Jun 23, 2014 | IT
Here we have listed some common decision making errors people make when interviewing applicants. Rigorous training programs, along with added structure, are important ways of minimizing decision making errors, but understanding the different types of error and recognising when they occur is important.
– This error involves making judgments about a candidate based on broad generalizations, rather than information specific to the candidate. These generalizations typically refer (accurately or inaccurately) to attributes of a larger group to which the candidate belongs, such as gender, age, or racial/ethnic status.
– In some cases, interviewers will display a tendency to attribute some of their own characteristics to candidates. There may be something about a candidate that reminds the interviewer of himself or herself, and this superficial similarity can lead the interviewer to overlook or discount distinguishing details specific to a candidate.
– This one is pretty self-explanatory. It is very unfortunate, but many poorly or inadequately trained interviewers tend to judge a candidate within minutes of beginning the interview. It can be difficult to design an interviewing process with validity matching that of other selection tools. Drawing conclusions based on first impressions makes this task nearly impossible.
– When interviewers commit halo error, they are allowing their evaluation of one characteristic to influence their overall evaluation of the candidate. For example, an interviewer who is very impressed with a candidate’s decision-making skills may perceive other skills, such as communication or persuasiveness, to be at a similar level of proficiency. This can work in the negative direction too.
– Some interviewers tend to be excessively lenient across the board when evaluating candidates, while others may be unfairly critical. These are similar kinds of error, and can be detected readily.
– Lastly, interviewers may hesitate to use the extreme ends of a rating scale when evaluating candidates. Instead, all evaluations tend to be “middle of the road.” This can occur even if you are not using numerical ratings. Working with Multiple
Jun 22, 2014 | IT
Grab Talent while it’s Hot: Recruit Fast and Beat the Competition
The economy is on the move. Increased confidence means businesses are getting ready to expand, new projects are being planned and with that comes a demand for talent.
BEWARE!
Recruiting the wrong people into your team can hamper and even reverse your hard-earned growth and put your business and other’s jobs at risk.
Good News!
Talent is on the move. People are increasing in confidence and starting to risk moving to pastures new.
Bad News!
Talent is moving fast. Quality candidates are moving to progress their careers rather than out of necessity and employers are having to compete with each other to sell their positions, not only on salary but also on future prospects and company ethos.
It’s only too easy to miss out on the star hires you need, losing them to your competitors, whether recruiting a contract or permanent person. Don’t let your recruitment process put you at risk of being left with ‘zombie’ employees who can destroy your business.
The Answer
Here at Langley James we have noticed one factor resulting in companies succeeding in securing the people they want: speed. Those who act fast, with streamlined recruitment systems in place are winning the talent. In a market where outstanding applicants are often interviewing with multiple companies in a given week it may only take a moment’s delay to lose the candidate you have invested time and resources sourcing and interviewing.
The Rise of the Telephone Interview
When the ideal CV arrives, of course you want to move fast, but conflicting schedules can mean waiting days or weeks to arrange a meeting with that perfect match, by which time your star candidate will already have been snapped up by your rivals.
Arranging a telephone or Skype interview means you can find a suitable time to liaise significantly quicker: you can even arrange an evening conference. While there may still be a pause before you are able to meet in person, you have been able to promote the opportunity you are offering, gain rapport and move yourself to the top of their employer wish list. Anything you can do to reduce the time to hire will help you recruit the right person and avoid those business destroying zombies.
Speed is still of the essence though. Other employers will be moving fast too. If you think you have found the ideal candidate can you be more flexible than usual with your interview process? Can you reduce the amount of interview stages, the time between them or even conduct interviews out of hours? Could skills testing be done remotely rather than in house to save you time?
Here at Langley James we negotiate the scheduling of interviews on your behalf saving you hours on the phone or sending emails. We have a unique insight into our candidates and will only ever send you CVs we think are wholly appropriate for your needs: our specialised knowledge will save you time and win you a superstar who could so easily have slipped through your fingers and into the waiting arms of your competition.
Call us today on 0207 788 660 to speak to one of our experienced and specialised IT Recruitment Consultants. Alternatively email langleyjames@langleyjames.com.
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