Hiring in a Buyer's Market

....Hiring in a Buyer's Market, by Donna Deeprose

ASSESSMENT:

1)	In your effort to recruit college graduates, you are losing too many good candidates to your competitors. What would you do?

	Analyze your competitors' recruiting methods and apply their best practices to your own efforts.
	Analyze your own corporate culture and target candidates who are attracted to it.
	Offer higher salaries.

2)	The hiring choice is down to three candidates. Which would you choose?

	Rob, who is very bright, enthusiastic, and insightful and who hit it off with you and the other interviewers. But his experience is not an exact match for the job opening.
	Jim, whose brilliant employment record proves he can do all the tasks required in the job that is open. But you can't quite put your finger on what it is that bothers you about him.
	Ben, who was recommended by a senior vice president. Ben's got potential but, you think, isn't ready for this job yet.

3)	You are recruiting to fill a position in a close knit production team where the output is dependent upon cooperation among team members. What is the first characteristic you would look for?

	Knowledge of your organization
	Team player
	Superior technical skills

4)	Some of the jobs in your organization involve a lot of repetitive, detailed paperwork. Most candidates seem to be looking for something more exciting. To fill these jobs, what would you do?

	Be very explicit in describing the details of the job to candidates.
	Focus on the glamorous aspects of working for your company.
	Promise a bonus after a year.

5)	You have a job vacancy. Who are the best people to interview job candidates?

	Recruiters and bosses.
	Recruiters, bosses, and peers.
	Recruiters, bosses, peers, others in the organization they will have to interact with, and customers.

6)	Your number one choice among candidates for a job just turned down your offer. What should you do?

	Find out what it would take to get her to join your company.
	Contact her again six months, a year, or two years from now when another good opening occurs.
	Offer her more money.

7)	What is the best way today to reach potential candidates?

	Through the Internet
	By word of mouth, networking, and using existing employees as informal recruiters
	Every communication channel you can use

8)	Besides confirming that the candidate's resume is truthful, what can you expect to learn by checking references?

	Whether or not he was liked on his previous jobs
	How she worked with other people
	Not much; references the candidate provides will almost always give glowing reports

9)	You found several good candidates for a job opening, but the manager responded negatively to all, saying each person would not fit in. All of them had excellent qualifications to do the job described. What's probably wrong here?

	The job description isn't giving the whole picture.
	The manager has unrealistic expectations.
	The manager has some other agenda you don't know about.

10)

What is the best way to make your company desirable to high quality candidates?

	Offer the highest salaries in your location or industry.
	Play a high profile role in a community, social, or environmental cause that fits with your corporate culture.
	Pay your existing employees fairly, treat them with dignity, empower them to use their initiative, and reward them for taking reasonable risks.

In a growing economy and a tight labor market, it's tough trying to attract the cream of the crop to your company. Are you using the best techniques? Take this quiz to test your recruiting skills.

Click on the response that best matches what you would say and do in each of the ten situations that follow.

Click here to start this assessment!