EXPERIENCED interviewer Geary Reid reveals how job hunters can market themselves as ideal candidates and how employers can attract outstanding employees.
Job hunters know they need to do everything in their power to demonstrate their value to potential employers, and employers know how important it is to attract the right employees for a business’s success. Armed with decades of human resources experience, Geary Reid outlines the best ways for job hunters to prepare for and command an interview. Additionally, he discusses strategies employers can use to bring in the most capable job candidates. Learn about both sides of the hiring process and gain a better understanding of how to succeed in the job market.
Section 1: The Organisation
Organisations that recruit quality applicants usually invest time and money and use innovative, strategic procedures in their recruitment and selection processes. The recruitment process may require management to assess its organisational structure, review its remuneration package and conduct a job analysis on the vacant positions before they are advertised.
This literature examines the key responsibilities and duties of the organisation during the recruitment and selection process.
Advertising
Advertisements for a vacant position may be conducted internally, externally, or a combination of both. Regardless of the option chosen, organisations have to deal with the advantages and disadvantages of each. For instance, internal advertising of a vacant position allows organisations to recruit persons who are familiar with its operations, procedures and structure. However, those persons may not have the requisite qualifications, experience or professionalism for the vacant position. Thus, organisations may have to advertise externally to attract a wider range of qualified candidates for skilled or technical positions.
Remuneration and Compensation
Remuneration and compensation are essential elements of an organisation’s recruitment process. Management (sometimes the directors) of the organisation must design and establish the remuneration package and scale for every level of employment. During the design process, the management team must define a compensation range, from minimum to maximum. The creation of the range must be based on experience, academics and technical skills.
Once the design process is completed, the management team must establish and implement the remuneration and compensation package. During this process, key personnel must be privy to this information, particularly human resources personnel and other members of the interview panel.
Short-listing
The process requires the organisation to analyse applications against the job description and create an unbiased, non-prejudicial list of candidates to be interviewed for the position. This can be a challenge for the organisation because some applicants may have the relevant academic qualifications but lack the required years of experience, while others may have the experience but lack the required academic qualifications. The organisation can prevent the latter situation by including a clearly defined job description in its advertisement.
Negotiation
The compensation to be offered must be able to attract, capture and retain the best possible applicant. Both the interviewer and the interviewee may need to negotiate the compensation. Some candidates are not good at negotiating and may have to start from the bottom of the compensation range. Management must not discriminate in the compensation offered to different employees. Most organisations have a salary policy and may have to stay within it, since others may be in similar posts.
Contacting the Short-listed Persons
Contacting the shortlisted applicants is the simplest but equally important part of the recruitment and selection process. The organisation must ensure that the applicants are given adequate notice about the interview and, if possible, directions to the organisation.
The applicant must be informed of the date and time of the interview and of the required documents to bring to the interview. In instances where the applicant cannot be reached by telephone, their email address (if provided) and other communication methods must be utilised. If the applicant has to participate in a test, that information must also be communicated in advance. Moreover, the organisation may have to contact the applicant after the interview to communicate its decision.
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Section 2: Individual Effort
A person who wants to succeed in an interview has a lot of work to do. Employers will not call you if you are not ready. The person who needs the job should try to meet the employer’s requirements, as that is the least they can do. They should understand the basics of interviews very early.
One way to meet the employer’s requirement is through academic pursuit. You must spend time learning. You do not have to study to become a professor, but you must increase your knowledge in the field you want to work in. Sometimes people need to study different areas to make themselves marketable, especially if many others have the same academic background. Studying a different area can give you an advantage.
Some professional areas need specialists. Your experience with one major task may make you a candidate for employment. However, with so many changes underway, organisations are now seeking multi-skilled individuals. Therefore, you will have to seek additional skills to gain important employment opportunities. This may require changing positions within the same organisation or assisting other persons in the same organisation to gain additional skills. If those do not work, then you may have to change organisations to gain additional skills, which will allow you to obtain the major employment opportunity you want.
When your application, curriculum vitae and résumé are professionally prepared, they will capture the attention of those who receive them. Therefore, take some time to properly prepare your documents. Many people have the right skills and academic background, but because of the poor presentation of their documents, they are not short-listed or interviewed.
When sending your documents for a vacancy, ensure that key areas are properly addressed, such as your academic background, experience, core competencies, employment history, and more. Your telephone number must also be properly indicated, especially if you are seeking overseas employment. Most employers will call you to invite you to the interview. Your postal address must also be professionally displayed. Once you are successful at the interview, the employment contract and offer letter may be posted to your mailing address.
Provide your references in a way that makes it easy for employers to contact them. Your references may have an impact on whether you are shortlisted. Decide who you will include as your references and how many you should provide. Before including someone as a reference, ensure you have up-to-date information about them and confirm whether they are willing to have their name included in your document for a particular organisation.
Overall, your employment success depends on your preparation. Your academic background, experience, and documentation should speak volumes about you, and soon you will be earning much more than you did a few years ago.

For more information about Geary Reid and his books, please use the contact information below: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/gearyreid, Website: www.reidnlearn.com, Facebook: Reid n Learn, Email: info@reidnlearn.com, Mobile #: 592-645-2240.