Useful guidelines to hire the best candidates

Reliability of candidate’s resume is not 100% many a times the recruiter has to validate the credentials & statements tactfully.

Here are some tips you can use to ensure hiring the best candidate:

1.      Verify details: Cross check the dates, work history details etc. as given in the resume. Make sure you have a verification process in place and can double-check the facts given.

2.      Scrutinize:  Too much of job hopping, no sound reason for leaving an employer or even long periods of self employment. Anything and everything that raises the slightest doubt and does not have a proper explanation should be investigated further.

3.      Hiring Checklist:  The checklist for hiring an employee keeps your recruiting efforts on track and communicates progress to interested employees and the hiring manager.

4.      Pre-screening: You can determine whether their salary expectation is matching with your job. A skilled telephone interviewer will also obtain evidence about whether the candidate may fit within the organization.

5.      Background check & references: Effective background checks are one of the most important steps when hiring an employee. You need to verify that all the presented, sterling credentials, skills, and experience are actually possessed by your candidate.

6.      Social Networking Sites: Use social networking sites to get more information on candidate profiles. The information on public domains will help you verify the details submitted by the candidates in their resumes. The candidate's behaviour on social networking sites will also give an added insight into the person's nature, attitude and possible work ethic. (This is method is indeed proven one.)

7.      Skill Tests:  Make sure you take relevant skill test & just do not go by the resume statements.

8.      Intuition: Last but not the least, trust your intuition. Your intuition and sixth sense can judge about how right the candidates are than any physical verification process. If your sixth sense tells you something is not right, do not ignore it, but follow up on it.

Effective Interview Strategy for Interviewers

    Today, I will discuss on Structured interview pattern, which is planned in nature & formal in conduct. There are two type of interview i.e., Structured & unstructured interview. Since, I have worked in non-IT sector, so this session is mostly helpful for interviewing experienced employees in similar domain. I have implemented an interview strategy wherein initials rounds of interview is general & work related with HR & Managers, once the candidate is shortlisted, then we conduct a detailed discussion round with full preparation of what the organization wants & what are the goals of the candidate. 
Some common questions to be asked specially for senoir level management positions are listed below:

1.     How do you think we can achieve our organizational mission & goals.

2.     What responsibilities will be there at the level you have applied for.

3.     Strategic planning for projects/targets.

4.     Situational questions based on real time scenerio of the organization. 

5.     To what extend you have handled pressure in your last organization.

6.     What is passionating  about this industry & your job.

7.     What commitments you have towards your career & employer.  

      I have also prepared a checklist which has helped me in rating candidates on various parameters important for the position & relevant to the organization. Planning is very important for every professional in all the spheres of work, lack of proper planning leads to wastage of precious time. 

     Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

By Carl Sandburg