The RPO Voice: Insights for the RPO Marketplace

How to Nail the Hiring Process

Written by Carrie Kolar | Thu, Dec 24,2015 @ AM

Hiring is complicated process on both sides. There are a lot of moving pieces, and no matter how carefully you prepare, neither recruiters nor job hunters have any guarantee of success. However, there are some best practices and suggests that can help both recruiters and job seekers tackle individual pieces and get the results they want. In this week’s RPOA, we take a look at how to nail the hiring process for recruiters and job seekers alike.

Win-Win Salary Negotiation: Tactics for Hiring Managers – RPOA - @RPOAssociation

Even the most experienced hiring managers can break into a sweat when confronted with salary negotiations. It’s a make-or-break part of the hiring process where hiring managers need to carefully balance how much he or she wants to hire the candidate against their budget and desire not to break the bank. This article suggests tactics that hiring managers can use during salary negotiations to make sure that everyone wins. These include knowing the industry pay standards, including non-financial incentives, being prepared for counter-offers, and keeping your cool during the negotiating process.

Hello, Cover Letter, Is Anyone Listening? – Yoh - @YohCorporate

Cover letters have been going out the window for a while. Technology and applicant tracking systems (ATS) have made the cover letter almost obsolete in some areas, while other employers still require it as a standard piece of the application. This trend means that the skill of writing cover letters is gradually being lost, leaving applicants struggling if a cover letter is required. This article recommends nine online sites that can help job seekers craft their cover letters, including OmmWriter, Strict Workflow, MindMup, EduGeeksClub, and others. It gives a quick overview of each site, and suggests which site is best for individuals at different stages of letter-writing.

Employment Background Checks: Understanding the What, Who & How Many – Yoh - @YohCorporate

Background checks are a fact of life if you’re interviewing for a job. Background checks allow companies to ensure you’re a safe hire, have the skills and accreditations you need, and actually have the experience that you claim. This article goes through the basics of the employer background check, giving an overview of why they are performed, what they include, and how often they are conducted. It emphasizes that there is no standard answer for how often employers perform background checks, but says that the frequency can usually be grouped into three categories: pre-employment only, at random, and regularly scheduled.

Employers Shouldn’t Ask for Salary Histories – ERE Media - @ERE_net

Most applications, phone interviews, or in-person interviews include the question “what is your current salary?” This article discusses why asking this question, and why questions about salary history in general should be discontinued during the hiring process. It makes the point that asking the question can reflect badly on the company hiring, and can come across as a ploy to determine the lowest amount that the company or hiring manager can reasonably offer. It suggests an alternative question that hiring managers can ask, and points out that requiring salary histories can cause great candidates to look elsewhere.

Nailing the On-site Interview – Hired - @Hired_HQ

The burden of making a good impression in an interview used to be entirely on the candidate – they were the ones trying to be selected and trying to impress. However, the talent crunch and competitive hiring environment has changed that. This article states that on-site interviews can be great marketing tools and opportunities to showcase what makes your company special. It recommends several best practices that help companies make the a good impression on candidates, including giving candidates an idea of what to expect during the interview, giving advice about the dress code, sending out morning-of reminders, and doing post-interview follow up.