Attracting and Screening for High Quality Candidates
by Alanna Turco & HGT collective
Quantity and Quality Matter.
When searching for top talent for your team, having an adequate pool of candidates to select from is essential. From there, it is all about quality. Creating a pipeline of highly qualified candidates and having an effective screening and interview process ensures better quality new hires who stay longer and produce better results.
1. Cast a Wide Net for Candidates
- Use a Variety of Sources: Post on relevant job boards, your company website, industry associations, colleges and social media.
- Leverage Networks: Encourage professional and employee referrals and network through LinkedIn.
2. Be absolutely clear on what a successful candidate looks like
Make sure you are fishing in the right pond! Before searching for key hires, review your job descriptions. On Crafting the Right Job Descriptions for WHO it is you really need!, we emphasized the importance of ensuring that your job descriptions are accurate and up to date. Do they correctly reflect the role responsibilities, key qualifications and level of experience required. Do they outline the desired people skills and industry knowledge? Based on previous and current superstars, do they include those competencies for success? Consider your company culture and the type of individual that would thrive in that environment.
3. Craft an Exceptional Job Ad
Ensure your ad clearly outlines these criteria as well as possible deal breakers (travel etc). In addition to screening out candidates, include key wording to excite and attract talented individuals. Infuse your brand into the job ad. These factors can dramatically impact the quality of candidates that apply.
4. Use a Robust Screening Process
Whether you use individuals or AI software to identify skills and experience, the first step is to ensure that the ‘must have’ requirements are ticked off. Next, look for additional qualities or experience that the candidate brings that would make them a strong candidate. This might include working in a similar market or lifecycle of a company. Look for progression in their roles, accomplishments and clues to a good cultural fit with your organization.
5. Be Candidate Centric
Think of your hiring process as dating! Both parties are looking to see if they are a good fit, and if there is a good chance for fulfillment and long-term success. If this candidate gets hired, everything you do during the selection process sets the tone for your future relationship. Remember that the interview starts before they walk in your front door or video screen. Whether you hire the candidate or not, the experience impacts their impression of your brand – positive or negative.
Follow these steps:
- Be courteous, professional and on time for the interview. We expect our candidates to arrive 10 minutes early and you should as well.
- Be friendly and put your candidate at ease . Disney excels at this. This will also give you the opportunity to see the real person, not the nervous version of themselves.
- Explain the interview process and what will happen at each step and the timelines. Stick to that.
- Don’t leave candidates hanging. The best talent stays live on the market for only up to 10 days.
Next up… Asking the right questions and strategies to get beyond scripted answers
Alanna Turco
Alanna Turco has 20 years of experience in the fitness industry. The majority of her career was spent at The Sports Clubs of Canada and later with Bally Total Fitness where she held a variety of management positions including Fitness Director…
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