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Issue 37, May 2009
Nationally recognized
recruiter, Dan Simmons and the Continental Search team bring you
this issue of Simmons Says.
With more
than 17 years experience in the recruiting industry, Dan
combines his expertise and experience to help clients attract and
retain top talent.services provided
- contingent search
-
retained search
- contract staffing
- retention
consulting
- recruitment strategy consulting
For more
information on these services
Contact Dan at
(888) 276-6789
or
dan@consearch.com
Visit us on the
web at www.consearch.com
Daniel C.
Simmons, CPC
Certified Personnel Consultant
Continental Search
& Outplacement, Inc.
P O Box 43873
Baltimore, MD
21236
Know someone who
could
benefit from the information
in the article? Please
forward
this to them.
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A monthly online publication
designeaaaad to help employers recruit, recognize, reward, and
retain their workforce.
Hiring a Skill Set Rather Than a Record of Success
This is the second in a series of five articles in our “Common Hiring Mistakes” series. This series is the result of a brainstorming session that I attended with four other select recruiters from a variety of markets. We decided to document our discussions and share them with you.
If you need an oil change, you don't need to engage someone with a great track record in auto mechanics. You simply need someone with the core skills, the tools, and enough experience to get the job done. The reason you don't need a great mechanic with a rich history of success is because your involvement with this person is transactional. You’ll be involved with them on a very limited basis. Contrast that with any full-time direct-hire position on your team. You have to interact with your team members regularly, perhaps five days every week. When you recruit to fill a position on your team, should you be concentrating on the skill set or the character, history of success, passion, and desire for this particular role?
Of course, you must ascertain that the person has the skills to accomplish the tasks required, but many people dig too deeply into someone’s skill set and fail to explore the other components. Often when this happens, you’ll find someone who needs a job (or wants the money that you're paying), but will soon leave because they have no passion for the job, don't fit into your culture, or can do a few things well but needs to be prodded to produce the desired results. This person may be disruptive to your team. Below are some steps you can take to avoid this common hiring mistake:
- Base the job on the business or technical needs your group has, not the functions performed by the incumbent. This means an evaluation of the needs of tomorrow, not the work being produced today.
- Interview using the “STAR” method (a behavioral interviewing technique). Provide a Situation and the Tasks to be accomplished, and then ask the candidate the Actions they would take to produce “X” Results. Ask them for examples of when they have done this in the past.
- Determine if this person is passionate about the job and if they have a strong desire to excel. You don't need someone to fill a seat; you need someone to excel. Interview to find stars.
- Don’t overlook the skills piece. Make certain they actually have the skills they claim. Check references.
- Make certain that you have a cultural fit. Ask about the environments they feel the most comfortable in. See how they like to be coached. Determine if they are a self-starter or if constant supervision or follow-up is needed. Dig into the culture of their previous employers and find out how the person felt while working there and the level of success they enjoyed.
These tips will help you find a top performer who has the skills and drive to get the job done while also fitting into your culture.
If you have any questions about this topic, please contact me at dan@consearch.com Be sure to read next month’s issue, when we publish the third article in our “Common Hiring Mistakes” series.
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