1. Recruitment & Interviewing
Tuesday 7th April 2015
Eileen Daly

2. The 7 Steps of Recruitment
Although every employer handles recruitment in his own fashion, recruitment normally follows some variation of:
Write a job description.
Advertise the job.
Receive applications from candidates.
CV Sift.
Interview(s) and assessment(s).
Make a job offer.
Monitor the new starter during their probation period.

3. Job Description/Competency Role Profile
Employers use job adverts to get people to apply for the vacancy on offer.
Key Details of a Job Description:
The job description clearly sets out important details such as:
What the job is called
How many hours a week the job is for
Where the job is based
What are the travel requirements?

4. Job Description/Competency role profile
Which department and / or team the job exists within
The name of the line manager - the person who will be the official boss of the successful applicant
The specific duties of the job
The personal characteristics that applicants need to have
The education / qualifications that applicants need to have
The remuneration for this role (salary and any bonuses)

5. What is the purpose of the job description?
The job description is the basis for much of the recruitment process:
Job adverts are written using the details in the job description.
Applications are reviewed against the job description to see if the candidate meets the job requirements.
Interviews and assessments are used to assess if the candidate really does meet the job requirements or not.

6. What is the purpose of the job description?
Contracts of employment normally re-use the information outlined in the job description.
The Job Description will identify the relevant criteria against which candidates can be measured throughout the selection process.
Criteria will be based on the essential requirements of the post, and promote the principle of equality of opportunity.
Applications are considered on the basis of abilities, qualifications and suitability for the post in question.

7. Person Specification/The CV Sift
The person specification that you write must set out the attributes that relate accurately and precisely to the duties of the post. Think about the type of person whom you would like working for you.
The first stage of assessing an application is often the CV sift. This is where someone reads the CVs that have been received for a vacancy, and decides which applications are worth considering further … and which ones to bin.

8. How are CVs assessed?
CVs are assessed against the requirements listed in the job description.
The more requirements a candidate meets, the more likely it is that the candidate will make it through to the next stage

9. Behavioural Interviewing
Behavioural interview questions ask the candidate to describe how she has reacted and handled that situation in the past. Then, as an interviewer, you can assess whether you believe the situation was handled appropriately. You can determine how the candidate approaches problem solving, and so forth.

10. Behavioural Interview Questions
These are examples of behavioural interview questions that were asked of the candidates.
Tell me about a time when you obtained a new customer through networking activities.
Give me an example of a time when you obtained a customer through cold calling and prospecting. How did you approach the customer?

11. Behavioural Interview Questions
What are your three most important work related values? Then, please provide an example of a situation in which you demonstrated each value at work.
Think of a customer relationship you have maintained for multiple years. Please tell me how you have approached maintaining that relationship.
Your manufacturing facility shipped the wrong order to one of your important customers. Describe how you solved this problem both internally and externally.

12. Behavioural Interview Questions
The quantity of parts and the part numbers of items available for sale change daily. Talk to me about how you have handled similar situations in the past.
If you are hired as our sales representative, you may see the need to change the organization of the department. How have you approached such situations in the past?
Give me an example of a time when your integrity was tested and yet prevailed in a selling situation.

13. After the Behavioural Interview
With answers to behavioural questions such as these, you have comparisons you can make between your candidates and you can assess their approaches to selling. You have a good idea about how the candidate has approached selling situations similar to yours in the past.
The values and behavioural characteristics and traits you have identified and sought out give you a much better idea about whether the selected candidate is a good fit for your position. Use a behavioural interview to select the sales representative most likely to succeed.

14. Tips for Effective Interviewing
Prepare by conducting a "job analysis": Interviewers should consult with at least one "Subject Matter Expert" to generate a specific list of the most important aspects of the job and what is required to perform it successfully. Not only will this make the interview more relevant to the job, but job candidates and interviewers will also view the interview more positively.

15. Tips for Effective Interviewing
Prepare questions in advance: An interview format in which all job candidates are asked the same specific questions further ensures that information obtained from candidates is relevant and comprehensive. This method also helps avoid irrelevant content. Asking uniform questions makes candidate responses more directly comparable.

16. Tips for Effective Interviewing
Prepare to be flexible: What if the interviewer asks a pre-developed question, but the candidate doesn't provide enough information? Interviews that simply move on to the next question at this point, without leaving room for follow-up questions often do not collect enough information from candidates. Furthermore, both job candidates and interviewers perceive this format more negatively.

17. Tips for Effective Interviewing
Ensure the interview isn't too short or too long: Since it is important that all candidates get the same opportunity to answer the same questions — without feeling rushed — it is generally best to limit the number of interview questions. A good rule of thumb is to ask no more than four to six questions in a 30-minute interview, and no more than eight to 12 questions in a one-hour interview.

18. Tips for Effective Interviewing
Focus on the interview during the interview: Despite what some experts recommend, the evidence suggests that soliciting candidates to ask questions too soon reduces the interview's reliability. Candidates should only be solicited to ask questions after the conclusion of the interview, allowing engagement on a more personal level.