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Three Top Tips for Hiring Smart When Supply Exceeds Demand

By Rebecca Regan

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Published: 21May2009
Word count: 748
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Hiring smart is exponentially more difficult when supply greatly exceeds demand, a contemporary reality created from the recent mass layoffs due to this recession. With so many people job hunting for fewer job openings, now your recruiting efforts are taking much more time than was required in a stable employment environment.

So many resumes...so little time!

How can you possibly evaluate all of those resumes to find the best candidate for your open job? Of course you want to be sensitive and customer focused in responding to applicants who truly desire to work for your company....but realistically, there are only so many hours in any given day! And you simply can't take months to fill an open job with a hiring manager who's calling you for daily status updates on the open job search!

Here are my top three recommendations for hiring smart in this economic environment:

1). Let technology be your friend. In the May 11, 2009 edition of the Wall Street Journal, the article "Resume Overload" revealed free and low cost new software solutions that help recruiters better manage the "swarm of applicants." These systems work particularly well for less complex, non-exempt jobs. Tip: develop keyword phrases in addition to singular keywords to include in your ad that effectively serve to screen out non-contenders. Examples could include knowledge of identified technical software programs, particular required skills or prior years of industry specific work experience.

Your website is another great resource for posting jobs, explaining your company's culture and employment expectations, and receiving resumes.

Social networking sites, particularly LinkedIn are a good resource for finding qualified applicants. Explore them to see if they generate qualified candidates for your open jobs.

2). Let your employees help you hire. An employee referral program is one of the best tools at your disposal to use to source highly qualified applicants. It's a cost-effective "win-win" scenario that generates positive results for the both company and the referring employee.

Your employees will only refer people who they truly believe are qualified and highly capable people because their referral is a direct reflection of their own personal capabilities. Because of the positive reinforcement they'll receive from their managers and peers upon a successful referral, it reaffirms the employee-employer relationship. Proud of where they work, they'll only refer their very best colleagues and friends to their own employer.

And of course, the money factor is an important component. You can structure your program to pay employees their referral bonus upon the new hire's successful completion of their probationary period. Every employee who successfully refers a new hire can then be entered into a contest for a grand prize at year's end.

Just think of the time you won't have to spend screening piles of resumes from hordes of applicants. You'll also save significant recruitment dollars by developing and utilizing this simple, but highly cost effective sourcing program.

3). Focus on the "fit." When recruiting, my goal is to refer three solidly qualified final candidates to the hiring manager for him or her to choose between. While technical qualifications and ability to do the job are a given requirement for filling every open job, at least 50% (if not more) of a successful match between applicant and company is due to organizational fit.

Learn what's important to the hiring manager by exploring what qualities and aptitudes his highest performers now demonstrate on the job. Use that information plus an updated job description to build interview questions that generate discussions about past situations where applicants can divulge whether they demonstrated those behaviors.

Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. By adding tiers of questions to dig down and explore an applicant's answers, you'll discover what motivations, values, and beliefs they possess. This information is critical to have in order to make a sound evaluation of every applicant and serves to assess "organizational fit."

Don't forget to conduct background checks and drug testing on your final candidate(s) before you extend a firm job offer. You can extend the job offer prior to receiving the results from these tests, but only as a condition of employment in a formal offer letter.

Finally, remember that the applicants are also your potential customers. When you are feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of resumes you receive for open jobs, try to put yourself in the job seeker's shoes. Respond to employment inquiries with courtesy and respect to reflect how you would like to be treated if you were in their situation.

Becky Regan is the founder and President of Regan HR, Inc., a human resources consulting firm specializing in compensation consulting for California employers and purveyor of online HR products. A former Corporate Human Resources Director (10,000+ employees) with more than 25 years of HR work experience in many industries, her team works with private, public and non-profit clients.

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