Lots of Job Candidates Doesn't Equal a Quality Hire

By Jezabel Southard

Posted on February 15, 2013

If you work in HR, you no doubt have seen first-hand that having a large collection of resumes from job seekers doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to pull a quality hire out of the stack.

When it comes to recruiting, it pays to “work smarter, not harder.” By creating and implementing a strategic staffing plan, you can reduce the stress and costs of hiring while simultaneously increasing your chances of finding a top-quality candidate who’s a great fit for your organization. Strategic staffing plans can also help you predict and plan staffing needs, so that each search is focused on a specific candidate rather than overwhelming you with too many applicants.

Here are a few ways you can streamline the hiring process and find the quality candidate you’re looking for:

• Get agreement on the job requirements. The qualifications listed in the job ad should match the needs of the position itself – and these should be agreed upon by the position’s direct supervisor as well as anyone else to whom the employee will report. Focus on what’s truly required to be successful, not what’s desired because that may have no actual bearing on performance.
• Train your managers. The ability to ask valuable, probing questions in an interview doesn’t come naturally; it’s a skill, and managers who have mastered it are better at finding the best fit for any position. Train managers in interviewing techniques to improve the results of the hiring process.
• Help your recruiter help you. An experienced recruiter can go a long way toward helping you find great people – but the best recruiters are the ones who know what you’re looking for. Take time to educate your recruiter about what the successful candidate must bring to the job. This includes how success is defined in that role as well as the candidate’s ideal background and experience. That sort of insight will help the recruiter deliver candidates whose experience matches those requirements and screen out those who don’t.
• Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate. Set aside dedicated time to go through resumes and really focus on the job’s requirements and the candidates available. Streamline phone interviews by asking the most important questions first. And consider holding small group interviews in the first round; it’s a great way to see how people interact with others as well as how they respond to task-specific questions.

At TERRA Staffing, we understand that when it comes to recruiting, more doesn’t always mean better. Our experienced recruiters can help you create and implement a strategic staffing plan, reducing the stress of wading through numerous resumes and helping you find the quality hire your organization needs. Contact us today to learn more!

Categories: HR and Management Advice

Tags: ensure a quality hire, how to make a quality hire, ideas to recruit top talent, recruiting ideas for companies, recruiting ideas for seattle companies, recruiting top talents in seattle, seattle recruiting companies, top job candidates in seattle, top recruiting firms in seattle, top seattle staffing firms

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