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Recruiting

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.’” …

Stay-At-Home kids: Fewer teens than ever apply for summer jobs

07/09/2007

Having a hard time finding seasonal help this summer? You’re not alone. The age-old summer ritual of American kids working at the local movie theater and swimming hole is quickly eroding. Fewer than half of 16- to 19-year-olds were either working or looking for work in June,  down from 60% just seven years ago …

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.

Job applications: How to create a legally safe form

07/02/2007

No single federal law governs job applications. Your biggest risk is asking unnecessary questions that run afoul of federal or state laws banning job discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, national origin or disability. But, done right, your application can be a great tool to communicate important information

UCLA report: California growth to slow in 2007, as real estate lags

07/01/2007

The quarterly University of California at Los Angeles’ (UCLA) Anderson Forecast predicts a significant slowing of California’s economic growth in 2007. The forecast contradicts revised employment figures …

Pasadena local news. live from India

07/01/2007

In another sign of just how diverse California’s economy is—and how challenging its HR environment could become—a web site that focuses on Pasadena’s municipal affairs has hired two reporters to cover City Hall. From India …

Employee didn’t apply, so college couldn’t have discriminated

07/01/2007

When Harcum College in Bryn Mawr had an opening for a facilities supervisor, the department’s manager considered hiring an outside firm to run the unit …

State budget deficits? No worries! Hire away!

07/01/2007

Being dubbed the country’s most fiscally unfit state last year hasn’t dampened New Jersey’s appetite for hiring …

Adopt ‘Green-Collar’ mentality to attract eco-Aware staff

07/01/2007

Don’t keep it a secret if your organization does good for the community and the environment. Let employees and job applicants know about your corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts …

Profit sharing and ‘No walls’ management boost job referrals

07/01/2007

About 70% of all hires at Findley, Ohio-based hiring firm Right Thing come highly recommended by the organization’s own employees. What gets employees talking to their friends about joining the firm? It’s the company’s laid-back atmosphere—with no formal managers or departments—and an employee profit-sharing plan that involves half the company profits …