Subject: March Hire Score Newsletter

Welcome to the March edition of the Hire Score Newsletter. We have lots of new subscribers this month.

I need to begin this newsletter with a couple of announcements and clarifications. Last month I asked for suggestions on topics you would like to see in this newsletter. Unfortunately, I did not give you the e-mail address to send your suggestions to. Please send all correspondence to staff@selectingwinners.com. If you reply to this newsletter, it will not reach me.

Also, we are starting to have major problems with spam software. I hate spam as much as any of you but unfortunately the new spam blockers many times filter out legitimate messages. I get reports as to the number of these newsletters that get delivered. And some of you are not getting this even though you have requested to receive the newsletter. You see, there is not one person getting this newsletter who has not requested it.

As a result, we may need to have people re-subscribe to fix this problem. Right now you don't need to do anything. I am still researching solutions to this problem. Stay tuned.

Now let's take care of some business! I read an article in my local Business Journal weekly about how companies are coping with the flood of applicants for their open positions. As any of you who have advertised an open position know, the response can be overwhelming. (Just another reason why the mega, online job boards are a waste of time) Where two years ago you were lucky to get a handful of responses, today your getting hundreds and in some cases thousands of responses.

The article went on to say how employers were using this as an opportunity to raise the standards for the position. Instead of requiring 5 years of experience they were now requiring 10. Those of you that are long-time readers know that relying on experience is a losing proposition so 5 or 10 is not the question regardless.

Now more than ever, if you are going to hire great employees, you need to use a structured process to make the best decision. A system like my Selecting Winners process. (You can visit my www.selectingwinners.com website and read back issues of this newsletter or find a number of products that will get you up to speed)

Don't get bogged down by the shear volume of responses you are getting. Instead, start with a clear picture (our performance-based success profile) of the successful person. This will guide all your action for the rest of the process. Just because there are more candidates, you should not start messing around with your profile. If anything. the availability of candidates should result in your filling your position faster.

The last couple of months I have discussed how you can NOT take your time to fill positions. Not when you have a business issue not being addressed because your position is not filled. The availability of lots of candidates leads most people into the trap of playing the "I wonder if there is someone better" game. This game can NOT be won.

Of course you want to get the best person for the job. But in reality you want to hire someone who will be successful in solving your business need. Think of that as "setting the bar". Above the bar is success. Below the bar is failure.

Using this analogy, you should start comparing each candidate to the "bar" not to each other. This will help avoid the paralysis associated with, "I wonder if there is someone better".

The other problem associated with raising the bar just because you have lots of candidates is that you are going to put people into jobs where they are not challenged. If you are hiring people who are significantly over-qualified for the position, you are setting yourself up for future problems.

Once again, a much better approach is to set the bar to include specific performance expectations and detailed behavioral requirements (the Selecting Winners performance-based success profile). Recruit and screen to that profile. And then hire a person that clears the bar as quickly as possible.

I hate to say this again but I will, most of what you read in the mainstream press on the subject f recruiting and hiring is just plain wrong. Stay tuned here and I promise I will keep you ahead of the pack!!!

Onward.

I had a request this month to discuss how to go from the resume to interview questions. This is a great request so I will show you some real live examples.

First a couple of foundation points. All questions are dictated by a specific requirement. This means that if you do not have a profile of the successful person with specific behavioral requirements you cannot complete this exercise. You can't possibly know what to ask if you don't know what information you need. This point is so important that I want to give you an example.

So often people open an interview with the classic open-ended question, "So, tell me about yourself" If the response is how the person likes to go fishing or how they closed a particularly large sale, which is more important? Of course you are saying the big sale is more important. But what if I am hiring this person to be counselor at a summer camp on a lake where kids will be fishing. Now tell me which answer is more important. Silly you say, I don't think so. Remember, your requirements will always drive your questions.

OK, now let's look at developing questions from the resume. I recently received a resume for a person applying for the position of fundraiser for a museum. The person had fundraising experience. So I will list a statement from the resume and then show you the questions I would ask. Here we go.

"Restructured organization, increased donations 275%."

1. What did the organization look like when you took over?
2. What changes did you make?
3. How long did it take to make the changes?
4. What was the goal of making the organizational changes?
5. How did you measure the success of the changes?
6. What were donation levels when you joined?
7. How were they trending over the past 3 years?
8. What programs did you put in place to increase donations?
9. Which program worked the best? Worst?
10. How did you track the progress of each specific program?


So there you go. Ten questions designed to get me specific information about whether or not this person will be successful in a lead fundraising position with my organization.

Let's look at another example from the same resume.

"Developed relationships with elected officials at all levels to institute an ongoing plan to generate financial support"

1. Who was the first elected official you met with?
2. How did you get the appointment?
3. What goals did you set for the meeting?
4. How did you establish credibility with the official?
5. How many different officials did you approach?
6. What specific results did you deliver?
7. Who were you competing against for the resources?
8. What was your position versus theirs?


Get the feeling. The process is simply this. Know your requirements. Look for statements on the resume that are related to the requirement. Then generate specific questions that get you information about how the person behaved in those situations.

The next time you are stuck for a question, simply pull out this newsletter and follow the process.

By the way, if you want to have great questions at your fingertips, my How To Hire The Perfect Salesperson (www.PerfectSalesperson.com) product has over 400 questions in 39 different categories. My How To Hire The Perfect Administrative Assistant (www.aahire.com) has more than 100 questions in 10 categories.

I hope you got a lot of value from this month's newsletter. Now I need to ask a small favor. As I mentioned in December, I am completely rewriting the Selecting Winners website and adding a new content rich site as well. What I would like from you is some suggestions as to how you might search the internet for information about recruiting and hiring.

Specifically I would like to know which search engines you use. And, what search terms you would use to find recruiting and hiring information. Your responses will help me position the sites with the search engines so people will be able to find me. Please send your responses to staff@selectingwinners.com. Please take a minute and respond. Thanks in advance for your help.

Also, don't forget to let me know what topics you want me to cover in upcoming newsletters. Send your suggestions to staff@selectingwinners.com.

Finally, we live in troubled and uncertain times. The world is an explosive place. And I just wanted to take minute to share with you a couple of things about which I am most grateful. First, I am blessed with great clients who have worked with Selecting Winners for 18 years. And for my family (my wife Sue and son Ben) who keep me sane and make it all worthwhile. Here's wishing you and yours all the best!

Have a great month recruiting!

Barry Shamis