4 Interviewing Tips for Hiring Managers – Part Two

In the work of avoiding costly bad hires, hiring managers must approach each candidate carefully and conscientiously. There are interview methods and techniques that will be wise to practice whether you’re new or experienced. Building off of the tips listed in Part One of this series, we’ll jump right in to discussing even more things you can do to make sure your interview process uncovers the best candidate(s) for any position.

  1. Get used to awkward silences. A common mistake among new interviewers is to prattle. Interviews can be awkward or intimidating on both sides of the equation, and the temptation to fill those awkward silences will be strong. Resist it. If you shift the responsibility of talking to the candidate, you’ll eventually start uncovering useful details about their personality, qualifications, and communication skills. Imagine you’re a therapist. Ask your prepared questions, and then wait for the answers, and keep waiting until you’re satisfied they’ve said all they can say about the topic. Remember: this isn’t a conversation; it’s an interview.
  2. Be prepared! In Part One, one of the tips was to ask the same questions of every applicant so that you can more easily compare their answers. This means preparing the list of questions beforehand. Get yourself out of the mindset that this is a conversation, where “winging” your questions might be acceptable. In an interview, it’s not.
  3. Pay attention to your phrasing. In a conversation, “Tell me about yourself,” is a fantastic ice breaker and the resulting answer will be general and erratic because the statement itself is general. Phrase your questions to be specific and targeted: “Take everything you’ve learned about the role and the company and tell me how you feel you’d be able to positively contribute.”

Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, and remember, no hiring process is complete without a thorough background check.

7 Interview Tips for Hiring Managers

According to a CareerBuilder survey, 41% of companies say hiring the wrong person costs them upwards of $25K, and 25% report a loss of more than $50K. Such losses are avoidable within your organization when you increase the effectiveness of your interviews. 

 

As a hiring manager, you must approach each candidate carefully and conscientiously. Whether you’re new or experienced in your job, here are some fail-proof ways you can improve your interviews and discover the best candidate(s) for any position.

 

  1. Know the position inside and out

 

How well do you, as the hiring manager, understand the specific position you are trying to fill? Your company is made up of a variety of departments, but are you knowledgeable enough about each one to be able to spot a good fit for that department when you interview a candidate?

 

  1. Have an established set of questions for each applicant 

 

Make sure you’re asking your candidates the same list of questions. This will make it easier to compare and rate the answers of each individual in order to reduce the hiring pool to the very best candidates.

 

  1. Practice your interviewing skills, demeanor, and etiquette

 

A bad interview isn’t always the fault of the candidate. Brush up on your skills and practice with others in your company, perhaps even someone in the department that has the open position you are filling.

 

  1. Build teamwork scenarios into your interviews

 

If you are interviewing a group of individuals, give the group an assignment that will allow you to observe each applicant’s teamwork skills and see who shines. If you’re only interviewing one candidate, pull in a few coworkers to help out.

 

  1. Become comfortable with awkward silences

 

A common mistake among new interviewers is to prattle. Interviews can be awkward and/or intimidating for everyone involved, and it can be tempting to fill those awkward silences in whatever way you can. Resist that urge. If you shift the responsibility of talking to the candidate, you’ll eventually start uncovering useful details about their personality, qualifications, and communication skills. Imagine you’re a therapist. Ask your prepared questions, and then wait for the answers, and keep waiting until you’re satisfied or until they’ve said all they can say about the topic. Remember, this isn’t any typical conversation; it’s an interview.

 

  1. Be prepared 

 

You should come to every interview prepared with a list of information you want to learn about an applicant. Get yourself out of the conversational mindset and don’t wait until you’re in the interview to start thinking up questions to ask. You may be able to make this work in meetings and in other aspects of your job, but in an interview, this isn’t the recommended strategy.

 

  1. Pay attention to your phrasing

 

In a conversation, “Tell me about yourself,” is a fantastic ice breaker, and the resulting answer will be general and erratic because the statement itself is general. Instead, phrase your questions to be specific and targeted. For example, “Take everything you’ve learned about the role and the company and tell me how you feel you’d be able to positively contribute,” would be a much more focused question to ask.

Naturally, you should never extend an offer to a candidate without conducting a thorough background check first. Talk to VICTIG to find a plan that suits your needs.

Volunteerism Best Practices and Trends

When it comes to running a non-profit, especially a new one, it may feel like there aren’t enough hands to do the work that needs doing. It may be tempting to simply take what you can get without slowing down or discouraging volunteers with a strict vetting process, but to do that means to jeopardize the mission and purpose of your organization and the communities you serve.

Here’s what you need to know about the trends of volunteerism and its best practices.

Understanding What Drives Volunteers

First of all, who’s volunteering? Survey results reported by Verified Volunteers show that in the U.S. in 2016, the volunteer pool was divided three ways between 18-34 year olds (28%), 35-54 year olds (33%), and those who were 55+ years old (34%).

What attracts volunteers to your, or any, organization? Participants reported that volunteers aged 35 years and younger are often largely motivated by skills-based volunteer opportunities that leverage the skills they’ve gained at school and at work, while the older set (55+) want to “give back” to the community. Understanding these motivations will assist in targeted recruiting strategies. For example, the younger set may be more attracted to opportunities that fall in line with their professional experience, while retirees will respond better to task-based worked: packing boxes, planting trees, etc.

For either set, thorough volunteer screening practices are essential to weeding out individuals who may not fully share the spirit of your mission at best or may create serious liability issues for yourself and your patrons.

Contact VICTIG to learn which screening methods you should be employing for your volunteer organization.

Employee Screening Essentials Before Making Your Next Hire

What you don’t know about your potential hires can hurt you, your current employees, and your company in the end. For that reason, it’s important to follow a few employee screening best practices as you select the members of your team.

Your Role

You will be outsourcing certain aspects of the employee screening process, but it will fall on your internal team to decide if the candidate is the right fit in terms of personality and industry-specific qualifications. You may also be calling and interviewing references and past employers for critical job history and education verification purposes.

Screening Provider Role

Select a third party screening provider that not only possesses the right accreditations, but understands the importance of:

  • running a social security number trace to discover all the addresses the candidate has had. This will allow for specificity in criminal searches that is not possible with searches in the FBI database, which can often turn up incomplete data.
  • employing social security fraud detection. It is not unheard for social security number mismatches and fraud to occur, causing costly liability and strife for all involved.
  • responsible criminal background checks that comply with the EEOC.
  • running a national sex offender registry check, which is especially relevant for high-risk positions involving situations of vulnerability: education, ride-sharing, elderly care, childcare.
  • offering cost-efficient, full-service options that deliver high-quality, accurate results while avoiding pricing models that burden your hiring budget.

Contact VICTIG to learn more about the screening options best suited for your needs.