In my close to 25 years of experience in Agri-input / ANH industry, the toughest challenge I always faced, was that of recruiting the “best-fit” employee for the companies that I served. When it comes to war for talent, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. Since ANH is a niche and closely knitted industry, everybody knew everybody else.

To give an illustration, I once called a candidate for an interview at my corporate office, and during the interview, the candidate was getting calls from his boss to speak to him urgently. It was obvious that someone from my company had ratted to the candidate’s boss. The apprehension was clear on the candidates face and I felt betrayed. The solution: I never ever held an interview in my corporate office, thereafter, during my tenure. Nevertheless, the moot issue being, how to select the best-fit while recruiting.

In this article, I am going to address the art of recruiting and selection, from the Employer’s perspective, which is the outcome of many researches, speaking to SMEs, theorists, etc. However, the job-seekers can interpret this article from candidate’s perspective. Consider these 2 scenarios. Though these characters are fictitious, the conversation is real.

Scenario I

Two aspiring jobseekers meet up and after some pleasantries, discuss their job seeking progress. Here goes the conversation.

Priyanka: I have been applying to many companies, been called for interviews, but somehow, it’s not working at all. My interviews do not go the next level. Definitely I am doing something wrong, which I am not able to pin point.

Shiva: I am also sailing in a similar boat. We are absolutely doing something wrong. Let’s speak to our friend Pinaki, who seems to land in a job, with every interview that he attends. Let’s learn the tricks of the trade from him.

Priyanka: Done. Let’s do that.

Scenario II

Two Talent Acquisition Managers (Bruce and Shankar), from different ANH companies, meet up in an Industry conference and discuss their recruitment challenges. After few Hi and Hello, here how the discussion goes.

Bruce: Shankar, I keep seeing your posts in social media, esp. in LinkedIn that you are on a recruiting spree and have a high rate of success. How do you guys do it?

Shankar: Thanks buddy. Before I share my “secret recipe”, just share your methodology of recruitment.

Bruce: The process is simple. On receipt of resume, I match it with JD, arrange for a face-to-face interview, and in 5 min of interview, I know whether the candidate is suitable or not. I share my views with the hiring manager and we decide together. Even though the process is simple, we are not able to attract the right talent.

Shankar: You are doing everything wrong. Recruitment takes time. We need to follow a specific game plan. Our job is not only to recruit but also discuss their competency, motivation, fitment, professional development & finally, career path. Please follow what I share with you, now and I am more than sure, your recruitment rate will substantially increase. Only keep one thing in mind – Speak from the heart, don’t hide/lie, Trust the candidate and tell them. Honesty plays a great part in recruitment and also when you need to get recruited.

From here on, what Shankar shares, forms the heart of the article on Recruitment & Selection. As mentioned earlier, this article is written from the Employer / Talent Acquisition Manager’s perspective. Many tips & tricks are available for jobseekers as well.

1. Receiving Resume: As a Recruiter, the first thing they get is a resume of the shortlisted candidate and they look for these warning signals. All are self-explanatory.

   • Organization of events – Priority accordance
   • Clarity of depiction and succinctness
   • Unexplained breaks in Service and Education
   • Extent of “customization” to the job applied
   • Quality of the CV: mode, spelling errors, verbosity

2. Company information: Similarly, the prospective candidates also look for the following information, if the applied company is not a well-known one or a startup. The Employers need to provide full Company information to attract suitable talent.

   • Image of the organization
   • Geographical location
   • Type of work they would do
   • Job security
   • Working conditions
   • Type of people to work with
   • T&D opportunities
   • Career Progression
   • Salary
   • Benefits (Company car, Pension, Loans etc.)

3. Types of Interviews: The Talent Acquisition Manager normally arranges / applies the below types of interviews, based on the criticality of the profile / role and the candidates are expected to be aware these styles.

   1. Major Group
      • Unstructured Interview.
      • Structured Interview.
      • Situational Interview.
      • Behavioural Interview.
      • Job-related Interview.
      • Stress Interview.
   2. Sub Group
      • One-On-One Interview.
      • Panel Interview (Board Interview).
      • Mass Interview (Group Interview).
      • Phone Interview.

4. Observing Positive Vibes: When a candidate is called for an interview, the candidate will give a good / positive vibes or signals to the Company, if they take special care on the following. The Talent Acquisition Manager will be noticing the positive tangible / intangible / body language of the candidate.

   • Physical Make up – Health, Grooming, Speech

   • Attainments – Education, Training, Experience

   • General Intelligence – Logic, problem solving

   • Special Aptitudes – memory, music, art

   • Interests – literary, art, social service

   • Disposition – cheerful, independent, stable

   • Circumstances – mobility, family support

5. Signals of Bad Hires: The Interviewing Manager will note these warning signals and presume them to be a bad hire, unless the candidate proves otherwise in the next rounds.

   • Being late for the interview

   • Showing tantrums & bad etiquette while waiting

   • Bluffing

   • No Courage of saying “I don’t know”

   • Trying to impress

   • Trying to overshadow the interviewer

   • Asking / Giving offending Questions / Answers

   • Leaving the room rudely / without a smile / handshake

6. Interview Tips: The Interviewing Manager should be aware of the profile of the candidate and should ensure to provide the required information. Here are few tips which will help source the right candidate and for face-to-face interviews.

   • Try to put the applicant at ease during the interview

   • Provide Job Description & Specification to the candidates

   • Interview questions need to be job related

   • Avoid making quick decisions about an applicant

   • Avoid giving too much weight to a few characteristics

   • Communicate clearly with the applicant

   • Maintain consistency in the questions asked

7. Interviewing Guidelines: Not all Interviewing Managers are good interviewers. Sometimes the Managers become Narcissistic and take more Air time than the candidate. They should avoid these pitfalls and try to have a conversation.

   • Avoid war of knowledge

   • Titles can be misleading

   • Less emphasis on background, more on Role and Work

   • Focus on Critical attributes

   • See the real meaning behind jargons and generalities

   • A ‘look good, talk good’ candidate may land up interviewing the interviewer

   • Dwell more on Achievements

   • Ask about aspirations

   • Provide clear picture of career path

8. Applicant’s questions: Mostly it is observed that at the end of the interview, the candidate might have these questions. The Hiring Manager should be able to answer the below Candidate’s question clearly.

   • Can you describe a typical day for this position?

   • What is the priority of the person for this job?

   • What are the expectations from this role?

   • What is the Company’s Corporate Culture and value system?

   • What is the Company’s annual turnover?

   • What is the Company’s biggest threat?

   • What is the training policy?

   • How are PAS and career progression happening?

9. Reference Checks: This process of Reference Checks, sometimes, done as a routine. However, it acts as a catalyst and provides additional information on the candidate, which will help the Hiring Manager to guide the prospective employee, when they join. The below points are to be kept in view, before making the Reference check calls.

   • Ensure that the candidates give references that know them well

   • Ensure the context of the job that the candidate has applied for

   • Be clear on what you wish to ask the referee

   • Let the referee know that

     • his/her input is important

     • you care about the candidate’s career choice

     • Critical feedback will help in development of candidate

   • Confirm referee’s extent of familiarity with the candidate

   • Ask open ended questions to start with

   • Follow through with pointed questions in your areas of concern

10. Reference Check Guidelines: Normally Reference calls are made through phone calls. However, if the positions are for Top Management or C-suite positions, would recommend to meet the Referee in a neutral place / hotel. The following guidelines are to be kept in view, while meeting / calling the Referee.

    • Verify the candidate’s skills, experience and work history

    • Verify claims of achievements made by the candidate

    • Confirm Interviewer’s perceptions, sensing and inferences

    • Clarify doubts that may have arisen during the selection process

    • Check from Referee any specific area(s) of concern

    • Need caution as References are subjective and relationship based

    • THANK THE REFEREE for the time invested, if need be, send a THANK YOU note

Conclusion: Even after successfully going through the above process, there is no guarantee that we have hired the right candidate or the jobseeker had got the right job. Sometimes, people – Employers or Candidates, take strange decisions, which keeps the aggrieved party wondering – Where did we go wrong? The answers are in the below 3 basic questions.

1. Can s/he do the job? Basically, looking for Competence, to perform the job well.
2. Will s/he do the job? Seeking answers to WHY did they apply. What Motivates them to take up this job? Whether it is the role / challenge / “escape from current org” / not getting promoted in the previous job / are jobless or some just for the kick of it.
3. Will s/he fit in the Team / Company? This is the most crucial question. Don’t fit a tractors tyre to a Mercedes car OR vice versa. The key is to Match / Fit the new candidate in the Company and Team. Homogeneity gives better results in a diverse, inclusive and equitable environment.

Even if the Competence and Motivation are there, if the Fitment is missing, the new employee will either burn-out or rust-out and the tenure in the Company will be limited. Hire for Attitude – Knowledge & Skills can always be imparted through L&D initiatives.

Happy Hiring and Wishing the Jobseekers, all success……

About the Author:

Trideep Chowdhury is an astute Human Resources Management professional with extensive experience of over 3 decades working in Companies viz. Provimi India/Cargill Inc., ITC Limited, Intervet/Schering Plough, Voith India, etc. He had been in the Board of Directors for Provimi India (a Cargill Inc. Company) for many years. Some of the sectors served by him are Manufacturing, Process, Pharma, Engineering and Consulting. He had worked with MNCs in most of his career and had rich Regional (Asia) & Global project experiences. Currently he runs his own firm, Invictus HRM Consulting. He could be contacted attrideep2000@yahoo.com or invictus.hrm@yahoo.com

Title Image Source: Freepik.com

Article by same author: Employee Retention: Strategy Or Operation?