Attracting Top Talent

When job seekers are asked what size of company, they are most interested in joining, an overwhelming amount choose small organizations (6 to 100 employees); however, small businesses have difficulty finding the right talent to fill positions because they have limited resources. Most employees wear numerous hats, therefore, there often isn’t a designated person to properly write a job description to attract the right talent and commit to numerous interviews to find the right candidate.

‍Build a Strong Employer Brand

‍Be Open to Feedback

• Have an open door policy that allows employees to provide both positive and negative feedback.
•  Encourage employees to post about what its like to work at your organization through sites such as Glassdoor.  Should a disgruntled employee provide a negative review, most sites allow the organization to remove the comment.

‍Utilize Social Media

• Spread your business presence on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to attract recruits.

Take Part in Career Fairs and Virtual Career Fairs

• Career fairs save companies money and time in the hiring process.
• Great way to get your organization noticed.
• Virtual career fairs save companies money, travel and entertainment.

Compensation

• Offer creative benefit perks and packages.
• Host employee events to thank them for their hard work throughout the year.
• Consider New Talent
• Investing in new talent could result in them becoming your best employee.
• Giving new talent an opportunity lets the employee feel gratitude and encourages them to be loyal to the company.

Tips for Writing Job Postings

Be Authentic

• Ensure your job description properly represents the voice of your organization.
• Get the job title right.  Most people read the title to determine if they have the right skills and experience for that job.
• Write what your organization is about and what makes your organization different.  People are interested in jobs that are meaningful.
• Personalize the description to fit your company’s culture.  For example, flexible schedules, pet-friendly, etc.

Job Responsibilities

• Analyze the job by mapping out the tasks the new hire would be required to perform.  
• Consider the skills and training needed to perform each task.
• List key job functions.  Avoid listing every single duty the new hire would perform.
• Remaining tasks not listed in the job description can be discussed during the interview.

Types of Interview Questions

General Questions

These are questions that are usually on the candidate’s resume.  These are typically asked in the beginning of the interview as ‘warm up questions’.

• How many years have you been with your current company?
• Why are you interested in this job with our company?

Situational/Hypothetical Questions

These questions includes a problematic situation.  The candidate must provide a solution and how it would benefit the employer.

• Describe a time when you worked with a problematic co-worker.  What happened and how was it resolved?
• Describe a time when your workload was heavy and your boss wanted you to take on an extra project.

Stress Questions

• The point of these questions is to put the candidate in a stressful situation to learn how the candidate would respond in such situation.
• You don’t have any experience in this field.  Why should we consider you over other candidates?
• Describe a time when you didn’t meet your goal.  Why didn’t you meet it and how did you handle the situation?

Behavioral Questions

• These questions are based on past experience.  It allows the interviewer to predict future performance based on the past performance of the candidate.
• Tell us about a time when you turned a negative experience into a positive one.  
• Tell us about a time when you dealt with an angry customer.

Interview Process

Interview Tips

• Conduct a telephone interview first to determine if the candidate’s salary, workplace preference, skills and experience align with the open position and your organization’s needs.  
• Conduct 2 rounds of interviews.  The first interview will be broader and focuses on the applicant’s skills and experience.  The second interview usually involves higher executives and allows the interviewers to visualize the candidate in the role.
• Pick the same questions for all candidates to answer.  

Prior to the Interview

• Have other members of the team involved to find the right personality.
• Know what you are looking for.  
• Ensure everyone involved in the interview have the same candidate criteria.

During the Interview

• Introduce yourself and tell the candidate a little about yourself and the company.  
• Describe the job you are hiring for in more detail for the candidate including duties and responsibilities.
• Allow each interviewer to take turns asking questions.  This allows other interviewers to observe the candidate.  Does he/she appear to be confident, fidgety, etc.  
• Give your candidate an opportunity to ask questions.
• Let the candidate know the timeline of when you expect to make a final selection for the position.