1. Ask the right interview questions: You want to ask about experience, but you also want to make sure that you’re asking about the candidate themselves. Questions that reveal their values and personalities are important. Ask what’s important to them outside of work. Ask about how they’d react in certain scenarios involving common employee pitfalls like time management, deadlines, interpersonal team relationships, management, and more.
2. Reference the resume: If you want to make sure that someone is who they say they are, ask them questions from their resume. If they listed that they grew an accounting business by 200%, ask them what strategy and steps they took to do that. You want to make sure their story lines up with the facts they’ve given you.
3. Call references: Doing your due diligence is always smart. Asking for professional and personal references from every candidate – and actually following up with them over phone or email – can be another step in an already lengthy hiring process, but it can reveal potential problems along the way and is a worthwhile way of evaluating your recruit.
4. Do a background check: Not every business can or should do this, but many businesses find reasons they shouldn’t hire a candidate by using a 3^rd party to conduct a background check on an employee before officially hiring them. You may have a genius programming candidate who was also convicted of stealing from their first job, which they didn’t list on their resume. Background checks are becoming a more common way to give your hiring managers peace of mind.

Need help finding the right talent?

Finding the right candidates for your business is key to your success. We can help you vet the candidates interested in your open position and make sure you get matched with top talent every time. Call our staffing experts at Open Systems Inc today.

The post Looking Behind the Mask: How to Truly Evaluate Technical Professionals appeared first on Open Systems Inc..

The Interview is Only as Good as the Questions You Ask

The best way to ensure your roster is filled with top candidates is to use the interview to assess what a candidate can bring to your organization. By asking the right questions, you can gain insight into a candidate’s motivations and thoughts.

The Top Interview Questions to Ask Candidates

Why are you leaving your current employer?

A standard and favorite question in the interview repertoire. This question brings insight into a candidate’s motivations for their job search. It also can answer other questions regarding whether they are looking for a new career direction or are open to relocation.

How would your co-workers describe your interaction with them?

This question can provide a look into a candidate’s communication and interpersonal skills. Do they remain positive while they answer this question? Do they badmouth and place blame on co-workers and supervisors? While a simple question, it can give a prospective employer a taste of how the candidate will work with others.

How do you plan on continuing your professional development?

This question can provide insight into a candidate’s drive and passion as well as your future training expenses. Do they plan on pursuing more education, training or certifications? For example, if an employee is planning on finishing a degree or earning certifications, this will affect a prospective employer in two ways. First, if an employer pays for training and education, this cost will need to be factored into company expenses. Second, if a candidate acquires this additional education and training, will it increase their market salary significantly?

What are your professional goals?

When a prospective employer asks this question, it can be revealing. Does the candidate have career aspirations that will quickly outgrow the position you are interviewing for? Do they envision a management role in the future? If a situation exists where you see an employee outgrowing the job quickly, it only means that as an employer, you will be re-staffing the role sooner than expected.

Moving Forward

With record employment, finding talent is getting harder and harder. Thus, it’s essential when you do find a candidate that you ask the right questions. For help finding the right talent for your needs,  consult a professional recruiter. A professional recruiter can find and provide you with top talent in a very competitive market.

The post Critical Questions You Should be Asking in an Interview appeared first on Open Systems Inc..