Kathlyn Patton, Director of Personnel Services August by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

Transcription

1 Kathlyn Patton, Director of Personnel Services August 2008 by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

2 Leadership IQ, a leadership training and research company, shows that poor interpersonal skills and lack of motivation are the top reasons why new hires fail. The list for the hires failure include: Lack of coachability (26%), Emotional intelligence (23%), Motivation (17%), and A poorly-matched job temperament (15%) by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

3 Mark Murphy, CEO of Leadership IQ, asserts: Hiring failures can be prevented. He states that managers will see vast improvement in their hiring success if they focus more of their interviewing energy on: Coachability Emtional Intelligence Motivation Job Temperament Match by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications

4 Assessing technical skills during an employment interview is often given top priority and is relatively easy to determine and evaluate. Interpersonal skills are frequently considered of less importance and are more difficult to appraise. The reality is that technical skills can be learned, but interpersonal work attitudes are usually the hardest things to change about an individual on the job. Learning about an applicant s history of interpersonal attitudes and behaviors is a true compass of how that person is likely to behave in the future.

5 One of the ways to determine whether or not a job applicant has a history of positive attitudes in the workplace is to ask questions specifically targeting the four areas that have been identified as affecting hiring success. by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications

6 Does the applicant have the ability to take direction and feedback, and make necessary work changes? Sample Interview Questions: Tell us something a past supervisor told you needed improvement, and what did you do about it? Provide a specific example of a policy you conformed to with which you did not agree. Tell us about a situation at your job where you had to take on new tasks or roles. How successful do you think you were? by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications

7 Does the applicant have the ability and maturity to perceive, assess, and positively affect their own coworkers emotions? Sample Interview Questions: Tell us about a conflict you ve had with a coworker. What was the cause of the conflict? And, were you able to do anything to alleviate it? Describe a time at work when you successfully used tact and diplomacy. How do you go about building good work relationships? by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications

8 Does the applicant have the desire and drive to put forth an optimal level of effort in order to excel at their job and reach their full potential? Sample Interview Questions: What are your short and long-term career goals? Provide an example of when you set a demanding work goal, and how you overcame obstacles to achieve it. Tell us about a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty. by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

9 Is the applicant s attitude and personality a good match to the prospective job and work environment? There is no such thing as one perfect personality when it comes to jobs in general. However, it is the match between an individual s personality and the requirements of a particular job which matters. It is important to understand what personality skills are necessary for an individual to succeed in a particular position and then to determine if there is a good match between the applicant and the position. Sample Interview Questions: If the position requires a team player: Would you rather work on your own or on a team? If the position requires a certain managerial style: Describe your managerial style, and what traits you feel are most important when supervising others. If the position requires exemplary organization skills: What role do you think organization plays or should play in this position? by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

10 When it comes to assessing a job applicant, interviewers should keep in mind to look at the whole person. This includes: appearance, attitude, self-motivation, and interpersonal skills. And, if you want to help ensure hiring success, seek out applicants who have a history of achieving positive work relationships and have the drive to attain company and personal-best goals. by: Patricia Schaefer; 2005, Attard Communications, Inc.

11 1992 Executive Enterprises, Inc. EEO Do s and Don ts for Job Applicants

12 Acceptable: Whether the applicant is at least eighteen years of age. Other questions may be legitimate when you can prove that age is a bona fide occupational qualification i.e., is necessary to perform the job; this is usually difficult or impossible to prove. Inadvisable: Any question tending to reveal someone s age, such as date of graduation from grade school of high school Executive Enterprises, Inc.

13 Acceptable: As a religious issue, although you may want to know about the applicants availability for Saturday or Sunday work, the answer may not do you any good since even when an applicant s religious observations makes him or her unavailable for weekend shifts, this fact cannot be used in any hiring decision. Title VII requires employers to make reasonable accommodation even for a prospective employee s religious observance, unless it causes undue hardship. Caution: EEOC Guidelines on Discrimination: Because of Religion say that if you ask these questions and an applicant says he or she is not available and you later decide not to hire the person, the EEOC will presume that you used the answer in your hiring decision even if you did not and the burden would be on your employer to show that your reasons for not hiring were nondiscriminatory. Inadvisable: Any question tending to give information about religious observance Executive Enterprises, Inc.

14 Acceptable: Inquiries about an applicant s availability for evening and/or weekend work, provided that the inquiry is made of both male and female applicants and provided that the person now doing the job works evenings and/or weekends, or that a definite change in schedule is being implemented. Inadvisable: Asking this question because you think you may occasionally want the person to work evenings or weekends Executive Enterprises, Inc.

15 Acceptable: Whether the applicant is prevented from lawfully becoming employed in this country because of visa or immigration status. Whether applicant can provide proof of citizenship, visa, alien registration number after being hired. Inadvisable: Whether applicant is a citizen. Any requirement that the applicant present proof of citizenship, visa, alien registration number before being hired. Rejecting any of the documentation deemed acceptable on the I Executive Enterprises, Inc.

16 Acceptable: If the individual has the specific education or training required for the specific job. Inadvisable: General questions about high school or college degrees unless degree is necessary to perform the job. Questions about education dates are also considered age sensitive Executive Enterprises, Inc.

17 Acceptable: Inquiries about ability to perform the job without mentioning the person s height or weight unless you or your supervisors are able to prove that a specific minimum or maximum height or weight is required to perform the job. Inadvisable: Any inquiry about height or weight which is not based on the actual job requirements Executive Enterprises, Inc.

18 Acceptable: Inquiries about membership in professional organizations related to the job e.g., does the applicant for a chemical engineering job belong to a chemical engineering society. Inadvisable: Questions about organizations whose name or character indicates members economic or social class, race, color, creed, sex, marital status, religion, or national origin, and in some jurisdictions sexual orientations e.g., country clubs, social clubs, religious clubs, fraternal orders Executive Enterprises, Inc.

19 Acceptable: Whether the applicant has ever worked for your organization. Whether the applicant has ever worked for your organization under another name. Names of character references, if you intend to call upon them. Inadvisable: General inquiries about change of name through application in court of marriage Executive Enterprises, Inc.

20 Acceptable: None. Inadvisable: Any questions tending to yield information about race or color Executive Enterprises, Inc.

21 Job related questions. Don t restrict questions to only one type of applicant. What do you know about the District? What skills/characteristics does someone in the job you are seeking need? Why did you leave your past jobs? Tell me about your current job. Do you feel you were treated fairly in your last job? How did you deal with conflicts with you supervisors/ fellow employees? What are the best and worst qualities in a supervisor? Number of days absent from work in the last year for all reasons. Can you perform the functions of this job with or without reasonable accommodation? Demonstrate/describe how you perform the functions of this job. Do you have the required licenses/certificates to perform this job?

22 1. What are your long range and short range goals and objectives? 2. What do you see yourself doing five years from now? Ten years from now? 3. How do you plan to achieve your career goals? 4. What are the most important rewards you expect in your business career? 5. Why did you choose this career? 6. What do you consider to be your greatest strengths and weaknesses? 7. How would you describe yourself? 8. How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you? 9. What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? 10. How has your experience prepared you for this position? 11. Why should I hire you? 12. What qualifications do you have that make you think that you will be successful in this position? 13. How do you determine or evaluate success? 14. In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to this institution? 15. Describe the relationship that should exist between the supervisor and those reporting to him or her? 16. What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why? 17. If you were hiring a graduate for this position, what qualities would you look for? 18. What led you to choose your field of major study?

23 1. Are you married? Divorced? 2. If you re single, are you living with anyone? 3. How old are you? 4. Do you have children? If so, how many and how old are they? 5. Do you own or rent your home? 6. What church do you attend? 7. Do you have any debts? 8. Do you belong to any social or political groups? 9. How much and what kinds of insurance do you have? The following questions could result in an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit: 10. Do you suffer from an illness or disability? 11. Have you ever had or been treated for any of these conditions or diseases? (followed by a checklist) 12. Have you been hospitalized? What for? 13. Have you ever been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist? 14. Have you had a major illness recently? 15. How many days of work did you miss last year because of illness? 16. Do you have any disabilities or ailments that might affect your performance in this job? 17. Are you taking any prescribed drugs? 18. Have you ever been treated for drug addiction of alcoholism? Many companies ask female applicants questions they don t ask males. Here are some questions to avoid with female applicants: 19. Do you plan to get married? 20. Do you intend to start a family? 21. What are your day-care plans? 22. Are you comfortable supervising men? 23. What would you do if your husband were transferred? 24. Do you think you could perform this job as well as a man? 25. Are you likely to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act? Final point: If a job candidate reveals information that you re not allowed to use, don t pursue the topic further. The she brought it up excuse won t fly in court so change the subject right away The HR Specialist- National Institute of Business Management

24 Dates of attendance/graduation (age). Place of birth (national origin). Credit history/bankruptcy (unless pertinent to job) Convictions/arrests (if not recent, not related to job or automatic disqualification for yes answer, let Personnel Services Office handle in written application). How will you get to work (unless required for job)? Foreign language skills (unless job related) Have you ever filed a workers compensation claim? What is the nature or severity of any apparent disability?

25 All questions should be directed to the Director of Personnel Services (361)