Prevent Fires: Hire Right

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Interview Techniques for Both Sides of the Desk

By Janis Dice

The Internet has changed the way people do business and has even affected the way many companies hire new employees. As the world gets smaller, workers need only a phone line to communicate with customers, counterparts and — sometimes — potential employers. Consequently, electronic recruiting is becoming a popular method for finding the right person for the job, wherever on earth they may be.

As the United States economy hints at revival and business growth appears on the mend, hiring in some industries is becoming more competitive, making the well-crafted, multifaceted interview process more important than ever. “Businesses that overstaffed and experienced layoffs during the recession are taking a more strategic and measured approach to hiring today,” writes Katherine Spencer Lee, technology executive director for Robert Half International Inc., a large specialized staffing company, in announcing key findings of the firm’s IT Hiring Index and Skills Report. “Many managers are initiating projects previously on hold due to budget constraints. However, they are carefully analyzing their requirements before adding full-time IT employees and relying on project professionals for short-term demands,” Lee writes.

Multiple Offers
Lee notes that candidates who possess a combination of advanced technical expertise, “soft” skills, industry experience and business acumen are beginning to receive multiple offers, prompting firms, in some cases, to expedite the hiring process.

The anticipated increase in personnel equates to more activity among recruiting agencies and placement consultants. Sarah Aurich, a certified Internet recruiter for Management Recruiters of Sacramento (MRS), says that for the past five years, MRS has been using the Web to locate hard-to-reach prospects.

Originally, Aurich’s job was to teach corporate human resource employees how to find and maximize Internet sources. “But so many companies are now aware of how to do this in a way that works for them that most are able to do it themselves,” she says.

A third-party recruitment agency with offices throughout the world, MRS is sometimes the last resort for businesses trying to find a specific set of skills and experience. “By the time they come to us, they’ve already tried newspapers and online job boards,” she says. “They need our expertise to get to work finding that person.”

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