• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Interviewing

Setting skill and experience minimums can stop lawsuits

03/01/2008
When it comes to hiring and promotion, one of the best things you can do to protect your organization from lawsuits is to clearly explain the qualifications and experience needed before you schedule an interview with a candidate …

Paying candidates for interviews: Folly or the future?

03/01/2008

In many cases, the best candidates for your job openings aren’t in the job market. They’re happily employed elsewhere, and they need a major incentive to show up at your door for an interview. A new start-up job board intends to create that incentive …

The fine art of silence: When saying less can be more

03/01/2008
Anyone who has watched the political debates this year has seen a lot more talking going on than listening. The same thing can happen in the workplace. For various reasons—nervousness, ego, control issues—managers sometimes “overexplain” an issue or fill the silence with unnecessary words …

Stable employment history is a legitimate hiring criterion

02/01/2008

You can use stable employment history as a legitimate selection criterion in hiring—if you do it right. The key is to allow employees to explain interruptions in their employment histories, ignoring those that could lead to a discrimination lawsuit …

Make sure written employment contracts exclude oral promises

02/01/2008

It’s tempting for hiring managers to oversell positions they desperately want to fill. Although HR should warn them not to make promises the organization can’t keep, it happens. That’s why every written employment agreement and offer letter should contain explicit language limiting the terms to what actually appears in writing …

Don’t get stumped: 25 interviewee questions to prepare for

01/01/2008

Your interview with a top candidate goes well. At the end, you toss out the obligatory, “Are there any other questions?” The candidate asks, “What’s the turnover rate in the department where I would work? What are the main reasons employees leave and where do they go?” The question catches you off guard …

Interviewers must ask consistent questions, take good notes

01/01/2008

When it comes to promotions, be sure that management team members in charge of interviews are all on the same page. That means ensuring they ask all candidates exactly the same questions and make thorough notes about each applicant …

25 good interview questions … and 8 to avoid

12/01/2007
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

Weed out bad apples with pre-Interview ‘Dirt call’

12/01/2007

A senior manager at a Texas technology firm always asks a lower-level employee—usually an administrative assistant—to perform his initial phone screens of candidates. Because teamwork is vital at the firm, the manager looks for feedback on how the candidate treated the assistant …

Tell managers: Avoid subjective hiring preferences

12/01/2007

When it comes to hiring and promotions, it’s best to avoid subjectivity in the selection process. Tell managers and supervisors: If they have to rely on hunches, impressions and whether they “feel” one candidate is a better choice than another candidate, they are asking for trouble …