly owns Candidate Experience?

Most companies goof up thinking that having the most advanced technology will help make the recruiting process simpler and easier. And to some extent it is true, if you are a Fortune 500 company and get thousands of applications a day. But for the candidates, it goes beyond making it easy to submit their resume and information; it is an experience for them to make a connection with you, the position that they have enthusiastically applied for, to know about your organization and finally make a decision to join your family. So for them, the experience moves through your employer brand with a click on your career site, exchange of emails, phone calls, and continues when he or she steps inside your organization! Having said that, I must say nothing can replace a realistic human interaction! So your recruiters and hiring managers are the ones who own candidate experience.

And if you are going to argue that technology can fill the gaps due to lack of a human connection in the recruitment process, that’s not gonna work!

Don’t treat Candidate Experience as just the next buzz word in HR/recruiting industry! Just as customer is king in the consumer industry, candidates are the king in the job market. Ask me why?

They are the talent who can make or break your organization. While finding the right candidate is often challenging, getting them to join your organization can often be more overwhelming in a tough competitive jobs market. And keep in mind the candidates decide to join your organization or not, based on how well you treat them, how well informed they are throughout the process and mostly importantly if they are not treated just as leads! But as humans!

How should a Recruiter or Hiring Manager own the Candidate Experience?

Make a difference: Be human! Put yourself in your candidate’s shoes and treat them how you want to be treated – with dignity and respect. They are just people like you who approached you to get help in their career transition. Help them reduce their stress during their journey with you and make the entire process exciting from start to finish.

Build Relationships:  When candidates submit their resume they might be getting an automated email but make sure to lift your phone and call the candidate to let them know if they have reached a particular stage like being shortlisted and considered for an interview. Every recruiter or hiring manager should talk to their candidates a least once before they are called for an interview. Engage your candidate by updating them with the status of interview process. Build a relationship that both parties remember for the better.

Provide Transparency: Let them know what the hiring process looks like, how long they need to wait to get a response and who they would be interviewing with. By giving transparency you are helping them make their decision faster by letting them know about your organization’s culture, work atmosphere, who they will be working with and how the job can help further their career.

Do what you say: If you promised them they will get a call from you next week, call them next week! Doing what you say makes them believe that you are part of an organization where credibility and integrity matter. And one that values other’s time and effort. Your recruiter brand matters as much as the company brand.

Provide insights: Now what if the candidate has not been selected after going through all the process or if you finally decide that he or she would not be a right fit for the position? Give them feed back! They would love to get valuable insights into what kind of skills they need to improve on when they look for the same job profile in similar industry. Provide them with details that they can use to learn about the position, organization or your industry. You never know, but they could be an excellent fit for another position that opens up in the future or they might even refer their friends too!

Nisha Raghavan – Your HR Buddy!!  is an Talent Management Professional and blogger who likes to paint her thoughts with the shades of HR. She writes about Work Culture, Social Media, Organization Development and Employee Engagement Initiatives. Connect with her on Twitter @Thehrbuddy.

The slogan of my community, AristocracyHR,  is, “HR Otherwise Would Be Uncivilized.”  That is to say that practices that are anything other than smart, common sense, innovative, and humane in application would be uncivilized and therefore lacking the value that an effective HR function should provide.

Anyone who is hired at a company is usually brought in through the recruitment group or the group eloquently called Talent Acquisition. Talent Acquisition from my perspective is the alpha and omega of HR and the entire organization. Any misstep by them and it is a grave reflection on the rest of the bunch.

The interesting thing is Talent Acquisition is only as good as the resources put into the function by decision makers. If poor practices are handed down from the top; it will be passed on to jobseekers and later to new hires. We can get into the conversation about who should nudge who when it comes to shaping the organization so that it exudes culture and value at a later date. However, there are a few things that have occurred to me in my travels around HR; some best practices that that can make every company’s hiring strategy civilized.

Here are five tips for deploying a successful hiring strategy in 2013:

1)     Pay particular attention to the “human” aspect of human resources and make sure that every process, policy, practice, initiative, and experience takes on a “human” perspective. All too often, organizations get wrapped up in a law, a piece of compliance, policy, and let’s not forget their bottom-line. I’m not saying look at every situation with rose colored glasses. I’m simply saying to stop and think about how this new initiative or way of doing things will affect the human that will ultimately live through it. Heck, ask an employee or two before you roll out one of your masterful plans- you may be surprised at their answer.

2)     Embrace technology, but do not overcomplicate it. Whether it is your applicant tracking system or your new employee self service rollout. By all means spring into the 21^st century, but be mindful that everyone is pressed for time and attention span. Make anything you do with your technology for hiring is intuitive and simple. It should not require a 2,000 page manual and a Computer Science degree.

3)     Stop wasting jobseekers time. Yes, I said it. Stop showing up to job fairs with no jobs or jobs no one there could qualify for. If no one out there is good enough to do your job openings, pull the posting and wait for the backlash of the employees that are now overburdened with the extra work. My point is stop the cheap tricks. People talk and they aren’t as dumb as you think. Actually they aren’t dumb at all. They can see the trick coming before you say, Ta-da! This right here will kill your brand and any chances you have of attracting top talent.

4)     Put the dollars and cents behind the strategy. The companies whose hiring strategies have impact are the ones who are putting dollars and cents behind the strategy. That doesn’t mean be foolish in spending your money – it simply means money well spent within the hiring function can do wonders for your recruitment and employer branding efforts. Like most budgets, there is almost always an area where money is wasted either on a worthless initiative or just because the money has to be spent before the end of your fiscal year. Putting money behind the strategy can be as simple as springing for a continental breakfast at a local venue for new hire orientation or advertising the opening on a new niche website. It sure beats the humdrum, transactional orientation you hold in a conference room where the highlight of the new hire’s day is signing up for benefits and boring presentations.

5)     Check in with your employees (whether new or tenured) before they check out. People get hired, they get an offer letter, they arrive for orientation, they report to their departments and then they disappear into the deep, dark crevices of the organization. Things for that new employee usually goes well and they thrive. Yet other times they ask themselves one month into the job, what the heck am I doing here? It is an internal conversation that gets more infuriating with time, because no one has the courtesy to do a customer satisfaction check in. Without periodic interviews, an exit interview of tenured employee simply doesn’t tell the whole story. Do spot checks even if things look good from where you sit. You don’t want any Op-Ed’s floating around the internet airing out your dirty laundry or better yet you actually want to retain your employees.

Deploying a hiring strategy for 2013 without taking these five tips into consideration would truly make for uncivilized hiring and poor outcomes. If you can incorporate 50% of these suggestions, you will see a remarkable change in your employees and how job seekers see you. It’s all about making  many small strides for big results. Baby steps people, baby steps.

Janine N. Truitt (@CzarinaofHR) is an HR Professional based in Long Island, NY. Learn more of her expertise in Recruitment, HR Technology, Talent Management, Employee Relations, and HR Policy/Compliance on her blog, The Aristocracy of HR.

Choosing talent successfully will be the differentiator for your business in 2013. Success in the hiring context can be defined as minimizing cycle time to place great candidates and enabling those people to stay long-term in the environment.

Let’s put things in context. In Silicon Valley and Austin, my home town, the technical job market pendulum has already swung back to the candidates’ side. Things aren’t getting better, they’ve gotten better and it won’t get easier to find talent any time soon.

Qualified candidates have choices, just as you do, so don’t make assessment harder than it needs to be by following failed routines.

Over time I’ve seen successful hiring managers focus on three things exceptionally well over and over.

The top three?

1. Clarity
2. Engagement
3. Forecast

We’ve all had experience of placing strong talent only to be disappointed when they leave prematurely. Or worse, qualifying someone who can really help us yet who withdraws from the hiring process. See? Not success.

Why? Confusion and mistrust number among the chief reasons. Something was misstated, omitted, glossed over, etc., in the hiring discussions. Something probably attributable to the hiring manager. (While recruiters make communication mistakes too, quality candidates put far more weight on what hiring managers say.)

Assessment accuracy is dependent on clarity in hiring priorities, company needs and the work environment. Imagine how you’d feel as you interview for your next role if the manager was able to iterate succinctly those same things. Now, contrast that with the fuzzy enterprise-wide stories many candidates sit through with glazed eyes as managers repeat a rote script.

Candidates weigh the fit with their potential manager as much if not more than the attractiveness of the company itself. And no one wants to work for a manager who’s vague, inarticulate or unclear about priorities. Get your needs clear, and share them.

Engagement is perhaps the easiest of the top three to solve right away. Its simply a matter of focusing on each person on their own merits. Countless candidates have been lost because hiring managers were too busy, unorganized, stressed, etc., etc., to bother to prepare for the interview.

When the interview is approach a task – and not an engagement – your top candidates see and react to that viscerally.

The message you send when you don’t prepare is that the candidate really isn’t that important. Um; they think they are. And they should. Would you work for someone who couldn’t engage with you intelligently in an interview?

Engagement is preparation and execution. You know this stuff: read the resume, review the job qualifications, converse with (don’t grill) the candidate, talk less than half the time.

This is not new; recruiting is not rocket science.

Again and again, successful hiring managers honor candidates with real engagement to enable more objective assessment.

Finally, think ahead. Yes, there’s a role to fill today but where are you headed tomorrow? What are the things that keep you up at night?

Successful hiring is not just filling today’s need but in building an organic team that grows and adapts with changing circumstances. Looking for skills, interests and qualifications beyond the current need to identify candidates who have this capacity for personal growth. Forecasting some of tomorrow’s challenges prior to interviewing can sometimes spur that synchronistic bridge that lets you see more of a person’s value long-term.

Don’t just hire for today. Hire for tomorrow.

That’s it. Three things (clarity, engagement, forecast) when done well, over and over again, will soon become habit. This’ll empower you to make better assessments – and better hires – in 2013 and beyond.

Christopher de Mers, SPHR has been practicing human resource management for 20 years including leadership roles with Apple, Dell, P&G and The Home Depot.  He holds an MBA in Liberal Arts, is lifetime certified as an SPHR, and has taught HRCI certification at the University of Texas at Austin for ten years.

The post Don’t just hire for today. Hire for Tomorrow! first appeared on SmartRecruiters Blog.]]> https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/social-media-recruiting-your-facebook-guide/ Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:08:11 +0000 http://www.smartrecruiters.com/static/blog/?p=14799

There are over 900million users on Facebook, 50% of whom login everyday. There are a billion people on Facebook. Although Facebook is seen as one of the more personal and private social networks, it’s no longer just for friends and family. There are 4 million businesses on Facebook.  It is not just a place to […]

Much has been said (and to my chagrin), about recruiters who are money hungry, blood sucking, pieces of …well you get the point. I would like to believe that recruiters love what they do and genuinely look out for the best interest of their candidates. After all, we’re all in this business to better the careers and quality of lives of people, right? A little money earned by recruiters doesn’t hurt either….but…wait for it…wait for it…It’s not the end all be all for some of us. We as recruiters are looked at to advise, inform, coach, network and sometimes lend a sympathetic ear to candidates. This, my friends, is absolutely, without question why YOUR RECRUITER BRANDING MATTERS!

So what’s the big deal?! Why does our recruiter branding matter? Well for one, IT MATTERS because it’s not just a reflection of yourself, but a reflection of the company you’re working for! IT MATTERS because YOU are the extension of the employer brand of your organization.  IT MATTERS because it will help you build stronger professional relationships. IT MATTERS because it builds your credibility. IT MATTERS because you want jobseekers to want to work with you.

People will know if you truly love and have a passion for what you’re doing. This is the foundation of your brand.  Once you have mastered recruiting and have the love and passion for it, then DO YOU! Let your personality shine! Being an introvert in this business will NOT work.

After a candidate phone call or email, when they inevitably check you out online, you want them to see:

Here are 10 Tips to Build Your Recruiter Branding…

1. Don’t be afraid to let people know how passionate you are and how much you love what you do!

2. Be a Rock Star at what you do!  Nothing’s worse than a good BS’er who can’t deliver the goods.

3. Be transparent to the point where they know enough to be intrigued by you. Let your personality be known.

4. Don’t be afraid to share with people what you love and have a passion outside of your profession. I like to call this a “Fun Factor.” EVERYONE NEEDS THIS!

5. Be hungry for information and learn from others on an everyday basis.  Read, read, read…stay relevant and up to date in your industry.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask others, especially leaders, experts and influencers in your industry for help. Collaborate with other departments.

7. Take what you’ve learned from others and form your own style. This is what sets you apart from other recruiters.

8. ALWAYS be willing to help candidates and fellow recruiters out if they come to you for advice or help. This is part of how you build your credibility.

9. DO USE SOCIAL MEDIA to leverage all of the above. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Blogs, etc.  I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but the #1 rule of Social Media is NOT gawking at or….ahem, stalking others profiles. It’s about ENGAGING others.  If you don’t do this, YOU HAVE FAILED. Twitter is a great way to build credibility in the chats that are conducted such as #JobHuntChat J (Shameless plug).

10. Last but not least, stay humble and BE RAD!!

Your recruiter branding nowadays is vital to your career and very important when it comes to employer branding. You’re the front lines of your company and having an awesome recruiter branding just makes for good, smart business. If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and step your recruiter brand game up!  IT MATTERS!!! It really does! The Rad Recruiter…..OUT!

Mike Chuidian ( i.e. The Rad Recruiter) is a self proclaimed Social Media junkie, sneaker addict and a Hip Hop DJ with an infinite love for recruiting. Hailing from Orange County, he is Chief Culture Officer / Sr. Technical Recruiter for Systems Alliance Inc in Baltimore, MD, and an avid surf nut.

Recruitment in the federal contractor space is tricky. There are so many nuances and regulations that you need to abide by before you even get down to the actual recruitment. The government sees the federal contractor arrangement as a “privilege.” The privilege is that you – meaning the business – is privileged to do business with the government. In return for this great “privilege” there are expectations. The overarching expectation is that you will make every effort to hire women, minorities, veterans, and the differently-abled wherever possible. This doesn’t mean that for every position you must hire a woman, minority, veteran or differently-able person. It means you will make a good faith effort to make sure your hires are representative of the available pool. This means you need to make sure your applicant pool is diverse.

Please be clear this is not a quota system. It’s not about hiring one Asian, one African-American and one woman and patting yourself on the back. Your job isn’t done. In fact it is never done. The point of the OFCCP regulations as it pertains to federal contractors is it is a day-to-day guidance on hiring and recruitment efforts not a one-time effort. In this way, making sure your applicant pool is consistently diverse becomes a habit and not a numbers game. The guidance of the OFCCP is in place to eliminate inequity in hiring practices. While I’m no stranger to days of pulling my hair out trying to navigate this federal contractor space; I find the cause noble and quite simply the right thing to do.

Working in the federal contractor space doesn’t have to be grueling. If you look at it from an altruistic perspective, you will see benefits to the regulations. To ease the pain of your recruitment efforts, below are five tips on effective recruitment in the federal contractor space no matter what industry you are in:

 

1) Make sure your job description doesn’t overshoot requirements. This is important because you want to make sure that you are always hiring for the minimum knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to adequately perform the duties of the job. The duties of the position should have reasonable requirements attached to it. Asking for higher qualifications than the duties of the job requires could pose adverse impact.

2) Research and Post Job Openings Wisely. Do your due diligence by researching websites, associations, journals and other publications that cater to a diverse pool when looking for venues to post your positions (e.g. Society of Women Engineers). The more diverse the readership or subscribers are the more likely you are to attract diverse candidates. [Editor’s Note: SmartRecruiters is partnered with 100+ job boards and publications, and has aggregated data across 120,000+ jobs posted to predict the best performing job board for you.]

3) Get Up and Get Out There. Recruitment is more fun and best done out there in the world. Get out of the office and participate in diverse job fairs, university career center activities, join an association or local chapter of a national group. OFCCP is no longer interested in federal contractors posting to hundreds of diverse websites and calling this a good faith effort. They want recruiters and hiring professionals out there engaging with the industry professionals they seek. Involvement in these groups brings attention to your company and is yet another way of procuring a diverse applicant pool.

4) To the extent that it is possible – try to have a consistent hiring process. The OFCCP knows that the show must go on i.e.  your business must run. Every business is not made equal and has its own policies and procedures. However, they do take exception to inconsistent processes and procedures. Try to minimize the variability in your process to prevent unnecessary questions when audited.

5) Document Your Hiring. It is imperative that you document any and all good faith efforts made. It is equally important to document any deviations from your usual process so the what, when, who and why is answered when you are audited.

 

Janine N. Truitt (@CzarinaofHR) is an HR Professional based in Long Island, NY. Learn more of her expertise in Recruitment, HR Technology, Talent Management, Employee Relations, and HR Policy/Compliance on her blog, The Aristocracy of HR.

Hiring the right people starts with selecting the best candidates to conduct an interview.  Before even dialing that phone to set a phone or in person interview, recruiters and hiring managers sort through resumes looking for a handful of candidates that catch their eye.  Applications and resumes are innately flawed, and if you are looking for passion within a resume, you shouldn’t be looking at a resume.  These are made for the masses and are considered marketing documents made by inexperienced job seekers who have never been trained to articulate passion.  Even this is not so simple.

So you make your best educated guess and schedule five interviews with your top selections, and now you must squeeze out of them passion, hustle, transparency, and awesome in order to make the best hiring decision.

How to Interview

• Don’t Keep the Candidate Waiting.As I mentioned, candidates talk and it is likely that these job seekers know one another.  It’s okay to make an offer immediately if you know your candidate is the best of the bunch.  We all want to be wanted.  Extraordinary candidates have options.  Ask them who they are interviewing with and make the strongest offer possible.  Top job prospects are in demand and won’t stop interviewing for other jobs until they feel secure in their new role.

• Make Them Comfortable.  Interview candidates who are comfortable are more likely to disclose their real intentions and interests because they view you as a friend.  Don’t integrate them. Cross your legs, act informal, and sit in your chair in a casual manner.  You’ll be surprised at how it lightens the job seekers mood getting them to their real intentions and aspirations.

• Don’t Ask Trick Questions.  I hate these type of interviews.  It throws off the casual atmosphere you’ve worked hard to build.  While I recommend you sticking to an interview guide, don’t make it so obvious.  Quietly jot down notes but focus your eye contact on them instead of the paper.  Copious note takers make the interviewee very, very nervous.

• Focus on Their Passion. The talent war is heatsing up and skilled job seekers are more in demand.  These skilled candidates come with a higher price tag.  Mentorship and training programs can take an employee who is passionate about their work to rock star and skills employee status.  You can’t train passion.  These employees love what they do and are more engaged and productive.  Ask your interviewees about what they love doing.  Look for voice infliction and other cues that tell more of the story.  Many job seekers hire career coaches and are trained to answer questions to your liking instead of revealing who they really are.

• Be Honest.  There is nothing worse as a job seeker than getting excited about a job and being sold to during an interview only to find out the hiring manager was selling you something that didn’t exist at all.  If the job requires off hours or two to three weekends a month, be upfront about it. Don’t fake it because word travels fast.  Consider including a copy of the position’s job description when they arrive for the interview.  One unhappy new hire can contaminate your entire orientation class and result in negative feedback on sites like Glassdoor and social media.

Candidate courting and conversation shouldn’t really ever end, even after your employee’s first day.  Remember that the interview is as much for you, the hiring manager as it is the prospective employee.  Manipulation, tricks, and dishonesty are never the right foot to start off in any relationship.  They are certainly not the makings of a successful interview with an extraordinary person.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media.  She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs.  Also, connect with her on Pinterest @blogging4jobs. Photo credit by BillyZetsubou

Labor Day, for those lucky enough to have a job is about taking a day off. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky. On Labor Day, help a friend find a job.  As a volunteer for Give Labor Day you have the opportunity to help friend, former colleague, or stranger get one step closer to their potential employer.

Remember what it was like going to a job interview?  Sweaty palms. Self doubt. Wait, did I really just say that moments? Remind the job-seeker the best way to overcome the stress is to be prepared. They should know the ins-and-outs of the company and the responsibilities of the job they have applied to.  But more than anything, remind them to be themselves!

It will take fifteen minutes, and your find will appreciate the help. Be a Give Labor Day volunteer.

Below are some simple interview tips and questions to help prepare your friend for their big day.

Remind Them To:

• Research. 

  Be prepared by knowing as much about the company, interviewers, and job as possible.

• Come prepared with questions. Keep in mind you have every right to interview them as well. You need to make sure that the job, culture, and company is as much of a fit for you as you are to them.

• Be yourself! The company wants to meet you, not the person you think they want to meet. The interviewer will be able to read right through your bullsh*t if you put on an act.

• Standout.This is the best time to show off your experience, skills, and why you are the best choice for the job. Remember that the company is most likely interviewing other candidates so don’t be modest.

• Follow up.Send a note thanking the interviewer(s) for meeting with you. This shows an appreciation for their time, AND the fact that you are committed to the job.

Questions to Practice Answering:

• Why do you want to work here?

• What is your greatest weakness? Greatest strength? 

• What problems have you encountered at work? How did you overcome them?

• Are you a self-motivator? How much feedback does your ideal boss give?

• Describe your work style.

• If you were an animal which one would you be? (they are probably not going to ask you this, but it is good to throw in a few outside the box questions to keep the candidate sharp)

• What did you dislike about your previous job?

• What have you been doing since you were last employed?

• What interests you about this job?

• Why should we hire you?

*Keep in Mind – the more realistic the mock interview, the more prepared your friend will be! Volunteer on Give Labor Day.

Charlie Nelson is the Director of Business Development at SmartRecruiters, the free job board software that makes hiring easy.