Lauren,
You are right on target. We, too, are finding many more applicants for each position and many more who are not qualified. It seems that many people simply don't take the time to read the job description and, if they do, assume they are qualified if they meet some of the qualifications. I guess there are those who hope that we won't find anyone else so will accept them as that warm body to fill the position. That well written job description allows you to set the standard and maintain it.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We have used a wide variety of recruiting tools to help create an initial talent pool for a position. However, recruiting from our student data base has proven to be the most effective as measured by outcomes and longevity. The advantage, we are able to observe the person in many type of scenarios which gives us a good “read “ on the intangibles, work ethic, integrity, people skills. Etc. I am of the belief that task’s can be taught,if your working off the right foundation. It is my experience that the lack of the intangibles creates more of a management concern, then lack of experience or previous job outcomes.
Jeff Mann,
Your comments make perfect sense. One cannot change the intangibles because they are really part of one's personality.An employee might try to make adjustments after becoming aware of an issue but typically they will revert back to what created the problems in the first place.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We use several methods for getting the word out, be it a site like Monster or Career-Builder, a local site like Craigslist, as well as internal announcements.
When interviews are scheduled, we usually have a primary interview with the Campus Director, and secondary interviews are conducted in front of a panel of additional team members. This gives the rest of the staff the chance to weigh in on decisions, based on the ability of the candidate to work with other departments, etc.
I feel the group interview really allows the candidate to meet more staff members and get a feel for whether or not they'd like the environment. It also helps to have more people to promote the workplace.
We primarily use internet services like craigs list and alumni page. We hire graduates from our school, and professionals who have worked in the field and have experience and demonstrate professional, interpersonal skills and habits.
Erin,
It sounds like you have a good process in place at your campus. Using multiple sources will give you a variety of candidates from which to choose. Some sources will be better for certain positions than others. Over time you will learn which source to use thereby saving you on your recruiting costs.
So much time is spent working in teams that your secondary interview process is great for weeding out those who might not be good team players. Organization fit is a key factor in hiring for any position these days. Since you generally have your pick, you do not need to settle for a warm body.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Melodee,
I am not familiar with alumni page, but recruiting from and through you alumni is a good approach. You want to make certain that graduates have had an opportunity to work in their field generally before you hire them, especially if they will be teaching or mentoring students. How do you have candidates demonstrate their interpersonal skills and habits?
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Our practices focus on developing candidates from within; we encourage our staff to strive for the next level. Our teaching assistants are developed into becoming instructors, then into management positions. I have opened up campus positions to our entire school group of 30 campuses to see if anyone was interested in transferring, I feel that our program benifits from having faculty and staff that is very familiar with the curriculum that we teach.
James,
I totally agree. You shorten the learning curve when you hire or promote from within. Having a program which develops internal candidates for promotional opportunities builds loyalty as well as a pool of possible candidates as positions open up. It also builds morale and employee satisfaction. Recognizing the potential in your faculty and staff is commendable.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We use a variety of ways to recruit qualified staff. I feel that the best practice is the referral from employees who know the job description and who you would trust from their conduct as employees. You will know who is looking out for the benefit of the team and the company. Of course the final decision is on you whether the referral is a good fit or not.
Our recruitment practices include posting the open position on major career opportunity websites, internal notices, and referrals. I find that the career opportunity websites provide us with the ability to gain a lot of information about the applicant or pre-screen candidates to those truly interested in the position. Internal notices and referrals tend to leave a lot to be discovered about the applicant due to the fact that most of the details about their work history is left out sometimes until after they have been hired. I believe that the traditional post/interview process works best than word of mouth recommendations.
Don,
Using a variety of sources is always the best policy. Referrals are an inexpensive way to recruit even if you do pay a referral fee. Knowing the referring employee gives you a sense of whether or not you can trust their judgement in recommending others. If you current employee is a good organization fit, has a good work ethic, etc., the candidate referred will probably have some of those same qualities.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
We have used a variety of methods but what we have found what works well is having a panel interview with the managers and all applicants present. It has helped us in finding the best candidate. We have also developed a test based on the position to see who can answer the questions the best.
Vanessa,
Testing can give you a whole different view of the candidate. We used a consulting firm to profile our best employees. Using that profile, that firm conducts phone interviews with the candidates to see whether or not they display the traits that we have found to be present in our "best" employees. This is just one step in the process and does become a screening device for us.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Theresa,
When you say major career opportunity websites, I assume you are talking about sites like Career Builder. If not, please let me know. Doing your homework on candidates is an important part of the process. You don't want to be surprised once you bring them into your organization. Both formal and informal reference checks needs to be a part of the process, as well. By that I mean using your network to investigate work history. It may be someone who is not on the reference list but may have information or be willing to share information regarding a former employee. Sometimes those references are better than those that the employee provides.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
As a Massage and Skincare school, we look to our graduates for instructor or teaching assistant positions. FOr administrative positions we look to our other campuses for assistance or hire from within.
As a Campus Director developing a talent pool for positions used to be time consuming. There are so many individuals just applying for anything.We resolved the issue by developing a strong and concise job description. It reflected the responsibilities of the position, the experience as well as the educational requirements.
Krikor,
I have always felt that it was important for our graduates to gain some experience in the "real world" before I put them in front of a class. This gives them credibility with the students once they find themselves in the classroom.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
Josue,
Even with a clear, concise job description, you will still get those who apply whether or not they meet the qualifications. That job description, however, will make it easier to screen the applications.
Dr. Patricia Kapper
I use a few different options when recruiting. Mainly we post an add within our career services job listing, or we will use facebook as a good way to network with other people. All of us at our school also like to tell the students that they always need to be aware of their actions and behaviors if they ever want to come back and work for the school. We tell them that they are constintly on interview because we see them on a daily basis and anything they do could result in them not getting a job with us when they graduate. The staff that I manage is very part time, maybe 9 hours a week at just above minimum wage. So I like to recruite recent graduates while they are trying to decide which route they want to take in the industry. I love having graduates because they have been through the program, they understand how the system works. So they are usually more helpful when the students have questions or concerns about things that come up while at school.
