Q&A Interview Question

• Question:

I read your article, Five rules to encourage Optimism and to discourage Negativity Don’t Bring Your Baggage Into The Job Interview. (you can find this article at: http://jobsforveterans.military.com/1207/rules-encourage-optimism-discourage/)

Your note about reading between the lines on a job announcement may be a bit misleading. When you go into a job interview and presume to know what the company really wants vs. what they put in print would seem to me to be pretty arrogant. I’ve tried that and have been cut short in the interview. Nobody likes someone to come into their house and tell them how you’re going to fix things for them when they didn’t ask you to. Continue Reading

6 Ways to Use Facebook Advertising for Recruiting

Employers who use social media for advertising may be interested in the following post, which shares ways to recruit with Facebook.

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6 Ways to Use Facebook Advertising for Recruiting

Bluff Your Way to Interview Confidence

It is natural to feel nervous going into an interview.  If you need an extra boost before this meeting, the following post has tips to build up your confidence.

There is an old saying, “hum a few bars and fake it.” There are times, and interviews are often the case, where this is the best course of action. While you never want to come off as entitled or as though you are superior, faking confidence can often be the difference between an outstanding interview and one that is a dismal failure. A great resume will get you an interview. A great interview will get you the job.

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Bluff Your Way to Interview Confidence

3 Things Employers Look for on Your Resume

While you may know certain pieces of information that employers expect to see on your resume, there are a few other things to remember as well.  Find out what they are in the following post.

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3 Things Employers Look for on Your Resume

Your Talent Database: A Coal Mine or a Gold Mine?

Why are some companies missing out on the best talent available?  The following post identifies some problems concerning their recruiting process.

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Your Talent Database: A Coal Mine or a Gold Mine?

Don’t Lose the Best Candidates Before They’ve Even Started

In a previous post, I wrote about how important it is to engage new hires the moment they walk in to start their new jobs. Lee Salz of SalesArchitecture.com wrote an article for ERE – “The New Employee’s First Day” – that illustrates that point beautifully.
Salz created a composite character, Steve Harmon, and sent him to work for a company -probably also a composite – called Newman Industries. Newman Industries did everything right when they recruited Steve, a much sought after candidate. Sadly, Newman Industries made the mistake that many employers, according to Salz, make when recruiting top candidates – they didn’t follow through.
Like a lot of employers, Newman Industries put all of their time, money and effort into wooing Steve away from the job he already had and completely forgot about making preparations for his first day at work. As a result, Steve introduced himself to a receptionist who had never heard of him, got assigned to a cubicle that still contained the belongings of the previous occupant – which he was asked to throw away – and spent all day trying to meet with his elusive mananager, Jamie. And those are just a few of the indignities Steve suffered.
By the end of the day, Steve was thoroughly disillusioned. Newman Industries wasn’t what he thought it would be when he first accepted their offer. When his wife asked him how his first day of work went, Steve replied, “‘I’m really happy that I didn’t pull my resume off the job boards or tell the recruiters that I was off the market, because I don’t know if this is going to work out. We’ll have to see.’”
“The company thought they had Steve when he accepted the offer. That was their error. They failed to recognize that they had only completed the next step of the process,” Salz explains. What Newman Industries lacks is a program that will preserve the positive impression made during the recruiting and interviewing process once the new employee arrives on his first day, he concludes.
Although Salz’s scenario was specifically about recruiting and hiring salespeople, I believe his advice applies to any employer trying to recruit and hire the best college students looking for internships and recent college graduates looking for entry level jobs.
It should also be noted that Steve was a “passive candidate,” which probably made Newman Industries feel even more proud of their accomplishment. Unfortunately for them, all that time and money was in danger of going down the drain before Steve had even been given a company email address. In this economy, it’s safe to say that companies can ill afford to make such a costly mistake when hiring new employees.

Entry Level Job Placement From a Recruiter’s Point of View

Two recruiters from Todays Office Professionals, Sean Rice, district manager in Dallas, TX; and Kenneth Davis, account manager in Alpharetta, GA gave insight to all the things recruiters have to consider when working with entry level job seekers.
1. What is the recruiter’s responsibility to the candidate?
Sean Rice: A recruiter is responsible for assisting candidates in making successful, well-suited job placements. In order to successfully place a candidate on a job order, a recruiter must know how to listen and they need to ask the right questions of their candidates. I believe that recruiters need to establish a trusting relationship with their candidate in order to receive honest information in return. The candidate needs to feel confident in their recruiter, as they are relying on that individual to assist them is finding a job.
Kenneth Davis: I feel that the recruiter’s responsibility to the candidate is to always be honest. I always put myself in the candidate’s shoes and think of the information that I would like to know if meeting with a staffing company, especially if this is the candidate’s first time signing up with a staffing company. It is important to always deliver 100% customer/quality service.

• Always be up front about the positions that are available (whether they are temporary, temp to hire or direct hire)
• Discuss the hiring process in detail
• I explain the benefits of working for a staffing company such as Todays Office Professionals (what makes us stand out from other companies)
• I really feel that it is important to make sure that the candidate not only has a pleasant experience when coming in for their appointment, but that they leave with all the necessary information they need. By doing this will make the candidate not venture off to another staffing company

2. What should a candidate do if a recruiter isn’t serving his/her best interests?
SR: A candidate should communicate effectively with his or her recruiter if they feel that they are not being assisted properly or that their best interest is not being served. It is essential that the candidate be completely honest with the recruiter as to what their expectations of the recruiter are and make certain that all lines of communication are always open. In order for a successful placement to be made, both a candidate and the recruiter need to be on the same page.
KD: I think that the candidate should bring this issue to the recruiter’s attention in a professional manner because the recruiter may not even be aware that the candidate is not happy with the service.
3. What is the recruiter’s responsibility to employers?
SR: It is the recruiter’s responsibility to do their best to find the appropriate candidates to fill their clients’ orders. Recruiters are responsible for listening to and observing all of the important details of their clients’ needs in order to ensure that they can make a successful match between client and candidate. A recruiter should always make certain that they have a clear understanding of a job description before they present a candidate. They need to be sure to apply thorough follow up and quality assurance checks to the employer.
KD: Outside of delivering 100% customer/quality service, I think that as recruiters we need to go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that the client is serviced (“The Todays Way”, which entails weekly quality checks, customer visits etc.)
Always make sure when filling a new order that the client is always aware of the pricing, company policies, benefits (vacation pay, holiday pay etc..). If I am working with a new client, I always set up an appointment to view the facility. This helps me to place the most qualified candidate in the client company’s culture and allows me to better describe the work environment to potential candidates.
4. To the recruiting agency?
SR: A recruiter needs to make certain that the employees they hire are individuals that will represent both the agency and their clients. They need to make certain that they are hiring quality candidates that have the skill sets they can place and sell to customers. The recruiter needs to make certain that they are checking all proper employee identification and that reference checks are being completed to agency standards.
KD: The responsibility a recruiter has to the staffing company they are working for is commitment. It is important for the recruiter to be totally committed to their company’s mission and follow the policies and procedures 100%, while giving both the candidate and client the absolute best quality/customer service.
Entry level job seekers have a lot to think about when deciding to enlist the aid of recruiters in their job searches. But it’s clear that recruiters, too, have a lot to consider before taking on new candidates or clients.