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Interviewing

Warn supervisors: Don’t comment needlessly on race

09/01/2007

The selection process is over, and the newly promoted employee has begun work. Now is not the time for those involved in the hiring process to pontificate on racial balance in the workplace. That’s especially true if the applicants were all qualified for the position and a member of a majority class was selected over minority candidates …

Pool parties entice nurses onto job

09/01/2007

When Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta wanted to create a central staffing pool of nurses last fall, it launched the “100 Nurses in 100 Days” recruitment drive. It was unheard of to hire that many nurses in such a short period of time, says Megan Graham, director of recruiting. To attract enough nurses, the hospital had to get creative with its recruitment efforts …

Want a team player? Ask applicants these 5 questions

09/01/2007

Uncover teamwork talents (or the lack thereof) by asking: (1) What is your relationship with your supervisor and your peers? (2) What would your current supervisor or peers say about you? …

‘Blind’ applications help defend against frivolous lawsuits

09/01/2007

If the people reviewing employment applications don’t know the race of the candidates, they can’t discriminate for or against any particular applicant. That’s why you should consider using a “blind” application process …

Train interviewers to not comment on employees’ promotion chances

09/01/2007

Unless they clearly understand they must treat all job candidates with the utmost respect and stick to job-related questions, supervisors inexperienced in HR matters can turn a simple hiring or promotion into a lawsuit …

Do you destroy hiring documents? Track process anyway

09/01/2007

Nothing generates paper like the hiring process, especially if it involves multiple interviews and committee meetings. What do you do with all that paper? If you destroy it, be prepared to show you do so routinely. Otherwise, a jury or judge may view the destruction as evidence you have something to hide …

Fire before you hire: Put more burden on job-seekers

08/01/2007

Hiring managers spend too much time interviewing candidates—and asking them the wrong questions. Then they’re often surprised to have to fire those same candidates a few months later after discovering that good interview skills don’t necessarily signal a great job fit. The problem: Employers often hire for hard skills but fire for soft skills, says Karl Ahlrichs of Hiring Smart, an Indiana firm specializing in employee selection. Instead, says Ahlrichs, “Our new slogan should be, ‘Fire them before we hire them.’” …

Hiring questions: What’s off limits?

08/01/2007

Q. What questions are off limits on an employment application or when conducting a job interview?

Transparent process best defense against hiring lawsuits

08/01/2007

The success of your organization depends on hiring the right people. You spend a lot of time and effort determining the company’s needs and designing job descriptions that meet those needs. Don’t let a potential discrimination lawsuit ruin all that hard work. Instead, make the hiring process as transparent as possible …

Fire them before you hire them

07/03/2007

Culling through stacks of resumes and conducting two or three rounds of interviews takes too long, is too subjective and too often results in bad hires. Employee selection expert Karl Alrichs proposes a four-step hiring process that saves managers time, reveals the best candidates, and highlights the intangibles that separate good employees from the bad ones.