Hiring the right people.

We've all heard the phrase, "get the right people on the bus," from Good to Great by Jim Collins, and getting the right people in the right seats is even more important. So how do you do this? The key to success is asking the right questions of the right candidates.

WHERE TO BEGIN

The process begins by obtaining a pool of the right candidates. Consider the company's overall need for the position. What role and functionality will the position play in the company's business strategy? Determine if a new job description is needed or if an existing job description can be altered.

It is important to look specifically at the duties and responsibilities of the position. Get those that will interact with this person to contribute ideas to insure that you have completely covered all the abilities needed. Begin with the end in mind. What do you want this position to deliver to the organization? What competencies and skills (soft and technical) are needed to accomplish these goals?

Develop a job description that is comprehensive of the duties and responsibilities. Include information about the organization and the benefits for employees. Don't limit yourself to the traditional list of benefits.

PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW

To prepare for the interview, create a set of questions that is standard for all those you plan to interview. This will create consistency and ensure that you ask all of the questions and get the same kind of information from each candidate.

There are many forms of interview questions--many companies now use behavioral based questions during the interview and mix specific competency based questions in for roles that require specific skills. Behavioral based questions ask applicants to reflect on a situation and how they dealt with it. This style allows the employer to get past the rehearsed answer and dive into the job seekers past behavior.

For example, your organization may be looking for an analyst. There is a great deal of detail-oriented ability required in the role. A question you might ask is: "Tell me about a time where you were responsible for a project that had a short deadline and needed top notch quality. How did you complete the project and ensure it met standards?"

You want to ask questions that will help you determine the applicant's personality, work ethic and skills. There are a number of resources on the web that can assist you with developing behavioral based questions.

Another critical point of the interview process is to get the right interviewer. Ask the manager to participate in the interview. They will be interacting with the person most frequently and need to have input on who is placed in the position.

INTERVIEW FOLLOW-UP 

After all of the interviews have been conducted, review the applicants and select those that stand out. If you have more than one outstanding candidate you may need to consider a second interview or ask them to participate in a career assessment test.

From the results, you can identify strengths and weaknesses of the candidate and assess which job seeker possesses the most skills/traits needed by the team or organization.

AgCareers.com offers a number of career assessment tools. For more information on these tools or for more tips on constructing an effective interview, please contact AgCareers.com at [e-mail].