5 Tips for HR to Spot High Quality Candidates While Hiring

Do you know hiring the right person for the job can be costly and time-consuming? There is world of difference between candidates who can be correctly matched to the job and company, as a HR, you need to find and match the suitable candidate to the job. Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Develop accurate job descriptions.

Your first step is to make sure you have an effective job description for each position in your company. Your job descriptions should reflect careful thought as to the roles the individual will fill, the skill sets they'll need, the personality attributes that are important to completing their tasks, and any relevant experience that would differentiate one applicant from another. This may sound fairly basic, but you'd be surprised at how many small companies fail to develop or maintain updated job descriptions.

2. Post the job descriptions for potential candidates most likely to reach

Of course, the Internet has become the leading venue for posting job openings, but don't overlook targeted industry publications and local newspapers.

3. Screen and find goal-oriented candidate

Once you post your job description, you will start receiving resumes. Ask the candidates whether they have real plans to further develop themselves professionally. Unfortunately, the standard answer to the question, "Where do you see yourself in the next two years?" is typically "I see myself in a management position". Yes, that is a good answer, but it's also very standard. If the candidate mentions that they want to be in management, see if they offer suggestions on how they will be a good manager, train future employees, and/or speak towards company growth.

4. Ask your potential candidates for their skills and working experiences that attribute the profession.

Be sure to evaluate the candidate's experience level on what they want to be taught on because you may want him/her to come in with some basic job knowledge. Additionally, if the candidate is willing to add his/her knowledge to programs and services that will train other employees, that's an added bonus.

5. Run a background check

Background check is the last step in the process. It is very important for HR to check candidate's individual background that is not revealed by previous interviews. A good way is to collect feedback from their previous leaders. Always remember that candidates typically give references that they believe will say positive things about them. However, if the candidate is listing all previous managers, this is a good sign that the references will be frank with you.

Pre-recruiting tips

Before you start the hiring process, determine your strategy relative to how people fit into your organization. What is your process for making sure they're a good fit with your company's culture? In many cases, employers need specialist support with their hiring strategies. Using a recruitment agency to identify and attract talent, and negotiate terms, can relieve a huge amount of pressure. This approach can help organisations find the people they need to move forwards, bring them to interview, and secure their services within budget.

So what exactly is the benefit of a recruitment agency to help hire professionals? Here are a few practical benefits:

Ability to identify talent. The benefit of a recruitment agency is they work with both employers who are searching for talent, and professionals who are on the hunt for career opportunities. As such, they are ideally placed to be 'in the know' and operate as an intermediary between the two parties. The knowledge recruitment consultants possess about how to avoid hiring a bad candidate can be extremely valuable; they know who is looking for work, how capable they are, and what sort of a salary expectations people have.

Interview candidates. When interviewing candidates, the benefit of using a recruitment agency is they can conduct interviews on an employer's behalf, which can save time and money. A recruitment consultant first provides a candidate screening - potentially over the phone - to begin the process of narrowing down the applicants. They can learn a little more about the individuals on the shortlist, and eliminate any unsuitable matches from the process. The recruitment agency can also conduct background checking on candidates invited to interview, meaning the employer's HR department doesn't have to. When it comes to the final round of interviews, a recruitment agency can advise on what interview questions to ask.

Deliver interim professionals. Using a recruitment agency gives businesses the benefit of increasing or decreasing their employee levels as needed. They can identify professionals for full-time, permanent roles, but also individuals suitable for interim jobs. It may be that emergency cover is needed for an absent employee, who has gone off ill or left at short notice. Or an employer may be concerned about a lack of capacity for a new project or initiative that is getting underway. Recruiters have candidates on who are willing to hit the ground running, meaning there is no time wasted getting these professionals up to speed.

Offer industry insight. Another benefit of a recruitment agency is they spend all day, every day, working to provide staffing solutions for organisations across a range of industry sectors such as finance and accounting, financial services, interim management, technology and office administration. As such, they have significant expertise and jobs market insight, internationally, nationally, and locally, which employers can tap into as they plan their recruitment strategy. Recruitment consultants understand employer needs, candidate expectations, and the impacts of supply and demand on the jobs market as a whole. This means they are ideally situated to help employers make educated decisions, which have a positive impact on the bottom line.