INTERVIEWING -- PURPOSE

INTERVIEWING  --  PURPOSE

The telephone rings. It’s for you. An unknown voice provides an introduction and begins a conversation. “I’m pleased to tell you that after reviewing what seems to be at least a hundred applications you are one of those selected to be interviewed.”

Is this a moment of excitement or a moment of panic for you? The following ideas are designed to help you be a more successful interviewee.

What is the Purpose of an Interview?

An interview is a two-way exchange, a conversation, in which both participants have some goals.

The Interviewer wants to determine:

Can the candidate do the job?

Will the candidate fit in?

Is this the best candidate for the position?

The Interviewee wants to determine:

Do I want this job?

Can I do this job?

Does this job offer me the opportunities I want for advancement or experience?

To enhance your success at interviewing there are things you need to do before, during and after the interview.

Before the Interview:

1.     Read about the job/occupation.

2.     Interview people in the department

3.     Build your network

4.     Practice interviewing

5.     Dress for success

6.     Visit the organization

7.     Have an agenda, know what you want the interviewer to learn about you

8.     Anticipate what questions will be asked

9.     Know your Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Accomplishments

10.  Relate your KSAs to the position for which you are applying

11.  Know who is interviewing you

12.  Prepare and practice answers to typical questions

During the Interview:

1.     RELAX!

2.     Answer the questions using the “PROVE IT” Method

3.     Ask intelligent questions about the organization

4.     Don’t volunteer negative information about yourself

5.     Be honest

6.     Have eye contact with the interviewer

7.     Be believable, be yourself

8.     Say positive things about your former supervisors and working conditions

9.     Find ways to let the interviewer know you are a team player

After the Interview:

Evaluate the interview

a.     What questions were asked?

b.    What did you say that seemed to interest the interviewer?

c.     Did you present your Knowledges, Skills and Abilities well?

d.    Did you learn what you need to know about this job?

e.     What did you forget to say?

f.     Did you get a commitment from the interviewer?

g.    Do you know what the next step is in the hiring process?

Write a thank you note to the interviewer

Follow up

h.     Contact the interviewer for feedback

i.      Express your interest in the position even after the position is filled

Typical Interview Questions

The Boy Scouts are right. It does pay to “Be Prepared”

Develop and practice answers to these typical interview questions.

Use the “Prove It Method” to display your accomplishments that are pertinent to the job

you are being interviewed for.

The Prove It Method

1. Pick a skill.

2. Explain how you used it, giving specific examples, i.e., quantify and qualify the skill.

3. Use accomplishment statements to describe how you used this important skill.

4. Explain how it links up to the interviewer’s needs.

Explain how this skill/accomplishment will benefit the office/organization where you would like to work.

Interviewer’s Questions

1. Tell me something about yourself.

2. What do you like about your field? What do you dislike about it?

3. What are the most important considerations for you in choosing a job?

4. Why do you want to work in this office? Branch? Division?

5. What have you learned from your previous work experience?

6. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

7. What kinds of people do you like working with? What kinds of people do you dislike working with?

8. How do you react under pressure?

9. What are your long term goals? What do you see you doing five years from now?

10. Do you have any questions you would like to ask?

Questions You May Want to Ask

Since the interview is a two-way exchange, you may want to be prepared with some questions of your own. Consider the suggestions that follow but be sure to identify other questions that are important to you.

1. What would you consider ideal experience for this job?

2. If you had an ideal candidate, what skills and personal qualities would that person have?

3. What are the primary results you want to see from this position in the next year?

4. What are the criteria for measuring success for this position?

5. In what way does this position fit into the broader mission of this office?

6. Tell me about the reporting relationships involved with this position. To whom will I report, and in turn, to whom would they report?

7. What is the next step in the hiring procedure?

8. When can I expect to hear from you?

9. When will a decision be made?

10. When would you want me to begin working in this position?

212. RECRUITING

RECRUITING

·         Recruitment refers to the process of attracting, screening, and selecting qualified people for a job at an organization or firm. For some components of the recruitment process, mid- and large-size organizations often retain professional recruiters or outsource some of the process to recruitment agencies. ·                       The recruitment industry has five main types of agencies: employment agencies, recruitment websites and job search engines, "headhunters" for executive and professional recruitment, niche agencies which specialize in a particular area of staffing, or employer branding strategy and in-house recruitment. The stages in recruitment include sourcing candidates by advertising or other methods, and screening and selecting potential candidates using tests or interviews.

Agency types

On one end of the spectrum there are agencies that are paid only if they deliver a candidate that successfully stays with the client beyond the agreed probationary period.

On the other end of the spectrum there are agencies that are paid a retainer to focus on a client's needs and achieve milestones in the search for the right candidate, and then again are paid a percentage of the candidate's salary when a candidate is placed and stays with the organization beyond the probationary period.

Traditional agency

Also known as employment agencies, recruitment agencies have historically had a physical location. A candidate visits a local branch for a short interview and an assessment before being taken onto the agency’s books.

Suitable candidates are short-listed and put forward for an interview with potential employers on a contract or direct basis.

Headhunters

A "headhunter" is industry term for a third-party recruiter who seeks out candidates, often when normal recruitment efforts have failed.

They may use advanced sales techniques, such as initially posing as clients to gather employee contacts, as well as visiting candidate offices.

They may also purchase expensive lists of names and job titles, but more often will generate their own lists.

They may prepare a candidate for the interview, help negotiate the salary, and conduct closure to the search.

Niche recruiters

More and more we are seeing the emergence of specialized firms which only staff for a very narrow specialty. Because of their focus, these firms can very often produce superior results due to their ability to channel all of their resources into networking for a very specific skill set. This specialization in staffing allows them to offer more jobs for their specific demographic which in turn attracts more specialized candidates from that specific demographic over time building large proprietary databases.                  These Niche firms tend to be more focused on building ongoing relationships with their candidates as is very common the same candidates are placed many times throughout their careers.

The alternatives to agencies

          Hiring managers are beginning to realize that the recruitment process as run by the traditional recruitment agency is little more than placing the job advertising on a range of relevant online employment websites for their sector and then short-listing the best candidates from those who apply.

In-house recruitment

Under pressure to reduce costs, both large and medium sized employers tend to undertake their own in-house recruitment, using their human resources department, front-line hiring managers and recruitment personnel who handle targeted functions and populations.

In-house recruiters may advertise job vacancies on their own websites, coordinate internal employee referrals, work with external associations, trade groups and/or focus on campus graduate recruitment.

Some large employers choose to outsource all or some of their recruitment process however a much more common approach is for employers to introduce referral schemes where employees are encouraged to source new staff from within their own network.

Passive candidate research firms and sourcing firms

These firms are the new hybrid firms in the recruitment world able to combine the research aspects (discovering passive candidates) of recruiting and combine them with the ability to make hires for their clients.

These firms provide competitive passive candidate intelligence to support companies' recruiting efforts. Normally they will generate varying degrees of candidate information from those people currently engaged in the position a company is looking to fill.

These firms usually charge a per hour fee or by candidate lead. Many times this uncovers names that cannot be found with other methods and will allow internal recruiters the ability to focus their efforts solely on recruiting.

P r o c e s s

Job analysis

The proper start to a recruitment effort is to perform a job analysis. Job descriptions need to be reviewed or updated prior to a recruitment effort to reflect present day requirements.

Sourcing

Sourcing involves

1) advertising:- It is a common part of the recruiting process, often encompassing multiple media, such as the Internet, general newspapers, job ad newspapers, professional publications, window advertisements, job centers, and campus graduate recruitment programs; and

2) recruiting research:- It is the proactive identification of relevant talent who may not respond to job postings and other recruitment advertising methods done in #1.

This initial research for so-called passive prospects, also called name-generation, results in a list of prospects who can then be contacted to solicit interest, obtain a resume/CV, and be screened.

Screening and selection

Suitability for a job is typically assessed by looking for skills, e.g. communication, typing, and computer skills.

Qualifications may be shown through résumés, job applications, interviews, educational or professional experience, the testimony of references,

or in-house testing, such as for software knowledge, typing skills, numeracy, and literacy, through psychological tests or employment testing.

Other resume screening criteria may include length of service, job titles and length of time at a job.

Internet recruitment and websites

Face book, Twitter, etc.,

Such sites have two main features: job boards and a résumé/curriculum vitae (CV) database. Job boards allow member companies to post job vacancies. Alternatively, candidates can upload a résumé to be included in searches by member companies.

Job search engines

The emergence of meta-search engines, allow job-seekers to search across multiple websites. Some of these new search engines index and list the advertisements of traditional job boards. These sites tend to aim for providing a "one-stop shop" for job-seekers.

Vertical search engines allow job-seekers to find new positions that may not be advertised on traditional job boards, and online recruitment websites.

With the job market for top talent so tight these days, hiring quality recruiters for your company has become more important than ever.         Using our Elite Recruiter, your company gets immediate access to expert-level  Performance-based Offshore Recruiter. Our offshore recruiters are the best in the world because we are experienced professional recruiters and we practice what we  train. Our offshore recruiters understand corporate recruiting metrics (quantitative  goals or metrics, can include the number of hires made, the time to hire (overall  average time to hire, or time to hire for key positions), return on investment versus the recruiter's budget, and turnover in positions for which the recruiter hired.  Our Elite Recruiter will work as an extension to your recruiting team available during your business days and hours with extra hours of support.  He will be accessing your job boards and utilizes all the networks & recruiting tools to meet your requisitions. Responsibilities  of recruiters : Source, review and evaluate resumes                                               *   Conduct phone interviews to identify qualified candidates Coordinate technical and non-technical interviews                  *  Extend and negotiate offers based on current market conditions  Ensure all paperwork has been received by HR     * Coordinate with Recruiting Assistant to post positions on Web and Intranet  Coordinate with Recruiting Assistant for offer letters, Disclosure Agreements, and other new hire paperwork  Identify and utilize direct sourcing methods                                                          *  Conduct cold calls to identify new candidates  Develop and maintain high-level knowledge of current technologies                                              *  Generate reports as needed Develop and maintain relationships with candidates that extend into employment  Conduct resume search on internet as needed ·          Develop and maintain positive relationships with Managers and Executives  Strong customer service skills  Review current recruiting processes and make recommendations on process improvements  Very proactive, creative, detail-oriented, self directed and able to juggle multiple tasks  Other duties as assigned