[ad_1]
The work environment has changed significantly in many ways since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hiring teams have subsequently changed the questions they ask to assess candidates’ knowledge, skills, abilities and potential fit.
Not surprisingly, HR professionals, recruiters and hiring managers have discovered some important new areas to consider when interviewing job candidates during the pandemic — and for the foreseeable future.
“It’s always important to step back and evaluate the questions that are being asked of candidates when something radically changes,” said Caitlin Metier, director of recruiting at Lever, a technology recruiting company in San Francisco. During the pandemic, she said, this radical change is about “moving towards remote work and continuing to process the pandemic as new options emerge.”
Assessing comfort with ambiguity
The pandemic work experience provided a ready opportunity to assess applicants’ comfort with ambiguity. Not all have adapted as well or as easily as others.
Corey Burkey, SHRM-SCP, senior vice president of people and talent for Employ, the parent company of Jobvite, JazzHR and NXTThing RPO, found that candidates are very honest about how they’ve done over the past few months. “Understanding how they’ve adapted to change is very transferable to other work,” he said. “Being able to talk about how their individual telecommuting processes have evolved demonstrates an ability to be self-aware, to adjust when things aren’t working, and to learn from situations as they go—all critical and transferable skills in the new talent marketplace. “
A closely related question Berkey often asks job candidates is, “What has been the biggest challenge working remotely?” Their answers “shine a light on their practical problem-solving skills.” No one’s transition has been perfect, Berkey said — unless they already work from home. So candidates usually feel comfortable in their answers. It can also be a good way to build understanding and drive discussion, he said.
Paul French, managing director of Intrinsic Search, also believes that how employees have navigated work life during the pandemic can be telling and offer insights into their potential and fit for a position. He likes to ask, “What did you learn from the pandemic about how to deal with stress during this time?”
Parrying worries about the Great Resignation
Another common concern for employers today: the potential that a new hire may pose a turnover risk. The mass resignation has caused “Americans to feel so confident about their job prospects that they are leaving in record numbers,” Berkey said. This is clearly an issue and consideration when hiring new staff. Are they likely to stay on board once hired? To help gauge their retention potential, he asks questions like “What is important to you in your career and company?” Through questions like this, he said, “we hope to uncover what about the company or the role the candidate would find satisfying.”
Then, he added, “we want to make sure we’re listening to their response and showing them how the support structure of our organization aligns with their needs.” Those responses, he said, also provide an overall picture of what people are looking for so that we can “put our best foot forward when it comes to attracting the best talent.”
Understanding work styles
In a world that has become much more “out of sight” but out of mind, it is more important than ever for employers to understand how potential employees work and how they manage their ability to be productive, especially when they may face potential distractions at home.
At Lever, some of the interview questions they asked regarding this are:
- How do you organize your day?
- How do you spend your time in your current role?
These questions, Meteer said, help her team determine whether candidates are thinking about their performance “in terms of results rather than activity.” In the remote world, she said, a focus on results is critical. “We also pay close attention to their communication style via email and via Zoom or interviews as an indication of how they might work with the team collaborating remotely.”
How the candidate questions have changed
At the end of nearly every interview, most recruiters and hiring managers ask candidates, “Do you have any questions for us?” As with recruiters, candidate questions have also changed during the pandemic.
“Candidates are constantly asking about our travel and vaccination requirements,” said Martha Engle, vice president of global culture, diversity and people for OneStream Software in Rochester, Michigan. “They want to know what will be expected of them as our world responds to the latest safety measures.”
Most applicants want to know if the company expects employees to return to the office or if there are permanent work-from-home options. “There are those who are unwilling to leave their home and others who will only work for an employer that offers an office out of the home,” Engle said.
Lynn Grensing-Poffal is a freelance writer in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
[ad_2]
Source link