In the current economy, filling a job opening should be a breeze. You're probably receiving hundreds of resumes for every job opening. After all, it's a buyer's market and you have your pick of highly qualified candidates, right?
Think again.
It's true there's an abundance of job seekers on the market due to recent corporate layoffs and downsizing. You may receive hundreds of resumes for one job opening. But chances are the most talented and highly qualified people are not among the applicants - because it's always the less-than-stellar performers who are first to be let go. The fact is, you actually could find the hiring process more time consuming and frustrating than usual.
First, you'll have to slog through more resumes than normal due to the increased number of people looking for work. Second, you'll find a far lower percentage of truly good prospects among them. Worse yet, in difficult times desperate applicants will say anything to get the job, making it harder still for you to identify a truly outstanding candidate.
One bad hire can cost your company tens of thousands of dollars. Failure and underperformance can drain you of time and resources, and strip profit from your bottom line. Multiply that by the number of new employees you hire each year and it quickly becomes apparent that, due to the risk and potential cost involved, who you hire may be the most critical decision you make in your organization.
So how can you optimize your hiring process to reduce risk and make certain you get the best candidate for the job, especially in a difficult hiring environment?
The first step is to take part in Kiplinger's latest 90-minute interactive audio conference on March 4. You'll discover proven-effective techniques that will sharpen your evaluation skills and help you identify the true standouts among job applicants the first time around. In addition to helping you avoid costly mistakes and transforming your hiring practice into a precise decision-making process, you'll get answers to your most pressing hiring questions, including:
- How do you determine which skills, knowledge and experience are truly critical to the job?
- What is the quickest way to get the information you need out of an applicant?
- How can you ensure a job candidate is answering your questions honestly?
- What are the most common hiring mistakes, how many are you making, and how can you avoid them?
- How can you be confident the applicant you select will be successful 95% of the time?
- How do you determine whether a resume is legitimate - or the applicant's qualifications have been exaggerated?
- What's the best way to decide between two seemingly qualified candidates, and how can you be confident you made the best choice?
- And much more.
Dr. Lee Innocenti is founder and Principal of Performance Strategies, Ltd., a 19-year-old firm specializing in organizational development, training and coaching. Lee has designed more than 200 training programs for a wide range of industries, audiences and purposes, authored more than 100 training workbooks, and conducted more than 200 team-effectiveness programs at all levels and departments of her clients' organizations.
Site License: $209.00
Registration includes one telephone connection at one location, one master set of handouts (with permission to make additional copies for the participants at your location), and an unlimited number of participants from your organization in one listening room.