Prepping your players

Make sure each member of your interview team receives the candidate’s resume at least 48 hours before an interview. Ask each interviewer to review the resume, and to jot down notes and questions. In addition, all members of your team should review information on any candidates previously interviewed for the position, so they can compare the new applicant’s qualifications with those of other interviewees.

Be sure, too, that all members of your team know the exact time and location of the interview. Send this information to each interviewer in writing, and notify everyone promptly if you need to change the schedule.

Checking your baggage

Realize that each interviewer brings a collection of personal baggage to the interview. to prevent your interview team from responding to instates (and often subconscious) biases, select a diverse team of interviewers when possible. That way, one person’s bias can often be countered by another interviewer.

Also, if you’re not absolutely certain that your interviewers are familiar with the laws governing hiring, provide them with written information on the discriminatory questions they’re not allowed to ask.

Don’t assume that your managers will be sensitive interviewers, or instinctively know what they can and can’t say. All too often recruiters are stunned by managers who ask candidates blatantly illegal, rude, or inappropriate questions based on personal biases. (One recruiter, for example, recently shared a horror story about a hiring manager who ended an otherwise positive interview by suggesting that the candidate was overweight and needed to work out!) Train your managers beforehand, so you won’t have to worry once you’re in the interview room.

Is it “chemistry” or bias?

We all know that it’s both illegal and improper to judge applicants on the basis of age, sex, or ethnic background. But we don’t always recognize our more subtle biases. Be sure, when interviewing, that you judge candidates fairly, without factoring in non-relevant features such as the following:

1. Weight
2. Height
3. Accent
4. Attractiveness
5. Taste in clothing

Also, learn to ask yourself, when making a first impression of your candidate, “On what am I basing this impression?” The more insight you gain into your own decision making processes, the better you’ll get at recognizing the difference between a gut instinct and a subconscious prejudice.

Planning your interview format

Decide whether you want to conduct a group interview, or a series of one-on-one interviews. Most companies prefer the one-on-one approach, and so do we. That’s because group interviews, while they save time, can be intimidating.

If you do chose to conduct a series of interviews, work out the timing carefully so your candidate isn’t kept waiting between meetings. And if your interviews run through the lunch our, either take your candidate ti lunch or make sure she gets a break so that she can get a bite to eat.

Until next time..

1. You move the interview process along more quickly.

2. You cause your candidate a minimum of stress and inconvenience. (Remember that your candidate is probably taking time off from her current job to interview with you.)

The disadvantage to conducting a single interview (which can be one session with several interviewers, or a series of sessions conducted one after the other in the same day) is that it’s sometimes tough to schedule a single time when all of the parties can meet. If you must schedule a second interview day, do so, but schedule it quickly, to avoid losing your candidate to a competitor. And, unless you’re hiring for a very high-leve position, avoid scheduling three ore more interviews. “Over-interviewing” makes your practice appear unorganized and inefficient, and chases candidates away.

Next we’ll go over how to prep your players…

1. Whether or not an applicant meets the basic job specifications.

2. The applicant’s personality, attitude, and background.

However, if your practice doesn’t have an HR department or representative, the hiring manager can assess the latter areas as well.

It’s smart to have several interviewers, because this increases the chances that you’ll ask all the right questions. Also, one interviewer may spot a strong point or weak area that another interviewer misses. But avoid interview overkill; we know of candidates who’ve been interviewed by six, seven, or even more team members, and they found the experience exhausting and annoying. Limit your interviews to five or fewer interviewers, unless you’re filling a high-level executive position.

How critical is the planning? Studies show that “off-the-cuff” interviews are no better than random selection, meaning that you may as well simply throw all your resumes in the air and pick the candidate whose resume lands first. A planned interview, on the other hand, can provide you with insight and hard data you need to chose the best candidate from your resume pile. Here are some interview details you should work out ahead of time:

Picking your team – Whose is going to conduct the interview?

Deciding whether one interview is enough – Although we recommend that all your interviews be done in a single day, are you going to have the candidate meet and be interviewed by multiple members of your team? If so, all players must be prepped and be diverse.

Location Selection should obviously be done days before hand. This location is crucial to allow your candidate to feel at ease but to also make a good impression.

Next, we’ll go over in more detail how you should construct your team and more details about choosing an appropriate location and time fore your interviews.

In some cases, of course, the “hire/don’t hire” decision is an easy one. One group of executives, asked to describe their strangest interviews, told of the following:

1. A candidate who showed up in a swimsuit.

2. An interviewee who ordered a pizza to be delivered during his interview.

3. A candidate who, when asked to bring two references, showed up with a couple of friends in tow.

Needless to say, none of these candidates wound up with job offers! Neither did the candidate who called our office to ask if she could bring her bird to the interview, or the candidate who called us to cancel his interview because his pet snake had a fever.

Most of the time, however, it takes hard work to uncover the strengths that make a candidate a winner, or the weaknesses that can spell trouble. There’s no magic formula for the perfect job interview, because interviewing isn’t a science. Instead, it’s part common sense, part intuition, and part sheer luck, and often it comes down to decisions made as much on instincts as on facts. Fortunately, there are way to take some of the guesswork out of interviewing, and increase your chances of hiring an outstanding employee.

Next we’ll discuss how to pick your team and how to decide whether one interview is enough. Stay tuned…

Give ’em room!

How many times have you been confronted by a form that says, “List your work experience,” and then leaves a space so tiny that you can’t write more than two dozen words? A key rule, violated by almost every application, is to make your answer spaces big enough that your applicants can answer the questions fully and clearly. Avoid tiny boxes and short lines that give your applicants writer’s cramp and deprive you of essential information.

Make your application attractive

Your application is one of the first interfaces between your candidate and your company. So avoid tacky photocopied forms, and invest a little money in designing a form that looks professional.

I have discussed in previous posts about the importance of employer branding, creating a consistent and positive image of your company. Your application can contribute to creating this professional image. If you have room, add an attractive logo at the top and include your company motto if you have one. Proof your application carefully to make sure there are no typographical errors or grammatical slips that reflect negatively on your company’s competence.

One more tip: Provide a clipboard so that your candidates can fill out their forms without difficulty. While this seems obvious, the occasional candidate is forced to awkwardly fill out a form using a chair seat or another candidate’s back! Offer a pen, too, in case you candidate left home without one.

Stick to basic, and legal, questions

You want your application to be thorough, but you don;t want to ask unnecessary questions, and you don’t want to lease yourself open for legal problems. Review your form, and ask yourself the following:

1. Does every question relate specifically to job skills?

2. Do the questions relate to job skills needed by this specific category of employee?

3. Could any of these questions be interpreted as discriminatory to women, minorities, disabled employees, or older employees?

Keep your application as short as possible, without cutting out crucial questions. When designing your form, consider having your hiring managers serve as guinea pigs by filling out the forms themselves, and reporting back on any problem areas. Ask them to ensure you cover all necessary skills, and to eliminate irrelevant questions. And, again, review for legal questions you cannot ask.

It’s tempting to allow additional space to write in comments but be cautious. One advantage of your application is that it’s standardized. If you include a “free-form” space where candidates can say anything, they may mention personal information such as religion or ethnic background. This can come back to haunt you if an applicant later claims that he was denied employment because of discrimination. If you allow or a space for candidates to make comments, specify that these comment should be limited specifically to job-related qualifications.

Put it online

If you have a Web site, it’s a good idea to put your application online. Also, offer to mail or e-mail the application to applicants scheduled to come in for an interview. This will save time, and keep the hiring process moving smoothly. Although, on the down side, it’s easy for an employee to conceal poor writing skills by having another person fill out an online application. Also, a candidate who fills out an application at home will find it easier to make his resume and application sound consistent, even is he;s fudging his answers because he’ll have more time to compare the two documents. However, the time saved by putting your application online usually outweighs the importance of these disadvantages.

The first step in designing your application is to recognize that you may need more than one version. The form you use to hire an entry-level machinist should be different than the version you give to a top-level programmer. In veterinary recruiting terms we mean that your potential Practice Manager should not fill out that same form as your potential Vet Technician, otherwise, you’ll waste both their time and yours. This, it makes sense to have either several different applications or a master application with customized secondary pages.

Questions that can be customized for different positions include the following:

1. Skill sets: for example, the version of your application intended for clerical staff may ask which phone systems they’ve mastered, the version for machinists may ask if they know how to use vertical milling machines and the version for programmers may ask if they know Oracle or Java.

2. Experience: An application for managers or your managing veterinarians should ask for extensive information about past hospitals and educational experience, whereas an application for an entry-level employee requires different type of information.

3. Travel Requirements: Include questions such as “Are you willing to travel?” “What percent of time are you willing to travel?” and “Are you willing to travel outside of the country?” only in applications for positions that include travel requirements.

4. Transportation: Ask about candidates’ means of transportation only if providing transportation is a requirement for the job. If your job requires driving skills, you may ask if the candidate possesses a valid license, but do not ask on your application for the candidate’s license number.

Every application, no matter what position it’s for, should ask for this basic information:

1. Names of previous employers and exact dates of employment.
2. Detailed list of duties/responsibilities at each job.
3. Reasons for leaving previous jobs.
4. Salary and compensation (including bonuses) at each job.
5. Supervisor’s names and contact numbers.
6. References with contact information.
7. Educational history.
8. Date the applicant is able to start if hired.
9. Desired salary.
10. Skills rating section.

Why You Need an Application

If you’re recruiting for high-level positions, an application can’t replace a resume, which offers in-depth and personalized information about your candidate. However, as a supplement to the resume, the application accomplishes several goals including the following:

1. It saves time and effort.

2. It helps weed out unsuitable applicants.

3. It can uncover resume fudging.

4. It can protect you against employees who charge discrimination or unfair hiring practices.

The following sections offer a quick overview of each of these functions.

The Application as a Time Saver

All applicants, including those with resumes, should fill out an application. That’s because the application standardizes the format and location of your applicant’s information, making it faster and easier to skim through and find key points. It’s also a good way to make sure that candidates provide all of the data you need to judge their skills and experience.

The Application as a Selection Tool

The application makes its easier for you to objectively weigh candidates’ assets and weaknesses. While a cleverly worded resume can convey a misleading impression that one applicant is more skilled than another, the application condenses information into a more objective format.

In addition, the application can point out employee strengths and weaknesses. When reviewing form, weight these factors:

1. Does your candidate have good writing skills?
2. Does your candidate’s application match the information on the resume?
3. Can your candidate follow directions?

The Application as Legal Protection

Because your application asks each applicant to provide similar information in a standardized format, it’s a more objective hiring tool than is an interview. Also, you can use your application to inform applicants that you are an equal opportunity employer, to obtain their permission to check references, and to tell applicants if they will be required to tale drug tests or participate in other screening as a condition of hiring.

In, addition, your application asks candidates to sign a statement verifying that the information they supply is truthful. This can protect you later, if you discover that your employee lied on the application.

It’s crucial, of course, to ensure that your application itself is legal. It’s especially important to review your applications if they’re several years old, because changing laws have made formerly legal questions taboo.

The Application as a Recruiting Tool

The references that candidates list on their applications can lead you to referrals. Keep this in mind as you design your application, and don’t skimp on the number of spaces you include for references. Also, be sure to ask for the e-mail addresses so that you can send updates on job opening that match their skills. It’s a good way to keep in touch with excellent candidates, even if you don’t hire them for your current openings.

If your candidate passes with flying colors, however, keep the interview process rolling. Find out when she’s available, and schedule the next interview phase quickly. If possible, set a time during the phone interview. Once you set up the face-to-face interview, provide the candidate with the following information:

1. The names and titles of the people who will be interviewing her.

2. The time and date of the interview.

3. How to reach your facility, and where to park.

Send your candidate an e-mail confirming this information, or tell her by phone. Also, provide her with the phone number and e-mail address of a contact person at the company, in case she has questions or needs to re-schedule. Another time-saver: Mail your candidate an application form, or direct her to an online form. As always, speed, and sensitivity to your candidate’s needs, should be your top priorities.

For example, you can say, “The company’s looking at something in the range of $70,000 to $80,000,” and get your prospect’s response. If he says he’s expecting more, and you know your company is willing to better the offer you’ve mentioned, say, “The salary may be negotiable, depending on experience. I think that’s a real possibility.” If your prospect’s desired salary is clearly too high, on the other hand, reply with, “That’s probably higher than they’re able to go, are you still interested is $80,000 is as much as they can offer?”

Also, discuss bonuses, stock options, and other elements of your package. If your salary is $80,000, but quarterly bonuses and stock options bring it closer to $90,000, explain this to your candidate. And, conversely, clarify his expectations; if he says he needs $90,000, is he talking about salary alone, or salary plus commissions, bonuses, stocks, and so on? Be sure you’re both on the same page when you discuss money matters.

Don’t set the salary in stone at this stage, but so determine whether or not your prospect’s expectations are consistent with the salary range or the position. You’re looking for a ballpark figure, not a set amount, and your primary purpose is to avoid big surprises later on.

Next we’ll tune into what happens at the next stage of the interview process…