Ready, Aim, Hire
Employee recruitment and retention consultant Mel Kleiman shares mistakes frequently made during the hiring process:
• Asking illegal questions. Write out your interview questions, review each one and ask yourself, “What does this have to do with the person’s ability to do the job?” If it’s not job-related, don’t ask it. For example, if you need someone who will be on time every day, don’t ask, “Do you have a reliable day care provider?” Instead, you might want to say, “Other than personal illness, how many days were you late for work in the last six months?”
• Relying on first impressions. A study by the University of Chicago found 90 percent of interviewers make a hiring decision within the first 14 seconds of meeting the applicant. It’s no wonder so many bad
hiring decisions are made.
• Hiring based only on the interview. Another study concluded hiring decisions based on interviews alone were only eight percent more reliable than flipping a coin. The best predictors of success on the job were testing (53 percent), a temporary job assignment (44 percent) and a reference check (26 percent).
• Emphasizing experience and education. Harvard Business School determined the combination of information, intelligence and skill account for only seven percent of business success. Attitude alone accounts for the other 93 percent. Too few interviewers ask attitude questions like: “I know you would work harder or longer hours if asked, but, in the course of a normal workday, what have you done for an employer that is more than what was expected of you?”
BY MEL KLEIMAN
© 2006, Mel Kleiman. All rights reserved. Mel Kleiman is a nationally known authority and consultant on employee recruiting, selection and retention. This article is excerpted in part from his latest book, “Hire Tough, Manage Easy.” Kleiman also serves as president of Humetrics, Inc., which provides employee recruiting and selection systems, pre-employment testing, educational presentations and in-depth training workshops. For more information, contact FrogPond at (800) 704-FROG (3764) or e-mail susie@FrogPond.com.
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