Staff & Resources
Hiring New Employees
Compensation
Controls Keep Staff on the Straight & Narrow
Hiring New Employees
 
Screening Job Candidates: On a written application form, you can ask candidates to provide all the relevant factual information you need. This includes:
  • Name, address, phone number, social insurance number
  • Educational background
  • Work experience
  • Three references
  • A brief explanation of why the candidate wants the job and thinks he can do it well
 
Tips for a Successful Interview
  • Be punctual: You've asked candidates to show up on time. You should too.
  • Minimize the small talk. You're hiring an employee, not a friend.
  • Avoid interruptions. For example, don't interrupt the interview to take a phone call.
  • Keep the interview short. Ten minutes is sufficient.
  • Ask each candidate the same specific questions.
  • Take notes of their answers and of your impressions of the candidate so that you can distinguish one candidate from another after you've finished all the interviews.
  • Wait till you've interviewed everyone to make a decision.
  • Ask other staff members to participate in the interview. After all, they have to work with the new employee.
  • Once you've made a decision, contact the other applicants to thank them for applying and to let them know you've hired someone else.
 
Here are 10 questions that will help you to decide if the candidate fits the bill:
  1. Why do you think you would preform well in the position?
  2. Why do you want to leave your current job?
  3. How much do you expect to earn within the next five years?
  4. How would you respond if...(describe a situation appropriate to the job under discussion)?
  5. What are your strongest attributes?
  6. What are your weakest attributes?
  7. What steps can you take to compensate for your weaknesses?
  8. Why do you think you've been successful in your current position?
  9. What interests you most about the job?
  10. Where would you like to be in five years?
In addition to specific answers, the candidate's responses to these questions will also provide some insight into their sense of humour, intellectual agility, performance under stress and interpersonal skills.
 
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