By TEC speaker Glyn Brokensha, Expr3ss Remember how applying for a job used to be? It took time and effort and you paid postage too. Now on-line it’s free and takes just one click. Making fifty applications is just as quick and easy as making one… and at zero cost… cost to the applicant, that is! Internet Job Advertising creates cost for employers instead. Worse, our research shows that up to twenty percent of on-line applicants apply on the job abstract alone… that’s the job title and 150 character summary they first see after searching, a bit like a Google® search result (but shorter). So your carefully crafted ad usually remains totally unread! The Résumé Trap … Reading a poor résumé inevitably makes an average one look better and vice-versa. Besides, today’s résumés are little more than ad copy for applicants, more often than not professionally written if not copied from the Internet or even computer-generated. And résumés never ever give pertinent negative data… e.g. “I don’t have a driving licence”. So if reading résumés is actually misleading and largely wasted time, what does work? Targeted Screening Questions – a solution … Simple, clear “Yes/No” job-specific Screening Questions solve this problem. Get the “deal breaker” questions answered unequivocally up-front. Know the answers to key questions in advance. Save time and unnecessary interviews. Research shows that serious applicants actually like Screening Questions… as many as fifty or more. They regard them as evidence of clarity and forethought. As they realise they “fit your bill” they become more interested in your job. And, yes, typically they do answer truthfully! Most applicants realise that there’s no percentage in false pretences. How do you get your Screening Questions answered? ... Print or email questionnaires are cheap but clumsy and slow to review and score. Free on-line survey tools also exist but are unbranded and have confidentiality issues. Some Internet job boards offer Screening Questions, although you often have to pay on a jobby- job basis. Results can be unhelpful … a generic “pass/fail”, perhaps cluttered with free text. Sometimes you never even see the applicants that “fail”. And take care that you do not lose everything once the survey or job ad expires! Without doubt, the gold standard is a secure web service, tailored to your business that also promotes your employment brand and job opportunities. How should results be presented? Whatever questions you ask and however you present them to an applicant, it’s essential that results are quick and easy to appraise. Scores should be available at a glance in a way that makes applicant comparison quick and easy. Be sure that pertinent negative responses (answers you didn’t want) are highlighted, since they are the most important in driving your decisions. The benefit? ... Well-chosen, weighted Screening Questions let you rapidly evaluate the suitability of lots of applicants in a flash. They eliminate wasteful résumé reading, eliminate selection blunders and hugely improve selection accuracy. The catch … But wait! … there’s a catch! … isn’t it true the most people hire on skills and fire on attitudes? Yes, it is true. For what to do about that stay tuned for part three
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'TEC brings the skills I desire into my board room. The TEC environment is real, pure and stimulating towards the pursuit of business excellence.'
Alan Bruce, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic National Group – 5 year TEC Member
Alan Bruce, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic National Group – 5 year TEC Member
