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Look Behind the Credentials: Find Candidates with Multiple Skillsets

13 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by trendhr in Hiring, Recruiting

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applicants needed, applying for a job, candidate’s experience, Candidates with Multiple Skillsets, company culture, Credentials, dfw careers, Find Candidates, hiring now, HR professional, Multiple Skillsets, people skills, perfect candidate, Potential Employees, rockwall jobs, skills on paper, smart recruiter, technical skills, technical talent, trend personnel dallas, trend personnel services

by Julie Long | BLR

Thoughts of IT, engineering, and computer science don’t normally conjure up images of people who are the life of the party. Or even those who enjoy exchanging pleasantries. But, these unicorns of the tech world—those that have technical talent and people skills—do actually exist. You just have to know how and where to find them.

Look beyond credentials on resumes

What’s in a name?

The first instinct of any recruiter or HR professional is to look at the title. This can be a grave misstep because titles are often misleading. Titles like Field Engineer or Systems Administrator may not imply the full extent of the candidate’s experience working with others. While technical-sounding, candidates with these titles actually have to work alongside staff and clients on a consistent basis. What’s a good way to make sure that you fully understand someone’s communication ability through his or her resume?

See if they have any consulting experience. The word “consultant” doesn’t have to be in the title, either. For example, an applicant with experience in website coding design probably has had to communicate with clients and staff to deliver the desired result. Producing designs that are aligned with a company’s brand requires a high-level understanding of what a company’s culture is all about. Awareness of company culture is usually an indicator of someone who can appreciate the value of a company’s people.

So they can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk?

Once you’ve found someone who appears to have all the skills on paper, how do you know if they can walk the walk? A technical skills screen is probably the first thing that comes to mind, but it isn’t the only thing you should be doing.

It’s crucial to make the most out of group interviews and phone screens. Seeing how people interact with others is a good way to gauge overall social skills, so is asking questions about what they do and don’t like about their current or previous positions. And then there’s the all-important question: would I enjoy going to dinner with this person? If they seem like someone you’d enjoy spending time with outside of the office, it’s likely they’ll be just as interesting to work with.

Hold the phone, social media is important too?

The phone screen doesn’t have to be brutally difficult. It can actually be quite the opposite. In addition to observing how easy they are to communicate with over the phone, asking people simple, casual questions—such as what they like to do outside of work or what they’re truly passionate about—can give insight into their like or dislike of social interaction.

You can tell a lot from a phone call, but you can tell a whole lot more about an applicant by their presence on social media and in their professional networks. People who have robust, but appropriate, social media profiles and who regularly attend networking events are usually people who enjoy the company of others.

However, even the most people-oriented of tech talent may not be on LinkedIn. The reason is simple—tech talent is in high demand and many of the people with those skillsets don’t want to be bombarded by recruiters. If you do find a qualified applicant through LinkedIn with a strong profile and a few solid recommendations, chances are you’ve got someone with potential.

You may have found the perfect candidate, now what?

So you’ve found the illusory candidate with a mix of tech talent and people skills online. How do you woo them? By being personal. All too often, recruiters search strictly by title without doing any research about the individual before reaching out. Even though you may be searching for people with hard technical skills, they probably are driven by more than just a paycheck.

Take time to figure out what someone’s previous work experience is and allude to it in your initial email. Be sincere when you ask them about what they want their job to look like, or what their passions are. A smart recruiter and HR professional shouldn’t just be looking for a technical skills fit—they should also be looking for potential employees who are looking to advance their careers over the long run.

Searching for candidates with both the right technical skills and a big personality may seem like a lost cause. However, the more effort that’s put in to get to know the person behind the credentials, the more satisfied the person—and the company—is going to be with the job fit.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/152-look-behind-the-credentials-find-candidates-with-multiple-skillsets

Why Conduct Background Checks on Potential Employees?

22 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by trendhr in Hiring, Recruiting

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applicant, applicants needed, apply now dallas, Background Checks, dfw jobs, hiring process, Potential Employees, recruiting tips, rockwall jobs, trend personnel dallas, trend personnel services

by Bridget Miller | BLR

Does your organization conduct background checks as part of the hiring process? Many organizations do, but the type of background check—and the extent of it—varies considerably. Let’s take a look at some of the most pertinent reasons so many businesses opt to perform some type of background check on any potential new employee.

Some of the Reasons for Conducting a Background Check

Probably the biggest reason employers choose to perform background checks on potential employees is safety and security. Employers have an obligation under OSHA to provide a safe workplace—one that is free of known hazards. It can be easily argued that hiring an individual with violent tendencies—tendencies that could  have been discovered with due diligence—would represent a disregard for that obligation. As such, many employers opt to perform at least a criminal background check on potential employees before finalizing any offer of employment.

Similarly, if an individual causes harm to anyone—such as a customer or vendor—the employer may be liable if there was an opportunity to learn about this tendency, such as the existence of a public criminal record.

Security is another concern, especially for jobs in which an individual is responsible for cash or for making decisions that affect the company’s profitability or reputation. For any individual in these roles, employers often consider doing a background check that confirms the individual does not have a history of fraud, negligence, or theft, for example.

Background checks can also be done on a more limited scale. Technically, even calling references is a form of background screening. In these situations, an employer is trying to gauge what the potential employee is like to work with, to better ensure it will be a good fit. These can also be done as a means to try to uncover any fabrications or exaggerations on the application, résumé, or during the interview.

Conducting Background Checks: Some Caveats

Despite these very good reasons to conduct an employee background check, there are limits to what an employer can discover and use. For example:

  • Employers should be careful not to make decisions based solely on arrest records. An arrest is not the same as a conviction, and some protected groups may be disproportionately affected by a policy that disallows a perspective employee due to any arrest—thus making such a policy discriminatory.
  • Credit checks and other background checks require employee consent. Without consent, such checks can be illegal, depending on what type of check is conducted. Consult legal counsel and get advance permission before conducting background screenings. Additionally, if you use an employee’s credit rating as part of the background screening process, first be sure there is a legitimate business purpose for doing so. Otherwise, this alone can be a form of discrimination if potential employees are excluded based on credit. This is because lower credit scores disproportionately affect some protected groups, and eliminating on this basis alone would create a disparate impact on these groups. Even with a legitimate business purpose for checking a credit score, the employer must also be sure to follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) rules.
  • Background checks can inadvertently turn up information that discloses an employee’s inclusion in a protected class. Even if this information is not used in the hiring process, it is risky for an employer to have such information at this stage because it raises the possibility of a discrimination claim. For this reason, many employers use third-party services to conduct background checks—and those service providers only turn over information that is relevant to the hiring process, insulating the employer from knowledge about protected class inclusion and other information that should not be used in hiring decisions.
  • There are many federal, state, and local laws that limit the type of information that an employer can seek out—be sure to consult local laws and understand the limitations.
  • Be sure any background screening is relevant to the job. For example, there is probably no need to get a driving record for someone who will not be driving for the company in any capacity.
  • Be consistent in conducting background checks. Do not conduct background checks only for certain applicants but not others who are up for the same job. It’s OK to only conduct background screening after you’ve made a short list, but it’s not OK to only conduct background checks on individuals of specific groups, such as minorities or immigrants. Be consistent in the hiring process for each job opening.
  • When something is uncovered during a background screening, consider giving the applicant the opportunity to share more information about the situation. While you still need to be consistent in how the situation is handled, it’s always possible that there’s a mistake that can be rectified or there are extenuating circumstances that change the view of the situation. Of course, if you’re going to give the opportunity for explanations, be consistent and offer this opportunity every time the situation arises.

Does your company conduct employee background checks? What advice would you provide based on your experience?

*This article does not constitute legal advice. Always consult legal counsel with specific questions.

http://trendpersonnel.com/en/news/item/150-why-conduct-background-checks-on-potential-employees

Questions You Can & Cannot Ask Applicants!

14 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by trendhr in Interviews

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applicants needed, apply now dallas, dallas career fair, HR hiring, interview questions, temporary careers, texas staffing agency, trend personnel

by Steve Bruce

Questions you may ask during an interview include the following:

  • Please tell me of a major accomplishment or project that you are most proud?
  • What has been your biggest frustration or disappointment in your previous (or current) job?
  • What skills and experience from past jobs do you think will help you succeed in this position?
  • What would you consider your three greatest strengths? Three greatest weaknesses?
  • Describe specific job duties and tasks that you completed in your past (or current) job?
  • How do you spend a typical workday in your current (or previous) position?
  • What are your expectations from this job?
  • Please describe your career goals for the next one to two years? Three to five years? How about the next five to ten years?
  • How will being employed here help you achieve your goals?
  • Tell me why we should hire you? How will you be an asset to our organization and team?

You’re NOT ALLOWED to ask questions about an applicants:

  • Age
  • Birthday
  • Marital Status
  • Familial Status
  • Pregnancy or plans for pregnancy
  • Childcare arrangements
  • Disability or impairment
  • Health history (past or present)
  • Illness (past or present)
  • Birthplace or ancestry
  • Native Language
  • Religion
  • Racial Group
  • Religious holiday or practices
Never use these prohibited questions in any written or verbal form.  You’re to focus only on the candidates experience and skill sets in regards to the position they’re applying for. Nothing else is  in the Laws eyes. If you ask an applicant about anything listed above then you are violating the law putting yourself and your company in jeopardy.
http://trendpersonnel.com/index.php/en/news/item/103-questions-you-can-cannot-ask-applicants

Recent Posts

  • KEY TRENDS IN RECRUITING TO IDENTIFY, ENGAGE, AND HIRE TOP TALENT
  • Preemployment inquiries under the FMLA and ADA: What’s prohibited?
  • Look Behind the Credentials: Find Candidates with Multiple Skillsets
  • The Cutting Edge of Employment Branding
  • Why Conduct Background Checks on Potential Employees?

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Recent Posts

  • KEY TRENDS IN RECRUITING TO IDENTIFY, ENGAGE, AND HIRE TOP TALENT
  • Preemployment inquiries under the FMLA and ADA: What’s prohibited?
  • Look Behind the Credentials: Find Candidates with Multiple Skillsets
  • The Cutting Edge of Employment Branding
  • Why Conduct Background Checks on Potential Employees?

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