Printer Friendly Version                                    Back to Capsules    Recruitment Recruitment is a strategic process, be it for one position to fill a sudden vacancy or a series of hirings in a fast-growing firm. If you don't take time to plan the hiring carefully you're unlikely to get the best person for the job – and worse, may recruit somebody who is inadequate. There are many traps to avoid in hiring, such as taking sole responsibility for hiring, or the reactive approach, in which you automatically respond to an opening by seeking somebody with all the same qualities as the previous jobholder. You also need to figure out whether you are just hiring somebody for a specific current position or whether you are hiring someone whom you hope will grow and, over the years, help your company in other positions. Three Stages of Recruitment The three stages of recruitment are: Setting the context and defining success; identifying the successful applicant; and, setting the stage for successful performance. Recruitment starts with considering why the job opening exists and what that means for filling the spot. The next step is to define success for the job: What qualities, skills and experiences are needed in the successful applicant – for now and the future? What are the most important challenges they must be able to overcome if they are to succeed in the position? That usually leads to writing a job description, which helps to frame success criteria. At the core, it has three elements: the duties and responsibilities attached to the job; performance expectations for someone in the position; the competencies – skills, qualities, and experience – required to function effectively in the job. One of the key elements in searching for candidates will be whether you do it yourself or seek assistance from outside consultants such as executive search consultants, Internet search agencies, or employment agencies. You will also need to decide whether to look internally or externally for candidates – or both. Internal & External Recruiting Internal recruiting includes not just employees working for you but friends of your employees and even former employees who might be interested in coming back. You can recruit internally by letting employees apply for jobs after they are posted internally, having company managers identify exceptional employees worthy of promotion, seeking referrals from employees, or turning to ex-employees. External recruits can be found through a variety of sources: advertising, friends and other personal contacts, employment agencies, government employment centres, university and college recruiting, your own website or online recruiting centres, customers who may be interested in joining your operation, companies laying off employees, and unsolicited applications. After locating candidates, you need to develop a short list of the best. Interviews are the next stage, but they also contain some potentially big traps – so beware. One of the biggest mistakes is not using your interview time to find out more information about the candidates; it's easy to simply have a pleasant chat that tells you something about personality (in a very artificial situation) but doesn't add to what you already knew from the original application. Follow Through to a Good Hire After selecting the best candidate, to make sure everything has been related honestly, you need to check out credentials and call references. It's important to recognize that references have greater ties to the candidate than to you, and will not be forthcoming with negative information. The key question is probably: Would the past employer hire this person again? If possible, move beyond the references the candidate supplied and talk with other people you know who might be in a position to offer insight. You may also want to put the leading candidate or candidates through some testing, to assess ability, personality, or even integrity. The recruitment process is generally thought to end when you make a job offer. But, in fact, if an outsider is hired it should continue with a careful strategy to bring the person into the organization in the best manner possible. If you would like more information or assistance with Recruiting for your organization, please contact us.