Employing Staff & Interviews
Introduction
The time may have come when you feel that an extra person is required to help you on a daily basis. But, before you reach out for the nearest person to employ, you need to think through the reasons for doing so.
For an extreme example, is there an easier or cheaper alternative to your need to answer your business phone by buying an answer-phone or mobile phone if you aren’t in the office every minute of the day.
Well, if you get past this first test, then you may find the following useful…
Researching the Job and Person Required
You need to know exactly what job you want doing and may well feel that it is a good idea to prepare a job description. Perhaps consider the level of skill needed; the tasks involved and appropriate experience. Have a brain-storm and list ‘everything’ that comes into your head that could crop up in your business: it’s a good idea to get someone else to help at this stage.
Once you have identified what the vacancy is all about, then it is time to start thinking about who the suitable employee would be for the job.
Avoid making it too demanding and precise otherwise it will scare most people away. Instead, think about what ‘general’ knowledge, experience, qualifications, interests, and achievements that you feel the employee will need to do the job.
Now that your requirements are clear, its time to spread the news. But where do we start? Again, before you reach out, it’s a good idea to think about who you are targeting and at what level. For example, it wouldn’t be logical if you were to advertise the job nationally if you wanted a person who lives locally, so here are a few ideas to get you started.
Making the Vacancy Known
Newspaper advertising will reach a wide number of people and can be good value on a local level, but more of a risk in a regional newspaper. Costs depend on the length of time your advert stays in the paper and also its size: getting three days advertising for the price of two is a waste if the job is expected to be filled easily and means three weeks of phone calls to you about the vacancy.
Be sure that the advert you use gives an outline of the job and a few of the requirements needed. It is important not to ask for too much otherwise they won’t be interested and, in most cases, the model employee doesn’t even exist.
Always state the job clearly, the desired experience, knowledge, how to contact (phone, letter, email), who to contact, and if you want to avoid unnecessary interviews the salary on offer. The age range is a mute point these days, but it has a place on an advert where really necessary (I’ll duck out of saying where).
Job Centres are a common way of getting new employees. By explaining what the job is and who you are looking for, the Job Centre will do the rest by finding potential employees for you. Sometimes they will even carry out the first interview to find out if they are capable of doing the job. Building a rapport with the centre manager has been the key to success for many businesses – getting a phone call from the manager when extremely suitable candidates become available through redundancy or relocation etc is a priceless networking resource.
Word-of-mouth can usually be the most effective. The employee that you need could be known by others working around you or by family and friends. Let word get around by telling these people because you never know that your ideal employee could be your next-door neighbour!
Shop window advertising is useful for advertising a job if you want to target locally. It may also be a good way of advertising jobs that require few qualifications. The cost could also be small.
Recruitment agencies are similar to Job Centres but usually charge you for their service. The advantage is that they will have records of people that may be suitable for the job. Again, they may carry out the first interview.
Internet advertising is becoming common but usually by the larger companies advertising at a national level. If this is up your street then it will certainly reach a wide number of people. The ‘On-line’ agencies will publish your advert on their site and will forward any applicants directly to you. This way can be expensive but also effective.
Visit Advertising Your Job Vacancies Online for more information
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