So an applicant is sitting across from you or on Zoom and you just read this Inc article about 85% of job applicants lying on resumes. In the article there are three ways to spot a liar. The trouble with that is the time it takes to do that diligence. Determining which applicants are lying takes a lot of time as well as a good interviewer. Added to that is the reliance on ATS systems to screen for specifications for a job looking for keywords. Applicants are getting wise to it and customizing resumes to get past the filters in hopes of an interview. I read another article where it is estimated millions of qualified applicants are rejected because of requirements that are too restrictive. Job descriptions are often written with requirements that are more restrictive than needed. Is 5 years of experience really necessary or just desired? Is a college degree required or could focused experience serve the same purpose? An ATS system is too literal. There is no room for interpretation. You either meet the requirements or you do not.

Are managers a bit lazy, or way too busy? Take your pick, but it results in pulling outdated job descriptions off the shelf. Those descriptions do not accurately determine what is needed to do the job. The adage ‘hire slow – fire quickly’ holds true. You need to take the time to accurately describe what skills, experience, and education are really necessary. And the list goes on.

On the personality side take the time to think through what behavioral style elements are needed to deliver the results expected in that specific job. There are tools to help you do that effectively. We supply such tools and have used them for over 25 years. They are extremely helpful if you are trained and know how to interpret the results. If you don’t know what you are really looking for, how do you know if you will find it?

Our selection tool requires a behavioral benchmark. That typically is not available, and we meet resistance to do the work to create it, so we clone their best employees in that job. By clone I mean we use our assessments to create a profile of shared behavioral traits. That works surprisingly well.

If the resume is potentially professionally written and contains misinformation, why even read it? So how about loosening the requirements to what is the absolute minimum necessary for the position? In today’s relentless quest to find talent are we relying too much on computer algorithms, well-written resumes, and not considering pure capability? Are savvy applicants figuring out what keywords ATS systems are looking for and seeding their resumes with those words hoping to get an interview? Once you get pulled into a resume it sets up a bias.

I recently had a conversation with a former HR Executive, now a coach. She said that reading a resume was a waste of time and potentially counterproductive because it sets up biases. And biases are partly responsible for lack of diversity. Why is diversity such an issue in companies? We all have biases and if that is the first thing we are presented with, our judgment is affected. Granted, overall, we hire more acceptable individuals than not but if the bad hires are only 15% of the total hired that equates to a pile of money that should be going to the bottom line.

Legacy hiring processes still rely mostly on the interview. Often that is not just one interview it is multiple. That takes a lot of time with a sizable investment. I interviewed a manger that told me his process was having five managers interview applicants. Each one had veto power. He thought it was a great process as he hired good people. No doubt but how many potentially great people did he miss?

I’m not against interviewing but I think it should be the last, not the first step. It should rely on data and not intuition. It should be done by the most competent interviewers. To illustrate, in our product testing for our newest tool we engaged an employer that was having a hard time finding and retaining field engineers. Using assessment data from existing high performing employees we developed a profile to match applicants against. I remember one applicant that fit the profile very closely. I highly recommended this person be prioritized for interview. He was interviewed and was hired. Much to the glee of the employer this individual quickly became a star and has been with them for over three years. That individual had applied for the same position on two previous occasions using the companies old hiring format and was rejected.

We streamlined the selection process so that only the best potential was selected for a final interview saving time and money. I’ve seen examples where an individual was hired without an interview. The decision being made because the data revealed by our assessment process matched what was desired for the position. The result proved to be justified based on performance and longevity.

Relying on an interview process based on a resume alone is fraught with risk due to the potential of inaccuracy. Use the best interviewers. Uncover the lies, Structure the questions around what outcomes are desired. Dig deep. That’s a lot of work, but we know that structured interviews increase success slightly above 50%. Unstructured interviews? Might as well use a dart board.

A better option is to use validated, accurate data matched to total job requirements. It is faster, has a lower cost, and offers better results.

HireSense, with lack of bias, prioritizes those applicants having the best potential to fit the job requirements. Reading resumes and setting up the interview strategy to determine the honesty of 100 applicants takes a lot of time. The HireSense process whittles down to the top three to five best choices and suggests the most pertinent interview questions.

If you would like to see this tool in action using your data contact Michael@Hiresense.com and we’ll send you a link to take the assessments. It takes about 30-45 minutes to complete and the debrief of your report with Michael will blow you away!

85 Percent of Job Applicants Lie on Resumes Read More »

Are you tired of sifting through countless resumes and conducting multiple interviews, only to end up with a high-risk hire? In today’s competitive job market, finding the right candidate is more challenging than ever. That’s where HireSense comes
in.

At HireSense, we understand the importance of selecting candidates with the necessary qualifications and the right fit for your organization. Our innovative approach streamlines the hiring process, saving you time, money, and potential headaches.

Here’s what sets HireSense apart:

Speed and Efficiency:

We accelerate hiring by comparing qualified applicants to predetermined behavioral benchmarks and personality targets. This means you can focus your attention on the most promising candidates, ensuring a quicker path to success.

Cost Savings:

Traditional interviewing methods can be costly, especially when interviewing a large pool of qualified applicants. HireSense identifies the applicants best suited to the job, allowing you to prioritize your resources on those with the highest chance of success. Say goodbye to unnecessary interviews and hello to cost-effective hiring.

Bias Reduction:

We all have biases, but minimizing their impact is crucial in fair and effective hiring. HireSense eliminates bias by evaluating applicant data first, before any interviews take place. By removing the initial subjective assessment, you can make more objective decisions based on the insights provided by HireSense.

Insightful Evaluation:

HireSense provides a concise evaluation of each applicant, combining graphical data with descriptive summaries of their behavioral style, motivation, and judgment. This comprehensive picture helps you understand their strengths and limitations, enabling you to make well-informed hiring decisions.

Targeted Interviews:

Our platform guides you with relevant interview questions tailored to each candidate, based on the data collected by HireSense. This targeted approach ensures that you extract the most valuable information during interviews, saving time and maximizing efficiency.

Results Interpretation:

With HireSense, you have access to training resources that help you develop position benchmarks, interpret comparison alerts, and fully understand the data. Additionally, you can choose to work with a professionally trained practitioner who can guide you through the process, ensuring optimal results.

In summary, HireSense offers a faster selection process, cost savings, and improved hiring outcomes. By identifying high-risk
candidates early on, you can safeguard your company from potential disruptions caused by a bad hire.

Don’t let the challenges of hiring high-value employees hold you back. Choose HireSense and experience a smarter, more efficient way to find the perfect fit for your organization. Get in touch with us today and let us transform your hiring process for the better.

Introducing HireSense: Your Solution for Successful Hiring Read More »

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Imagine reclaiming the 23 hours typically spent screening candidates for a vacant position. More than half of today’s talent acquisition leaders acknowledge the formidable challenge of sifting through a vast applicant pool to fill a position, a task exacerbated by the ongoing COVID crisis that demands recruitment teams to achieve more with fewer resources. This situation raises concerns about the inherent biases in the interviewing process.

Enter HireSense, a revolutionary web-based assessment app designed to streamline your hiring process. By leveraging HireSense, you can efficiently narrow down your applicant pool to individuals deserving of your attention, ensuring a more accurate and effective process.

HireSense excels at evaluating candidates’ judgment, motivation, and behavioral styles in alignment with your job requirements. During the interview, your focus shifts to exploring how applicants have applied their strengths in previous work experiences. This targeted behavioral interviewing approach enhances the likelihood of selecting the most suitable candidate for the job.

The app provides a set of interview questions that facilitate a deeper exploration of candidates’ abilities. These questions are crafted based on judgment alerts, offering a structured framework around behavior benchmarks and the motivations driving each applicant.

Additionally, HireSense helps mitigate biases often present in resumes. Recognizing that resumes can be up to 40% inaccurate, as they might be written by someone else and may contain misleading information, the app’s interview questions, combined with specific inquiries tailored to your company, saves time and contributes to a more unbiased hiring process.

The HireSense interview questions and some specific questions related to your company will ensure you save time and reduce bias in your hiring process. The LinkedIn Talent Solution Guide is an excellent source for additional interview questions that you can adapt to your company and job position.

In the final step of your hiring process, after identifying a candidate matching the established fit requirements from the benchmarking/alerts phase, utilize the Top Position Based Interview Questions to gauge their understanding of the position’s demands thoroughly. This strategic approach, powered by HireSense, ensures a more effective and informed hiring decision.

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Interviewing Candidates and the Use of Smart Tools in Your Final Interview Read More »

Should we reevaluate the interview process? Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, initially struggled with interviewing and took time to improve. But not everyone has that luxury. Do we really need multiple interviewers? It can be costly and lead to biased decisions, like rejecting an applicant for an innocuous pronoun. This wastes time and resources, potentially missing out on great hires.

Why does it matter?

In a competitive talent market, finding suitable people is challenging. Attracting and retaining the right talent often takes a backseat. Some companies adopt a “hire anyone available” approach, offering short-term solutions but creating long-term problems. Conversely, companies that prioritize their employees, understand them, and care for them thrive. For example, Patagonia maintains a low attrition rate of 5%, while the US average prior to the pandemic was 42%, recently rising to 47.2%. Surprisingly, 33% of surveyed employees quit within the first 90 days.

A survey in 2018 found that nearly 500 individuals quit within three months of starting a new job. About half of them cited a mismatch between the job and their interview expectations.

Our aim is to help companies make better hiring decisions. In one case, a client requested an evaluation of a candidate for a specific role. We found the candidate adequate but not exceptional. After a few months, the client expressed dissatisfaction with the employee’s performance. Upon investigation, we discovered a discrepancy between the client’s requirements and the actual needs due to a poorly defined job description. We offered to mediate with the employee, and it became clear that the employee was unaware of the job expectations. Eventually, the employee chose to quit upon realizing the misalignment. This situation raises the question of why the employee was unaware of the expectations.

The hiring process should focus on specifying talent requirements and assessing fit. Specifying talent is straightforward and can be easily validated. Fit assessment is more challenging and often leads to hiring failures. Relying solely on interviews, a subjective process, for fit assessment is inadequate.

Resumes help assess education, skills, and experience, but applicants often exaggerate or lie to some extent. Fit assessment is where the process often breaks down. An impressive resume may mislead and lead to biased decisions.

So, what can we do?

Using validated assessments is a step in the right direction. Choosing appropriate assessments and interpreting them correctly is crucial. Clear job descriptions that outline expectations and success metrics are essential. Creating benchmarks to measure candidates against is important but requires effort. This approach makes the process faster and more accurate.

Data plays a crucial role. Gathering relevant data before interviews and objectively prioritizing the best candidate can significantly improve outcomes. Save the interview for the final stage, eliminating the need for a screening interview. Reserve it for your best interviewer, focusing on talent and fit. Building effective teams relies on talent, fit, analysis, and training.

All of the above is encompassed in HireSense. Screening for fit saves time, reduces costs, and yields better results. It requires attention to detail.

How about a no-risk, no-cost option to give it a try? Schedule a short demo at https://calendly.com/michael-579/60min

Are Your Hiring Practices Outdated? Read More »

Michael Bouton