The stakes involved in finding and landing qualified talent as 2022 gets underway are higher than ever. It’s never been easy, but the challenges have reached new heights in light of the Great Resignation of 2021 and other fallouts from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Regardless of the circumstances, you don’t have to choose between hiring quickly and finding the right employee. You can do both.
Write clear, attractive job descriptions.
Make sure each job description is specific enough to help the wrong applicants self-eliminate and the right ones who want to hear more. Be very clear, both about what you want and need in an employee and how a role meets the unique needs of a candidate.
- As you craft your job descriptions, think carefully about the objectives a position should achieve, the core skills required, and how you can describe a typical day on the job in such a way that an applicant can really “see” it – with themselves fitting right into the picture. Or not.
Be selective about who you interview.
Even with the very best of job descriptions, you’re still likely to get some resumes that fall short of your total hiring expectations. It’s more efficient to interview the right candidates than trying to hit a quota by meeting with a larger number of them, even if you feel strongly that some won’t be a good fit.
- If you’re truly impressed with only two or three individuals, focus on just them instead of hoping a fringe applicant might surprise you and exceed your expectations of them.
- The same holds true for interviews. If a candidate is less than impressive, say a polite goodbye when you respond afterwards. Don’t give them more of your time – or false hope – just because you were shooting for a certain number of short listers.
Have a prepared list of interview questions.
Having a list of interview questions ready ahead of time helps ensure that you cover all the right topics and keeps anyone from veering onto shaky ground by accidentally asking anything inappropriate or taboo.
Questions can be broken down into ice breakers to set a comfortable tone and help candidates relax, traditional inquiries about skills and experience, situational questions to really understand a candidate, behavioral questions to see how a person has handled actual experiences, and culture fit questions.
Consider group interviews.
Group interviews save time and can have interesting advantages. Multiple panelists mean you get different perspectives and the opportunity to see how candidates react to them.
Hire Faster with Search Wizards
For expert help with all the steps, strategies, and scenarios involved in rapid hiring, contact Search Wizards today.
