This day and time with rampant unemployment, salary freezes and employee restlessness, one would think that their stack of job applicants would be overloaded with good quality employees who have fallen victim to the economy and would be choice assets to add to their employee rolls. I’m not sure what your stack of resume’s and applications looks like, but the ones that I have received over the last year have been a few shades darker than dismal. The comedy legend Gallagher stated that 15% unemployment didn’t bother him. He believed that 25% of the population was crazy and at 15% unemployment, he was extremely concerned about the 10% of crazy people in the workforce. My current stack of choices seems to have made Gallagher quite a prophet.
So, what can we do to make sure we get the quality people or at least the best of the worst when we are adding to our employee base? I try to do some different levels of screening plus utilizing my initial interaction with potential employees to assist me in getting the right people. This method has bitten me low and behind a couple of times, but thankfully, and luckily, it has served me well with some good loyal employees that I have been blessed to have worked with.
My first level of screening is the application and the resume’. If someone doesn’t take the time to prepare a legible, concise, and grammatically correct resume’ or application with correct spelling, they usually will make my reject pile quickly. Cutesy covers, colored paper, expensive folders and cotton bond paper do not gain any extra points in my book either. However, hand-written, in pencil, on torn-out composition notebook paper will get a quick toss into file thirteen. (Yes I had this happen once!) One of my favorite resume’ covers of all time was a baby blue with pink polka-dot folder adorned with a pair of high top sneakers that was entitled, " just hangin' ". Once the appearance of the resume’ has gained its way into the satisfactory pile, I then look at the jobs held to years worked ratio, taking into account whether the person advanced, stayed level or fell downward in employment responsibilities and position. Someone who might appear to be a job hopper might just be a quick learner who networks well and advances professionally.
The second level of screening I utilize is the phone call / telephone interview. If someone is seeking employment, they need to have an appropriate ringtone and voicemail message, by the way. Hearing blaring music with curse words in it does not move one to the front of my class. Also, voicemail that tries to be cute, slang ridden and noisy is hard for me to overcome. If I leave a message for the person, I would expect that they would call me back within 24 hours, if they have an interest in our position. Once I am talking to the person, I try to ascertain their communication abilities and their expertise at human interaction. I will pay close attention to their level of interest and politeness. I usually do not expect them to do most of the talking on this phone call, unless I ask open ended questions. I usually will know within a few minutes whether I want to continue the process with a candidate and have a set of routine questions that I will ask each person. Their responses to the questions and their level of interaction will determine whether an in-person interview will be set up for them. I always try to place the applicant on hold once during the conversation to see how they react to interruptions and I will give the person a day for the interview, but not necessarily the time. I let them choose the time that works with them and usually learn more about them from their communications.
Next comes the face to face interview. Professional dress is a must for someone who wants to work with me. No obvious tattoos, unreasonable piercings and especially “grilles” will be acceptable appearance. I discuss their work record while assessing how well they communicate and then I tell them about our place of work, the duties of the open position and benefits and salary. I do expect some interaction at this point of the interview, but do frown upon those applicants that cannot seem to know when to stop talking or those who talk very little at all. I look for the people who seem to have people skills and seem trainable. I would rather have a person of moderate intelligence who values people and relationships than a brilliant person who can’t seem to find value in others. I would also rather hire an energetic upwardly mobile person who may leave in 2 – 3 years if not promoted than to hire an entry level person who is perfectly happy in staying entry level for their entire career. I finish the interview, asking if they have any questions of me, and if I feel they may be a “keeper,” I give them a tour around the office, introducing them to physicians and employees that are available, again, seeing how well they interact with people. After they leave, I follow up on references and past employers to get their feedback.
This method is not always fool proof, but has seemed to work through my years of hiring people. I have luckily had to fire very few through the years when I have taken this approach to interviewing and hiring.