Bright Recruiter: Articles

Online, they looked perfect.  They had everything you were looking for. You asked to connect, they said yes. Before you knew it, you were emailing back and forth every day. The phone conversation went great so you decided to meet. Wow! Things are going awesome; they were as good in person as they were online and on the phone.  The conversation was great, you had the same goals and interests; it was perfect! You definitely saw this going long term.

You wait the standard 48 hours before you call again but they didn’t answer. No big deal, so you left a message. You leave messages and send emails – they never respond. Turns out, you were a bit more interested in them they are in you. Sounds like a bad date? No, it is the case of the missing date. Ever notice how recruiting and interviewing is like dating? Read below:

Dating Profile = Job Board Job Posting
On most dating sites, people put their picture, their likes, what they are looking for in a mate and enough of a personal description to pique your interest. Likewise, your job posting should have enough information to pique their interest without scaring them away. Don’t use clichés! Make it unique but not weird, clever but clear. Make it realistic and describe the truly important parts of the job. And please get to the point.

Email Conversations Alone are not Enough
You can get great info via email but you are only reading what was selected for you to read.  It is not a good indicator of whether or not you will click in real life. When you talk to someone, they are not using grammar check, looking up good responses or getting help from their best friend (we hope!). You can get more of an organic response to further questions you may have. You have to talk to get to know your candidates!

Discovery
Like having your first conversation with a potential date, you need to listen to what the candidate is saying and not saying. You wouldn't just see if they match your keywords selecting them as a potential mate. Spend at least 30 minutes on the phone with potential candidates and listen more than you talk.

Catfished
Don’t get catfished.  Before you send a candidate to a client or a decision maker meet them or at least do a video chat. Make sure the candidate is not doing the old “Bait and Switch.” If you feel creepy when talking to them or it doesn’t seem like the same person, hang up – don’t waste time!  If you think you like them, keep listening!  Pay attention to their speaking tone and style. Most importantly, don’t ignore the red flags! Still interested? It is time to meet.

Meeting in Person
Like a first date, interviewing is the first impression. Be on time. There is nothing fashionable about being late. Be polite but honest. Turn off your cell phone. Don’t expect perfection right off the bat. Remember, it is not about just emotional feelings. Sure you like them, but are they right for the job? Don’t react right away. Let the interview sink in a bit. Let the candidate know what your initial reaction is and let them know you will follow up. If you feel 100% that it is going to work, let them know but still plan on following up.

Post Dating Rules
Determined what you liked or did not like about your first “date.” Assess your level of interest. Remember that people may not always be their natural selves during first dates, so you may want to give someone that you're not quite sure about a second chance. Don’t ignore the red flags! Signs of a good first interview/ date are:

• Good Eye Contact
• Ease of Conversation
• Knowledge of your Company and the Position they are Being Interviewed for
• Appropriate Clothing
• Honest Answers

Some red flags include:

• Coming Across as an Ego-maniac
• Complaining on Past “Relationships” or Past Jobs
• Extended Uncomfortable Silences
• Checking the time
• Closed Body Language

Keep “Dating” (Interviewing)
If you determine that the candidate is not going to be a fit there is no need to ask for a second date. It is important to let the candidate know that you are not interested so as to avoid unwanted stalking.

If it went well and you want to see the other person again, then you may want to contact the other person. Call them as within a minimum of 72 hours. Make sure to leave a message and a follow up email expressing true interest. Ask for their feedback, questions and concerns as well. Remember, just your meeting went well doesn’t mean that they are fully ready to commit. So keep “dating” until the right person comes along. I promise they will!

It may take a bit longer, but take the steps to get to know the person you are hooking up with. You can save time, effort as well as embarrassment and humiliation!

About the author:

Jackye Clayton is recognized as a people expert who puts the Human in Human Resources. An international trainer, she has traveled worldwide sharing her unique gifts in sourcing, recruiting and coaching. She offers various dynamic presentations on numerous topics related to leadership development, inclusionary culture development, team building and more. Her in-depth experience in working with top Fortune and Inc 500 clients and their employees has allowed her to create customized programs to coach, train and recruit top talent and inspire others to greatness. Email Jackye at askjackye@sourcecon.com, follow her on Twitter, or connect with her on Linkedin.

The nature of work is evolving faster than ever as technology transforms from a segmented “industry’ into a feature of all industries. This can be seen by the proliferation of tech jobs across the country. The result of this transformation into a technology-driven labor market is increasing job complexity, and a need for teams rather individuals to manage that complexity. Fitting employees into teams or groups (both terms are used interchangeably in this article) is an essential part of building effective organizations.

Person-Group (PG) fit is the match between an employee and the immediate workgroup. Like Person-Organization fit, it involves both complimentary and supplementary fit. Supplementary fit is a matching of personality, goals, abilities, and values while complimentary fit is a team member’s strengths offsetting the weaknesses of other team members.

In the illustration above, the yellow and blue puzzle pieces apart mean nothing, but together they compliment and supplement each other to become “Group.” The contours and edges of the pieces match each other (supplementary fit) as do the letters, which together create something new, “GROUP” (complimentary fit). If the yellow piece instead ended with an “e” there would be supplementary but not complimentary fit (unless you're French). Conversely, ill-fitting pieces with the correct letters would have complimentary but not supplementary fit.

PG fit is an important consideration in employee selection. Group members who fit contribute more, are more satisfied with their work and work relationships, have reduced tardiness and absenteeism, and are less likely to turnover. Research has found that group cohesiveness leads to group productivity, and the more diverse skillset a group has the more effective they are.  The relationship with performance is not so clear as adequate skill and satisfaction does not automatically translate into performance. In other words, PG fit alone is not sufficient for effective teams, but it is necessary. So when recruiting for a team, it is important to not only match candidates with job requirements but to also match them with the values and needs of a team.

Since the characteristics that contribute to PG fit are stable, PG fit can be used in employment prescreening. Some methods of prescreening for PG fit are looking at resume skills, using strategic interview questions and administering a validated selection test. Candidate resume skills missing in the present team could be used to determine complimentary fit, while personality tests or strategic interview questions can be used to determine supplementary fit.

Consider a self-managed and intelligent, but inefficient team where team members tend to repeat work done by others or put off other team member’s important projects in place of their own. An ideal candidate for this position would be high in cognitive ability and conscientiousness (supplementary) but also a proven leader and project manager (complimentary).  Of course additional characteristics would need to be considered, but this provides you with an idea of how the dynamics of teams must be carefully considered to best complete the puzzle of fitting candidates to teams.

For more information on the field of Person-Group Fit look for research by:

James D. Werbel
John R. Hollenbeck
Amy L. Kristof-Brown

Read More from this Series:

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 1: Introduction)

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 2: Person-Job Fit)

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 3: Person-Organization Fit)

About the Author:

Daniel Maurath is a former Ohioan transplanted to the blissful bay. He received his BA in German and Psychology in 2010 from Ohio State and then served two years with AmeriCorps in San Jose. Now he is a graduate student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at San Francisco State University, where he assists with NASA research that will help put a man on Mars, and dreams of one day owning a dog. Check out his website, follow him on Twitter, circle him on Google, or connect with him on Linkedin.

At Google you can meet in an egg. Genentech grants six-week sabbaticals to all employees for every six years of service. The Container Store offers sales employees a “family friendly” shift of 9am to 2pm. Netapp provides enhanced benefits for parents of special needs children and Methodist Hospital System sent all non-executive employees $250 gas cards when gas-prices climbed last year. These are all illustrations of organizational culture, and finding employees that fit your culture is an important aspect of the recruitment process.

Person-Organization fit is the match between individuals’ values with the norms and values of the organization, and establishing Person-Organization fit is important for organizations in reducing turnover, improving employee job satisfaction and reducing employee stress. In one study, managers who were most dissimilar to their organization in terms of age, education and lifestyle reported the poorest integration into their work teams.  Another study found a relationship between PO fit and salary and career prospects, demonstrating the potential long-term effects of Person-Organization fit. While important, Person-Organization fit should not be used early in the selection process because it relies on subjective rather than objective opinions of recruiters and interviewers. The fit assessments by recruiters and interviewers could be biased and lead to illegal hiring practices. For example, applicant’s interpersonal skills, goal orientation, and physical attractiveness all contribute to assessments of fit when holding general employability constant. So regardless of an applicant’s ability, their physical attractiveness or conversational skills could lead to inaccurate hires or rejections.  Instead Person-Organization fit should be considered in the recruitment strategy.

Person-Organization fit can be applied in the recruitment strategy by publicizing and reaffirming an honest public image in applicant-facing materials. Job applicants form their own personal assessments of fit early on through interaction with company representatives (e.g. recruiters or interviewers) and formal job materials (such as a website or job description), and pre-entry fit perceptions are related to both post-entry fit perceptions and employment quality.  Other influences on fit assessments were the firm's general reputation, attitude toward product/industry, status of particular functional areas within the firm, training and advancement opportunities, and geographic location. In a 1992 study at Cornell, Timothy Judge and Robert Bretz, Jr. found that applicants were more concerned about their future employers sharing four values (1) concern for others, (2) achievement, (3) honesty, and (4) fairness, rather than about pay or promotional opportunities. These values were near universally viewed as desirable, and if honestly valued by an organization should be used in formal job sources.

When considering Person-Organization fit at your organization, formal job sources that convey honest information about the jobs, and about the organization’s values and culture will improve the accuracy of applicants’ fit perceptions. Even just increasing the number of formal job sources has been demonstrated to increase perceptions of fit with an organization. Therefore an organization looking to improve future employee fit should convey an honest image in formal job materials, train employees on how to interact with applicants and highlight its values. A perfect next step would be to put together a realistic job preview and post it on your organization’s website.

Read More from this Series:

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 1: Introduction)

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 2: Person-Job Fit)

Finding a Fit for Fit (Part 4: Person-Group Fit)

About the Author:

Daniel is a former Ohioan transplanted to the blissful bay. He received his BA in German and Psychology in 2010 from Ohio State and then served two years with AmeriCorps in San Jose. Now he is a graduate student in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at San Francisco State University, where he assists with NASA research that will help put a man on Mars, and dreams of one day owning a dog. Check out his website, follow him on Twitter, circle him on Google, or connect with him on Linkedin.

1. Interview or lead a focus group of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in order to develop a comprehensive list of KSAOs. You can have the SME walk through a typical day or problem, ask them about their performance requirements or have them simply list performed tasks and task frequency. 
2. Personally observe SME’s to discover tasks they overlook.
3. Use all of the qualitative information from interviews, focus groups and observations to determine the primary functions of the job. The number of functions should be in the range of 5 to 10. 
4. Within each job function, identify the all the necessary tasks to perform that function. Lists of example generic task statements can be found on O*NET. To write a task statement: (a) Start with what is done using a functional action verb (e.g. prepares, analyzes, meets, leads), (b) Follow the action verb with an object (to whom/for what purpose) (c) Add how the task is performed, and (d) Finish with why the task is performed. 
   Sticking with the lock and key example for determining job fit, consider this example for a locksmith: Job Function: Customer service interaction. Example task: Ask (a) the customer (b) for all relevant information about the problem (c) over the telephone (d) in order to choose the best tools for the job.
5. Once all functions and tasks are clearly defined, have them audited by the Subject Matter Experts and refined. Writing concise unambiguous tasks is the most difficult step in the job analysis process. Repeated cycles of task evaluation and refinement may be necessary.