Blog #3 - It's Time To Get Creative

Unemployment rates are at an all time high.  With so many looking for work, you would assume finding talented people would be easy.  Not true.  Finding good people with desired skills and who fit in with your company's culture is a daunting task.  How do you find these people?  It's time to get creative.  Job postings no longer entail calling the local newspaper to place a classified ad for hundreds of dollars.  Now, the job postings are on the company web-site, Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com.  Virtual job fairs are a great way to reach a large amount of people all over the world.  And sign-on bonuses are an attractive enticement. The article Race for workers requires creative recruiting methods lists a few unusual ways to find talent.  Some notable suggestions are offering perks, such as on-site fitness centers, day care and dry cleaning, and canvassing strangers.  A Dozen Tips for Creative Recruiting lists movie theater advertising and telephone "messages on hold" about available positions as different ways to find potential new hires.

Now that you have a pool of candidates, how do you choose?  There are a number of testing methods that can be used.  Employment applications, recommendations, and background checks are traditional ways of screening candidates.  Although, according to How to Choose the Right New-Hire from Several Qualified Applicants, personality and attitude are equally important.  You can observe candidates in a leaderless-group discussion to evaluate their ability to work with others, their emotional state, and what role they play in a business environment (leader, note taker, risk taker, etc.).  During an interview, you and other interviewers can assess these traits to see if the candidate will fit in with others in the company.

Finding and retaining talented employees is the key to any company's success.  Skills are not the only factor to consider;  the candidate's personality and attitude need to match the organizational culture.  You may have to come up with some creative recruitment and selection techniques - but your company's future depends on it!