Hiring Talent- Create Ideal Candidate Experience

As an employer, the impression you make in the interview can have a large impact on how that person feels about your company and your brand.

You should be striving to create the best candidate experience possible for every single candidate. That way, even the people you don’t hire will have a positive feeling about your organization- and they will probably tell someone else. Over time, this builds the reputation for your company as an employer.

Plan for a Great Experience
You should plan to give the candidates a good experience from the beginning. Examine the entire process and think about how it looks through the eyes of a candidate. Are you giving them enough information? Are you listening when they talk? Is the process a good give and take between both parties?

Collect the Information You Need
Give some thought to the interview questions you are asking. Are you getting information that will help you in making the final decision? Don’t just ask the cliche questions, ask things that are very specific to your organization and the position. Ask questions about personality and interpersonal skills as well as the technical skills needed.

Manage Candidate Expectations
Thank everyone for their interest, regardless of their qualifications. Explain what your search process will be like. Make sure you tell them when to expect a decision- and stick to it.

Communicate in a Timely Manner
If something comes up to change your timeline, give them a status update. No one likes to be kept hanging.

Close the Loop
Make sure you let everyone know when the position is filled and thank them for their interest. Tell the candidates that were close that you will keep them in mind for future positions. You may have future opportunities that they would be perfect for and you want them to think of you in a positive light.

What do you do to create a great experience for your candidates?

Career Planning Cycle- Develop an Action Plan

You now have all the pieces, you just need to put them together into an action plan. Look at the list you came up with from Determining Exposures. Take those items and decide when you can implement each part.

List Your Activities

Some things are on a structured timeline, such as going back to school. You know when you will go to class and how long it will take to get your degree. You can plan the rest of your schedule around school and plan farther into the future.

Other items are not as structured, such as learning to network or practicing making presentations. These are skills you need to figure out how to learn on your own.

Some steps may include:

• Asking a friend who is good in that area for some advice or resources
• Looking in local education brochures for workshops
• Find organizations or associations that might allow you to practice these skills
• Search online for books, webinars, articles, etc. There is so much to be found on the internet, you are sure to get more resources than you could ever read.

Make Your Plan

Decide what you’re going to do and when. Make a plan with milestones. Then get started! Be realistic with your goals and dates, but also set a pace to ensure you get there.

Do you have your plan mapped out for 2012?

Career Planning Cycle- Determine Exposures Needed

Now that you know where you are starting from (Determine Your Starting Point) and where you want to end up (Establish Goals), you can connect the dots in between. Examine your situation to figure out what you can get exposure in to help you move forward- make a list of all the types of education, training, practice that will benefit you.

 

What types of programs might be helpful?

• Will you need a CPA or MBA?
• Will you need cross-functional technical exposure (audit to tax, general to cost accounting, etc)?
• Should you polish your presentation skills or join professional associations?
• Do you need to work on business development or networking skills?

Talk to your boss or other higher level professionals and human resources to find out what steps might be right for you. You can also talk to someone who currently holds the title you desire. They might be able to tell you what skills would be useful in that position.

A recruiter can also help you with this step. They typically have seen many people move through the same levels and have an understanding of what employers want when looking to hire someone in specific positions.

Do you know what skills you need to work on for 2012?

What I learned about Interviewing from Dirty Harry

Is anyone else out there a Clint Eastwood fan? The Spaghetti Westerns are a bit too cliche for me, but Joe Kidd, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and all the Dirty Harry movies are not on cable TV enough for me. So what does that have to do with interviewing? Not much, really. But if you want to see a great example of basic behavioral interviewing, watch The Enforcer from 1976.

Early on there is a scene where Harry is on a 4 person panel interviewing candidates for detective inspector positions. Tyne Daly plays Kate Moore, a police records clerk trying to become an inspector. Harry asks her to tell the panel about her most important felony arrest. She has no example. Then he asks her to tell them about her most important misdemeanor arrest. Again, she has no example. So he gets in her grill about what right she has to interview for an inspector role when there are experienced beat cops with arrest experience who want the role.

Some now obvious, politically incorrect dialogue follows. Then, in true Hollywood fashion, she gets the job anyway. That is the difference from the real world. For us to get hired, we need real examples. Here’s how to prepare – have as many “War Stories” ready as possible.

What are war stories? These are your accomplishments and unique traits that show why you are the best person for the job. There are three parts to every good war story.

1. The problem you were faced with, the situation. Provide details on the situation and why it was a problem for your company.

2. Your solution. Here you want to explain what YOU did to solve the problem, step-by-step and in detail. You want the employer to envision you doing the same for them.

3. The results – these should be measurable, sustainable and a direct result of your solution.

Try to have a war story ready for every major aspect of the position you are interviewing for – technical skills, management skills, etc. If you are asked about an area you do not have a war story prepared for, use the three part approach to put one together. It is good to be able to think on the fly. After all, you don’t want Dirty Harry up in your grill!

Attracting Talent- Culture Development

Establishing a company’s vision and values are the first steps in developing a deliberate corporate culture. It is important that the company leaders make sure all employees understand what the main goals are and what is valued by corporate leadership.

Vision and Values
Having clear a vision and values statement makes it easier to get everyone working towards the same end. An additional bonus is that having clear vision and values can be a competitive advantage in your business strategy.

Trust
Building trust is another important part of developing a great culture. Employees will become unhappy if they don’t feel they can trust their employer.

Trust begins with the leader and the team. Employees must trust more than just their immediate supervisors; it has to go all the way to the top. Trust is built by having open communications channels when dealing with criticism and complaints.

Teamwork and Empowerment
Organizations should strive for a culture of collaboration. This means that employees need to listen to one another and be open to new ideas, working as one large team.

Each of these items is not something that is easily done overnight. The best way to move forward is to make a plan and work it step by step. Once you have established the corporate culture you desire, you will attract employees who share those values. These employees will work harder and stay longer since they are aligned to what your company believes in.

Does your company have a distinct culture developed? Is this something you are working on for 2012?

Career Planning Cycle- Establish Goals

Once you have determined your starting point, you can then decide where you want to be.

Is CFO or Partner your ultimate goal?
Do you want to travel more or less?
Do you want to specialize?
Do you want to get into industry?
Do you want to work more hours or less?
What compensation are you after?

If you don’t immediately know your responses, you may want to do some research into different paths that might be options for you. You can search for information online or ask others in your network about different paths. Look at all the possibilities, then narrow down the list.

Think further down the road. Your ultimate goal may not be achievable quickly, but that’s ok. The answers to these questions will help you focus on your ultimate goal and allow you to make a plan to get there!

Do you know where you are headed?

Career Planning Cycle- Your Starting Point

Before you can plan your path, you must take inventory of where you are now.

Where do you fit in your current organization?
Take into account your compensation range and how you compare to peers with similar titles with similar years of experience.

How much responsibility do you have?
Would you like to have more? Do your peers have more or less?

Are you being promoted?
Are you moving up at the rate you would like? Have you been given opportunities to grow within your current company?

By taking stock of your existing situation you can then have a better understanding of where your opportunities might lie in the future.

Are you happy with where you are now? Why or why not?