Hiring Beyond Resumes: HR Pro's Insights
By Tiffany V.
Published on 08/28/2023
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Michelle values individual assessments, using revealing questions to understand candidates beyond resumes
- Emphasizes evaluating abilities, culture fit, and unique characteristics through multi-step processes including remote screenings and in-person interviews
- Advises against quick judgments; highlights the importance of potential and work ethic over mere experience
NotaryLive recently interviewed Michelle, our Director Of Human Resources -- with over 10 years of recruiting experience. Her perspectives provide valuable insights that complement our blog on “Best Hiring Practices”.
1.Approach to Interviewing
When asked about her interviewing approach, Michelle stressed the importance of viewing each candidate individually. She involves team members to get additional perspectives and learn more about the candidate's personality and potential.
Michelle's Quick Job Interview Tips
- Ask revealing questions beyond just skills: Michelle asks questions like "What's the last app you downloaded?" to provide a window into the candidate as a person and spark interesting conversations.
- Look past resumes: "Look beyond resumes to understand work styles, personalities, and potential", she emphasized. At times you need to take a chance on aptitude over experience.
- Foster engaging dialogues: "The strongest interviewees basically interview themselves", Michelle states, "A strong candidate will speak about their experiences openly and in detail leaving the interviewers to listen and learn".
2.Hiring Process
Michelle explained her hiring process, which involves thoroughly evaluating candidates through a systematic approach. She walked through the essential stages and procedures, from initial screening to the final offer.
One tip Michelle urges during the hiring process is, "Make sure you look beyond just skills and experience to make hiring decisions".
Structured Hiring Process:
- Administering screening assessments for some roles to evaluate abilities & narrow down the pool of applicants.
- Remote Initial resume screening to identify promising candidates based on required skills, experience, etc.
“I make sure to look for unique characteristics that would set someone aside from another,” says Michelle, “I prefer to do my screening interviews remotely. It allows me to move quickly and I believe it shows respect to the candidate not having them travel to the office”.
- In-person panel interviews with team members to further assess culture fit and a second opinion.
By taking the time to thoroughly screen and interview, Michelle can look beyond resumes to find great hires. The multi-step process allows her to evaluate both technical ability and cultural fit.
3.Key Advice
When asked for one piece of crucial advice, Michelle emphasized not judging candidates too quickly based on preconceived notions.
"Depending on the level of the position, some of my employees lacked experience on paper but turned out to be employees with a very strong work ethic and willingness to learn" she stated.
Michelle’s experience shows that hiring right requires looking beyond resumes to understand candidates completely. Taking time to identify culture fit and potential pays dividends in building a strong team.
Summary
Hiring for fit and potential requires going beyond just skills and experience. Taking the time to truly get to know candidates as individuals through thorough screening and interviewing set up organizations for success.
At NotaryLive, we're always looking to add top-notch talent to our team. If you want to join us in making online notarization accessible and simple, you can visit our Employment Opportunities page. On this page, you will find job postings and information about our culture and values.
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Updated Date: 04/28/2024
