HR Happens

Telephone interviews are a common practice, especially during social distancing. It is a great way for an employer to quickly screen candidates without wasting an entire hour for a formal interview. Even though telephone interviews seem less important and off-the-cuff, it is still a VERY important step in your hiring process. Here is a list of some common interview faux-pas and how to avoid them. 1. Phone Number Not Listed, Listed Incorrectly, or Disconnected. If you expect to receive a call for an interview, make sure that you have your number listed correctly. The interviewer does not know anything about you, but if they try to contact you and they can't, it starts to set a negative tone. Some job sites are not very friendly when it comes to providing phone numbers, so confirming your correct number with the interviewer when they set your interview time is best. Also, be sure you are somewhere with great cell service, and that your phone is fully charged, and full of minute...

If you are in a human resource position, you have heard the story. The candidate doesn’t answer the phone for their interview, doesn’t show up for an interview, doesn’t show up for their first day or even leaves at lunch never to be heard from again. This is an increasing trend in the HR industry and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Knowing everyone deals with this issue is comforting, but it doesn’t make up for the lost time and wasted resources trying to recruit a candidate for them to not show up. So how do we, as HR professionals, overcome candidate ghosting? While, I do not have the absolute solution, here are a few tips that have worked for me. Make sure you check to see if the candidate is a chronic applier. Using a site like indeed.com allows the recruiter to see how many other jobs on the company site the candidate has applied for. Do not ignore these, if the candidate has applied before and was passed up or didn’t respond, do not bother with them this time a...

With the national unemployment rate at a record low of 4.0%, many human resource managers are having trouble finding qualified candidates for open positions. In a cut-throat recruiting culture, how do managers stay ahead of the game and attract talent? One thing to keep in mind is that most candidates you interview are leaving one position for another. The pool of candidates has changed, the majority of candidates are not currently without a job. So, you must present your open position, company and office culture as attractive. Candidates looking to change jobs usually have an idea in mind of what type of job and office culture they want to be a part of. It isn’t always about money. Cultivating this culture and making sure it is prevalent through your job listing and interview process is key. If a candidate is coming from a less than desirable culture, they will be attracted by the opportunity to be a part of something more fitting of their attitude of work. Creating eye catch...