Hiring 101
Good office help is hard to find, but can be made easier by following some tried and tested tips
By Pascale Daigneault
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Phone Screening*
You've collected resumes, selected candidates and are ready to talk to top contenders. What's your next step? It could be a telephone interview. With overwhelming constraints placed upon hiring managers in the legal field, phone interviews can be an effective time-saver, enabling you to quickly identify the most skilled candidates. Following are some guidelines to help you prepare for the phone evaluation:
Timing Is Everything
Estimate how long you'll need to effectively conduct a telephone interview with job applicants. Without a guideline, you may spend too much or too little time on the process. If the candidate isn't available and you need to leave a message, set a specific time for when he or she should return your call the next day. This can be a good test of initiative – candidates who fail to return the call or do not contact you by the designated hour to make alternative arrangements demonstrate either a lack of interest or a lack of commitment.
Have a Candidate's Resume on Hand
Review the resume and cover letter carefully before you call a candidate, and note any questions you have. Keep these materials on hand when you're talking with the applicant, and jot down his or her responses and your impressions.
Develop a List of Questions
For comparison purposes, ask the same or similar questions of each candidate. You'll likely see a pattern emerge among the applicants who are a good fit for your firm. Here are a few good questions to ask:
• "Tell me a little about yourself and your work history."
• "Do you specialize in any specific practice areas? What type of cases or legal work have you handled in your previous jobs?"
• "What interests you about this job?"
• "What skills can you bring to the job?"
• "Can you tell me about your current job?"
• "What sort of work environment brings out your best performance?"
While phone evaluation is no replacement for an in–person interview, it can be the ideal vehicle for narrowing the field of possible candidates for job openings at your firm. The key is to be consistent and optimize the time you spend with each job hopeful.
*Located in major markets in North America, Robert Half Legal is a provider of highly skilled legal professionals for law firms and corporate legal departments.
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When a firm is short-staffed, the pressure is on to quickly find a replacement. Unfortunately this can lead to bigger problems down the line, when the new hire turns out to be less than ideal.
Advertising a position. Posting a small job ad even in a local newspaper can be pricey. Fortunately the Internet abounds with free options for recruiting employees. For instance, the Federal Government through Employment Canada provides a free employment listing. The site allows users to register for a free account and post job ads. Once a position is advertised, the details of that position can be saved. The description can be reused at a future date.
Unlike local newspaper ads, the online postings provide access to a geographically wider candidate pool.
Reviewing resumes. When reviewing resumes, be careful of unexplained gaps in employment history.
A resume should be a candidate’s “best foot forward.” Be vigilant. Watch out for spelling, grammatical and lay out mistakes. A resume riddled with errors or sloppily laid out may be red flags signalling that individual’s poor work quality.
Interviewing. Create an interview format for the selected candidates that you wish to meet. This will allow you to gather the same information from all potential employees. Use the interview process to establish facts that may not be otherwise obvious.
Testing. Ask your potential candidate to draft a simple letter by hand. This will enable you to ascertain if your candidate can write without the assistance of “spell check/grammar software”. It will also let you know if the potential employee has legible handwriting.
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“Be sure to call all the references provided. You should expect them to be glowing, but be wary if they are not. The individual who cannot provide you with great references should be a concern.”
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There are also a number of free aptitude tests available on the Employment Canada website. Asking the candidates to complete some of these may be of assistance in your assessment.
Checking references. When you are narrowing down candidates, look at references. If there are none, ask why. Be sure to call all the ones provided. You should expect them to be glowing, but be wary if they are not. The individual who cannot provide you with great references should be a concern. Also be aware that there are companies advertising on the internet that will provide fake references and job histories, such as Career Excuse.
Check the references yourself. A good starting point would be a reverse phone number search.
This allows confirmation that the number being called belongs to the organization/individual you think you are calling.
By reason of our legal training we often assume that we are good “judges of character.” While this may be so, it is not a reliable approach in the hiring process. A courthouse search for actions commenced by or against the potential candidate may also be useful.
Ask when the employee is available to start the new position. Be concerned about the employee who is willing to leave their present place of employment without proper notice. What goes around, comes around. This person will have no concern about leaving your employment in the same inconsiderate manner.
You may also want to consider a courthouse search to find of actions in which your potential employee has been named either as a defendant or a plaintiff. Although it is unlikely that you will find that a job candidate is involved in a lawsuit, such as a wrongful dismissal suit, when you do, the information you obtain about that potential employee should be well worth the time and expense of the search.
Final Selections. When deciding between your top candidates, consider a “try-out” period at the office, for a day or a half day. You should pay the employee at least minimum wage to prevent them from feeling exploited, although do not expect much work to be accomplished. The test period is an opportunity for both parties to explore the potential relationship. While the test period may not let you know if there will be a good fit, you will find out very quickly if it is not going to work.
Should a candidate during their test period proceed to boss about regular employees, demand frequent smoke/coffee/washroom breaks, chats incessantly, you will be glad to know before making your final selection.
Pascale Daigneault is the managing partner at Fleck & Daigneault, a personal injury and wills and estates law firm, in Sarnia, Ontario.
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