<div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/523cc86ceab8ea135ecb58bb-1182-886/job-interview-51.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="job interview" width="480" /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/notionscapital/6125709344/">Flickr/Mike Licht</a></div></div>Making a <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> mistake is akin to making a costly impulse purchase, without having a receipt. The cumulative affect on your business, your department, your career even, of making one or two bad hires, can be expensive.
Quarterly targets can be missed, and depending on the size of your company there could be repercussions across the business.
Reversing that "they looked so good on paper" hiring decision takes time, then you have to go through the hiring process again, which takes more time and costs more money.
<h2>What are the most costly hiring mistakes, and how do you avoid them?</h2>
<h3 dir="ltr">1. Trusting your gut</h3>
Most of us, with any amount of professional experience, will admit to trusting our gut on occasion. And why not? It's served us well, to some extent. But hiring someone because of your gut, because of a "feeling" isn't always the smartest way to go.
Despite more than half a century of data proving hiring has a 50% failure rate*, people still go with who they feel they could get along with at work - when presented with a plethora of equally qualified candidates.
Trust data, the value a candidate can bring, and the way they fit with your culture, rather than the vibe you got from their personality.
<h3>2. Failing resume due diligence</h3>
Some candidates look great on paper. They offer just the right combination of skills, experience and education. A lot of those same candidates could be bending the truth. Studies show that 70% of college students would lie to land that perfect job, 46% of resumes include false information, and 21% of people lie about their education.
In the same way you should always check when making a purchasing decision from a supplier, you should conduct due diligence on a prospective employee. Email or phone references to make sure that at least a couple of the statements on a resume are accurate.
<h3 dir="ltr">3. Guessing on "cultural fit"</h3>
There are two kinds of ways a candidate can fit into a company's culture. One is the right way, whereby psychological testing pre-screens candidates to ensure they're suitable.
The other goes back to a combination of a gut feeling, a resume (which could easily contain false information) and you - as the one responsible for hiring - getting along with the candidate. Getting along, having a laugh, even seeing yourself as wanting to be friends with a candidate is a nice, safe way of supporting that gut instinct. Sometimes it works out well, too.
But from the perspective of a company's culture, the value a candidate needs to bring is to the work they should accomplish. Being best friends isn't going to drive bottom line growth. They might be a great fit in both respects, but any instinct you have for a candidate should always be supported by data.
<h3 dir="ltr">4. Filtering too quickly</h3>
Depending on the position you might have a lot of resumes. Going through them on a lunch break, between phone calls and meetings, without any pre-screening or testing to verify the information, will set you up to fail. A hiring decision is costly, so ensure you take the kind of time required to do it well. Prepare probing questions that will show you've taken the time, thereby giving you further information on which to base your decision.
<h3 dir="ltr">5. Not closing</h3>
Hiring is a two way process. Imagine if the tables were reversed: you'd gone through a lengthy interview process, taken psychological tests and had jumped through all the right hoops. Wouldn't you want to feel valued, before signing on with this new company? Those responsible for hiring should make the successful candidate feel wanted and close the deal in the same way anyone in a sales role would close with a prospective client.
Sell them your company's values, benefits, chances of career progression. Make sure that they want to work for you as much as you want them.
Do you recognize any of these mistakes? Chances are that you have already committed a few, or will do so again. It's not your fault. Hiring is broken. We at <keyword id="1736880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cream-hr">Cream.HR</keyword> are actively working to fix it. If you want to learn more about pre-employment psychometric testing, check out <a href="http://www.cream.hr/">www.cream.hr</a> for more details.

How To Avoid The 5 Biggest Hiring Mistakes 

<div class="entry-content">
An <keyword id="6360839" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="MBA">MBA</keyword> degree used to be a sign of excellence for potential employers. More recently, though, the numbers of people graduating with MBAs have been on a sharp rise. The number of MBAs given out in 2012 was <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/there-are-officially-too-many-mbas/266880/">74% more </a>than in 2001, and they now make up almost 20% of all master’s degrees awarded.
This makes it much harder to find the real gems among the graduating crop. How can you differentiate between graduates that are not necessarily equally skilled?
Many MBA programs require, or strongly encourage, students to have prior business experience, such as the <a href="http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/faqs.cfm">Wharton MBA program</a> at the University of Pennsylvania; others are less strict. A candidate’s prior business experience might be a better guide of what they can do for you than his or her scores on a degree, but as with the regular hiring process, experience has been proven (much like resumes and interviews) to be rather ineffective in gauging job performance.
So how can you tell who you should hire? Here are some tips for what to look out for when reviewing new MBA graduates:
Expectations and Attitude
While many MBA graduates will have reasonable expectations for salary and responsibilities in line with their experience, some may have the wrong kind of attitude for your company.
Business professor, Dipak Jain, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469840650190572.html">has suggested </a>that many employers are “complain[ing] about 30-year-old newly minted M.B.A.s demanding outrageous salaries and expecting to run the company from day one” .
Ensure that you understand the candidate’s expectations during the interview process. Do his or her future goals and expectations match your company’s promotion and salary structures?
One way to ensure you are finding candidates who will be the ‘right fit’ is to use psychometric screening assessments, prior to reviewing resumes. Many companies are seeking skills such as creativity, fundraising, marketing, entrepreneurship, and endless flexibility to respond to an ever-changing world, which can be determined through testing. Establishing a benchmark across all of your candidates will allow you to shortlist and select only those who are right for both your company culture and job performance needs.
Networking Experience
Traditionally, an MBA was one of the best ways to network. The program got you access to the top professors at business schools and gave graduates ‘a key to the club’ to network with other professionals.
Networking is no longer the same. Today, a lot of networking is done through online channels, and it’s <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130422185424-2967511-skip-the-mba-3-reasons-why-you-should-get-real-world-experience-instead">increasingly crucial </a>to have networks across a range of sectors, in order to spot new opportunities and possibilities for interconnection
MBAs may have the skills to deal with this new world of networking, but don’t assume that they will automatically be able to cope with it just because they’re an MBA. Reviewing profiles, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, to determine how well connected applicants are, is a good way to determine networking hustle.
Relevant Skill Sets
Depending on what your business is and how it is run, the skills taught in MBA courses might be more or less relevant to you.
Jay Bhatti, an investor and advisor to startups, <a href="http://qz.com/42233/if-you-cant-get-into-a-top-five-mba-program-dont-even-bother/">argues that MBAs </a>were originally designed to make graduates into good employees of large corporations, and that different skills are needed today to train people to work for startups and smaller companies.
If you need the ‘less traditional’ business skills in your team, it might be worth checking the syllabus of your MBA graduates, and seeing if their courses actually addressed these issues.
Leadership Ability
The most desired quality that hiring managers were looking for in 2012 was leadership; <a href="http://www.gmac.com/~/media/Files/gmac/Research/Employment%20Outlook/2012-crs-report-final-participants.pdf#page=26">51% of hiring managers</a> said this was a key quality.
MBA programs may teach graduates core business skills, but will not necessarily take them to the next level of developing their leadership skills. Even if you’re not putting them in a leadership role immediately, a graduate with those skills will be of more benefit to your company than one without.
Looking for students who have completed MBAs with an emphasis on leadership skills may be beneficial, one ranking of such programs can be found <a href="http://www.topmba.com/mba-rankings/global-200/2011/specializations/leadership">here</a>.
Hiring in itself can be tricky to maneuver, let alone hiring those new to a field of work. However, with the right mindset and the proper selection tools, hiring recent graduates can be cost effective, time efficient, and invaluable to your company’s future success.
<div> </div>
</div>

What To Look For When Hiring Expensive New MBA Grads

The "war for talent" stretches across most companies. Rightly so; top performers are arguably the most critical element of your business. Therefore, recognizing <a href="http://www.tlnt.com/%202012/04/03/5-ways-the-new-war-for-talent-will-change-the-workplace-forever/">inside talent</a> is more important than ever.
Spot Talent from Day One
Most of the true <a href="http://www.kessels-smit.com/files/%202008_van_Noort_ea_Talent_is_made2.pdf">signs of talent</a> fail to appear on a resume. Studies have shown that the main predictors of job performance are having strong problem solving ability, high levels of industriousness, and the ability to handle stress. Assessing candidates for these skills is key to both a successful <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> process and long term employee development.
After hiring, set your employees up for success. For example, if you have hired a brilliant, creative, hardworking employee, who is highly <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/karlmoore/2012/08/22/introverts-no-%20longer-the-quiet-followers-of-extroverts/">introverted</a>, ensure your management styles makes space for her to show her talent. Don’t miss out on raw talent due to a lack of self-promotional behavior, on the part of the new employee. Alternately, give creative people the time and space to come up with big ideas. Offering employees <a href="http://www.rmgconsulting.com/resources/Files/%20Developing%20Talent%20in%20the%20Workplace.pdf">tasks</a> that stretch their ability and experience will allow them to excel.
Promoting from Within
There are many benefits of promoting inside talent:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>
You already know more about the people in advance, save money on the search, and get people who already understand the <a href="http://www.workforce.com/article/20090401/DEAR_WORKFORCE/304019991">corporate culture</a>
</li>
<li>
Firms that promote more people internally are known to have a higher <a href="http://%20www.watsonwyatt.com/render.asp?catid=1&amp;id=14959">shareholder</a> value
</li>
<li>
External hires are often paid more but may perform <a href="http://business.time.com/2012/03/30/why-external-hires-%20get-paid-more-and-perform-worse-than-internal-staff/">less well </a>than internal promotions due to ‘getting up to speed’
</li>
</ul>
The caveat is to ensure that the talent chosen will succeed in the new position. Too often the top talent in a branch of a company is promoted to management, because they were experts in their field. While this may be true, it is an assumption that they will be able to extend this knowledge and be teachers/managers to new recruits. Your top grossing salesman may not have the skills to teach, nor does it mean that his ROI will increase as a manager over being a top salesman.
Before promoting, vet your current employees in the same way as your new applicants. If your company is using assessments to determine inherent traits, revisit these results in addition to performance reviews, before offering <keyword id="3187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Promotion">promotion</keyword>.
Encourage Talent to Emerge
Encouraging talent shouldn’t stop after the hiring process. Talent-spotting means being able to compare employees’ performances and attributes. Paying attention to successes, failures, personalities, and interactions in between annual reviews, will serve your company well.
Having a concise company road map will encourage consistency in both your company and your talent pool. Maintain clearly defined <a href="http://smallbusiness.chron.com/develop-%20talent-workplace-23478.html">goals</a> for your business for the coming years and match these to your hiring requirements.
Developing a clear ‘<a href="http://%20www.catalystconsulting.co.za/articles/CatalystTalentSeries_Spotting%20Talent.pdf">career matrix</a>‘ where the responsibilities and requirements of jobs at different levels will allow employees a path to follow and offer a baseline from which talent can emerge.
Looking inward to promote your current employees can offer a cost effective win-win solution. In the war for talent, you might find some of your future all stars are already working inside your front lines.

Promoting From Within Saves Companies A Lot More Time And Money

There are many times in an employer’s <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> life where choices are second guessed. Often these feelings come when doubts arise about hiring a not-so-good employee. But what about missed opportunities, where quality candidates may have been looked over?
Catching key all-stars can make your business. Here are a few ways to avoid losing the best of the best:
Target Your Advertising
According to a study by Jobfully, <a href="http://blog.jobfully.com/2010/07/the-math-behind-the-networking-claim/">40 percent</a> of all jobs are not listed, which skyrockets to 70% when you include the number of candidates hired whom the employer knows. Sound familiar? If so, you could be missing out on stellar candidates. Casting a wide net to attract a variety of applicants can be a beneficial, and often missed, step.
When sourcing, use <a href="http://humanresources.about.com/cs/recruiting/a/candidatepool.htm">networks</a> to find candidates; through employees, trade groups, industry contacts, etc. At some companies, over 46% of hires are referrals, so it is important to get to know your (and your competition’s) network.
The average cost-per-hire ranges from at least $3,300 for clerical staff to $43,000 for executives. If you’re spending less you may not be allocating enough towards finding the right people. You may claim a limited budget, but considering that the cost of a bad hire has been listed at well over $300,000, spending more at the beginning to hire a top performer seems like a wise investment.
Ways to Improve Your Hiring Process
Psychometric assessments are invaluable at identifying the diamonds in the rough by screening for personality traits, not just skills on a resume. According to <a href="http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm/volumeID_22-editionID_179-ArticleID_1556-getfile_getPDF/thepsychologist/0909hirs.pdf">Dr. Jacob Hirsch</a>,”A large body of research now indicates that measures of cognitive ability and personality are powerful and efficient tools for predicting performance…psychological assessment remains an invaluable tool for identifying the top performers and making an informed decision.” Using this methodology can mitigate the risk of missing the great candidates from the pile.
Another good opportunity to not lose high quality applicants is to make sure that your hiring managers are well versed in the job and organization before beginning to hire. Training for hiring managers can increase the quality of employees hired by almost <a href="http://www.ddiworld.com.au/DDIWorld/media/clientresults/australianfinancialservices_rr_ddi.pdf">33%</a>. Since these managers are already on payroll, increasing their knowledge base can be a win win for their experience and also for improving the hiring process.
In 2012, there were, on average, 118 applicants for every job. Only <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204642604577215372010543642.html">35% </a> met the requirements set up by the employer. While an argument can be made of candidate quality, this is a two way street. It is very important for the employer to ask intelligent, job related questions when <keyword id="6672143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="interviewing">interviewing</keyword> a candidate. Identify not just the skills and culture fit, but ascertain the candidate’s growth potential for the position and for the company, long term. Assessing a candidate’s ability to iterate is a far better measurement of success than simply box-checking for a laundry list of ‘requirements’.
Candidates That are Often Overlooked
While <a href="http://cream.hr/blog/the-realities-of-bias-in-the-hiring-process/">bias</a> should always be avoided in the hiring process, there is a growing trend showing that employers do not want to hire people who are currently unemployed. However, there are <a href="http://www.bls.gov/web/jolts/jlt_labstatgraphs.pdf">3 unemployed</a> people for every job opening, now. These numbers are now so large that perfectly skilled people might be unemployed, at no fault of their own. It is critical that employers keep reservations to a minimum and give candidate’s the ability to explain employment gaps, as there are many reasons people are let go in today’s society.
The hiring process is often very subjective due to the lack of ‘proof’ that an applicant will turn out well. Yet, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkwilliams/2012/06/13/the-case-for-hiring-under-qualified-employees/">less experienced</a> candidates bring fresh blood and no bad habits. Ask yourself, is it more important to find someone who can do one thing perfectly or someone who can iterate, learn and adapt to change? Instead of hiring based on 15 years experience in doing one specific task, think about how job requirements change daily with consistently changing technology.
Alternately, ‘overqualified’ candidates can be overlooked in their own right. An employer may discount this group because they are ‘set in their ways’ or will come at ‘too high of a salary cost’. However, studies show that often a candidate changing jobs later in life may have motivations other than money. Additionally, at the end of the day they may require less training, reducing the time to hire.
Regardless of the type of company, when looking for your next employee, maintain the most inclusive hiring process possible and always keep an open mind. Your company’s next superhero might just be waiting for you to give them the right opportunity.
Now Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-truth-about-bias-in-the-hiring-process-2013-3">The Truth About Bias In The Hiring Process</a>

How You Could Be Missing Out On The Best Candidate For The Job 

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5155d25169bedd785400000e-943-707/brief-case-morning-shadow-2.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="brief case morning shadow" width="400" height="300" /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/91256982@N00/4565245928/">mugley / Flickr</a></div></div>The elephant in the room is that while introducing <keyword id="94784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bias">bias</keyword> is illegal, it also seems inevitable in the <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> process. While you are probably aware that employers are legally not allowed to discriminate based on ethnicity, race, disability, religion, political views, gender, age, sexuality or marital status, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen.
Resumes are often an applicant’s first step through the hiring process. Even at this early stage, bias can run amok. Studies have shown that people with<a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w9873"> ’white’ or ‘domestic’ names </a>get more interest from employers than those with ‘black’ or ‘foreign’ names. The result? Candidates who are probably acutely aware of the inherent bias are changing their names to sound more ‘Anglo-Saxon’, either by choice or at the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/id/34063244/ns/business-careers/t/it-%20%20or-not-name-can-impact-your-career/#.UGC-dVEdw3s%29">insistence of their employer</a>.
Say an applicant makes it through the resume screening, but what about the interview where one can do little to hide or change who he or she is to be more ‘appealing’ to a prospective employer?
Technically, it is illegal to ask about marital status, dependents, religion, or ethnicity if questions are not explicitly being used to discriminate between candidates. But really, it is only up to the employer to word questions correctly can <a href="http://www.mtu.edu/affirmative-programs/pdfs/whatyoucanandcantasklongversion8-12-04.pdf">avoid claims of discrimination</a> or bias.
There are other ways to find out histories that actually are legal. Asking for <a href="http://law-journals-books.vlex.com/vid/employer-requests-salary-%20discriminate-63909536">salary histories</a> or <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Employers-asking-job-%20seekers-for-W-2-or-tax-return-3530180.php">past tax returns</a> is legal, although these may cause <keyword id="43748" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="discrimination">discrimination</keyword> against some people.
Some biases are legally allowable, such as:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>Companies can refuse to hire because of appearance, weight, unemployment, and bankruptcy or poor credit.</li>
<li>It is legal for potential employers to access <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/21191420">social media profiles</a> if they are publicly available.</li>
<li>Some employers are even going as far as to ask for a candidate’s Facebook passwords to access their details, which is in a <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57403315-93/fork-over-your-facebook-log-on-or-you-dont-get-hired-what/?tag=mncol;cnetRiver">grey area of legality</a>.</li>
<li>37% of employers check candidates’ social network profiles before hiring, and a third of them say this has led to someone <a href="http://thenextweb.com/%20socialmedia/2012/04/18/survey-37-of-your-prospective-employers-are-looking-you-up-on-%20facebook/">being turned down</a> for a post.</li>
</ul>
Candidates should be selected not based on genetics, history, or personal life, but on their inherent traits, abilities and successes. Online assessments that allow evidence based hiring support will alleviate some of the bias, as employers will be able to learn what intrinsically makes up a candidate, before a resume is even read, but it is just one step in the process.
Moving forward, the hiring process will undergo changes in what bias is legal and illegal, as cases arise and precedents change. However, the underlying problem, the rampant subjectivity that exists in the hiring process, needs to be corrected. As an employer, it is important to stay cognizant of your natural bias towards others. As employers, we are naturally driven to hire people who remind us of ourselves. However, it is commonly accepted and far more important to note that the wisdom of many, in a wide variety, is greater than that of smaller, similar groups.
What are some of the realities of bias in the hiring process that you’ve experienced?
Now Read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/5-ways-employers-get-tricked-into-hiring-the-wrong-person-2013-3">How Employees Get Tricked Into Hiring The Wrong Person</a>

The Truth About Bias In The Hiring Process

People lie throughout the traditional <keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> process. Enter “Lying on” in Google and you’ll find “Lying on <keyword id="93698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resume">Resume</keyword>” to be two of the top three hits. We have said it before: 46% of resumes submitted by job applicants have some measure of false information. 70% of college students said they would lie on their resume if it landed them the job they wanted. There are resources available teaching them how to lie, but resumes aren’t the only place that offers uncertainty in the hiring process.
The Smartest Kid on the Block: 21% of people who lie on resume lie about their education. Remember Scott Thompson, Yahoo’s former CEO? His resume ‘error’ was claiming a computer science degree from Stonehill College. His real degree? Accounting. With 18% of students dropping out of college and university every year, you can expect to see more and more of the “I pretty much graduated so it counts” mentality.
A Plethora of Perfect Skills: The most common lies on resumes include falsified dates, inflated salaries and inaccurate job descriptions. HR departments are already so swamped with resumes, they rarely have time to follow-up. Some would say, “So what? He says he did a bit of marketing but he didn’t really. No big deal.” Consider this – 7% of people who extend dates on employment do so to hide serving jail time. University Career Centers, charged with helping students land jobs after college and in turn boost the school’s bragging rights of ‘placing students into jobs’ don’t really help employers. With workshops on how to write resumes and cover letters, menial tasks like, “Serve coffee” can quickly become “Manage hospitality service to a wide variety of patrons”.
The Best Reference That Never Was: 27% of people who lie will put a falsified reference. No, I don’t even mean their mom or best friend. I mean a person who either doesn’t exist or someone who they very well know will never be reached. And what about the persistent employer who won’t stop until he reaches the reference? The Internet recommends “neutralizing” a reference by coming to an “agreement” with a boss that doesn’t like you. That sounds like a great deal for this person’s former employer.
Acing the <keyword id="28970" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview">Interview</keyword>: How to ace an interview returns 59,400,000 results in Google. That’s a whole lot of advice. Websites from Forbes to CNN to Monster list most common questions and the ‘perfect’ way to answer them. Interviewees can get the right answer for how to carry themselves, their tone and demeanor. When did <keyword id="6672143" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="interviewing">interviewing</keyword> become akin to a standardized test? Oh, and CNBC even provides a list of acceptable lies that they acknowledge employers never catch, such as “Where do you see yourself in 5 Years?”, “What is your Greatest Weakness” and “What are you salary requirements?”
Bullying the Boss: Unfortunately many people may associate landing a job with getting a sale. Sometimes, when hiring, an HR manager can really feel like they’re being asked to buy something. When a job applicant sees that over one hundred people have applied to a certain position, and a plethora of job-finding sites are telling them to follow-up, employers may get a slew of phone calls, emails, faxes and carrier pigeons following up about the position and if it’s been filled. Does this mean desperation or innovation? Follow-through or lack of self-awareness? Whatever the case, make sure you won’t be bullied into hiring someone just because they find a way to get into every email inbox you’ve got.
The ability to be fooled pops up all throughout the traditional hiring process. For employers, trust continues to be broken and confidence to be shattered with the inability to avoid bad employees.
What are ways that you have been fooled into hiring the wrong people?

How Employers Get Tricked Into Hiring The Wrong Person

Though they have a longstanding place in the corporate world, today <keyword id="6705587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resumes">resumes</keyword> are becoming less and less effective. Sure, resumes may look great, and make great promises, but they are rife with embellishments.
It's no wonder as to why. Did you know that <a href="http://www.lansingbusinessmonthly.com/law-at-work/1325-resume-fraud-little-white-lies-arent-so-little-anymore.html">80% of resumes</a> are intentionally misleading. Misleading about every possible aspect of employment history. The <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/resume-lies-work_cx_kdt_06work_0523lies.html">most common lies</a>, in order of appearance, are:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>
Hiding employment gaps
</li>
<li>
Bogus college degrees
</li>
<li>
Experience embellishment
</li>
<li>
Claiming higher salary from previous jobs
</li>
<li>
Raised grade point average
</li>
<li>
Language proficiency
</li>
</ul>
According to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/75-of-women-lie-about-money-and-other-shocking-facts-2011-3">Business Insider</a>, 31% of people admit to lying on a <keyword id="93698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resume">resume</keyword>. Undoubtedly this is an understated number, considering that 70% of <a href="http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/02/29/10-worst-resume-fibs-in-academic-history/">recent graduates</a> say they would lie on a resume to get the job they want.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container" style="width:441px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5134fe2b69bedd9604000010-650-442/resume's.jpg?maxX=441&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="resume's" width="441" height="300" /><a href="http://cream.hr/blog/resumes-a-lie-story/">Cream.hr</a></div></div>
The traditional hiring method asks you to trust the resume method, but can you know for sure how a candidate will perform after 3 months, 6 months, a year? The facts show that extraordinary candidates are already applying to your company; they're just next to impossible to find amidst the piles of resumes sitting on your desk.
But what if you could always find these extraordinary people, before reading a resume, and be able to use the resume for what it's good for - listing specific qualifications. Knowing your applicants' inherent traits is vital but you aren't going to get that kind of insight from a piece of paper.
The good news is that leading companies have already discovered the answer to this question.
With the countless ways candidates can lie about their experience and qualifications, hiring managers and recruiters are becoming more savvy in the qualifying process. By using social media and psychometric testing, applicants stand a lesser chance of lying their way into a job. Just a few of the benefits to testing are:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>
Better <a href="http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=22&amp;editionID=179&amp;ArticleID=1556">predictor of job performance</a>
</li>
<li>
Increased employee retention
</li>
<li>
Reduced turnover cost
</li>
<li>
More productive workforce
</li>
</ul>
Quickly, resumes are being ousted by other variables; eliminating the lies and getting to the actual inherent traits and abilities of each applicant.
Want to learn more about the new era of hiring? Sign up for the upcoming free eBook "Secret Weapons in the War for Talent: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Hiring 3.0 and Big Data Win for You" <a href="http://eepurl.com/vFmS5">today!</a>

The Most Common Lies People Tell On Their Resumes

Though they have a longstanding place in the corporate world, today <keyword id="6705587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resumes">resumes</keyword> are becoming less and less effective. Sure, resumes may look great, and make great promises, but they are rife with embellishments.
It’s no wonder as to why. Did you know that <a href="http://www.lansingbusinessmonthly.com/law-at-work/1325-resume-fraud-little-white-lies-arent-so-little-anymore.html">80% of resumes</a> are intentionally misleading. Misleading about every possible aspect of employment history. The <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/20/resume-lies-work_cx_kdt_06work_0523lies.html">most common lies</a>, in order of appearance, are:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>
Hiding employment gaps
</li>
<li>
Bogus college degrees
</li>
<li>
Experience embellishment
</li>
<li>
Claiming higher salary from previous jobs
</li>
<li>
Raised grade point average
</li>
<li>
Language proficiency
</li>
</ul>
According to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/75-of-women-lie-about-money-and-other-shocking-facts-2011-3">Business Insider</a>, 31% of people admit to lying on a <keyword id="93698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resume">resume</keyword>. Undoubtedly this is an understated number, considering that 70% of <a href="http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/02/29/10-worst-resume-fibs-in-academic-history/">recent graduates</a> say they would lie on a resume to get the job they want.
<div class="image-container" style="width:441px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5134fe2b69bedd9604000010-650-442/resume's.jpg?maxX=441&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="resume's" width="441" height="300" /><a href="http://cream.hr/blog/resumes-a-lie-story/">Cream.hr</a></div></div>
The traditional hiring method asks you to trust the resume method, but can you know for sure how a candidate will perform after 3 months, 6 months, a year? The facts show that extraordinary candidates are already applying to your company; they’re just next to impossible to find amidst the piles of resumes sitting on your desk.
But what if you could always find these extraordinary people, before reading a resume, and be able to use the resume for what it’s good for – listing specific qualifications. Knowing your applicants’ inherent traits is vital but you aren’t going to get that kind of insight from a piece of paper.
The good news is that leading companies have already discovered the answer to this question.
With the countless ways candidates can lie about their experience and qualifications, hiring managers and recruiters are becoming more savvy in the qualifying process. By using social media and psychometric testing, applicants stand a lesser chance of lying their way into a job. Just a few of the benefits to testing are:
<ul class="wplist">
<li>
Better <a href="http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk/archive/archive_home.cfm?volumeID=22&amp;editionID=179&amp;ArticleID=1556">predictor of job performance</a>
</li>
<li>
Increased employee retention
</li>
<li>
Reduced turnover cost
</li>
<li>
More productive workforce
</li>
</ul>
Quickly, resumes are being ousted by other variables; eliminating the lies and getting to the actual inherent traits and abilities of each applicant.
Want to learn more about the new era of hiring? Sign up for the upcoming free eBook “Secret Weapons in the War for Talent: A Step-by-Step Guide to Making Hiring 3.0 and Big Data Win for You” <a href="http://eepurl.com/vFmS5">today!</a>

So you have identified A+ candidates and they have accepted your job offer. Awesome. Now the trick is keeping them with you for the long haul.
Since everyone is after A+ employees, and you’ve done all the work of finding them, your competitors might start recruiting them. Makes sense. When all is said and done, it<a href="http://www.webpronews.com/employee-retention-what-employee-turnover-really-costs-your-company-2006-07"> costs about $3,500</a> to replace an $8 per hour employee.
Is the solution to throw more money at the problem? What if you genuinely can’t afford to pay your employees more?
Don’t panic. Even though employees think they’re interested in getting a raise, Daniel Pink has found that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y">employees are not motivated by money</a> (unless they’re in physical labor). In fact, some employees actually perform worse when incentivized with money. According to Pink, here’s what you can do to keep your A+ talent around without increasing salaries:
<h4 dir="ltr">Provide Autonomy</h4>
Employees are more motivated when they have control over their day-to-day life at work. Allow them to decide when they work, how they work, who they work with, and what they do. The more freedom and control they have over their own career, the more fulfilled they’ll feel.
<h4 dir="ltr">Allow Mastery</h4>
A+ employees want to be great at what they do. They strive to get better every single day. Empower them to be better as often as possible. Build a culture of clear goals and immediate feedback, but allow room for experimentation.
For example, set a goal of 1,000 new customers by the end of the month. Then allow your employees to create strategies independently. As they experiment with their new ideas, provide instant feedback and coach them along the way.
<h4 dir="ltr">Give Purpose</h4>
Humans naturally want to contribute to the greater good. Make sure you have a powerful vision for the company and spread it whenever you can. Create posters and hang them around the office. Tie all of the major projects to this vision, and show how what they’re doing is pushing the company closer to its big goals.
Attracting and retaining A+ talent is a top priority for every company. Putting the proper strategies in place to keep employees engaged, happy and independent are keys to long term employee retention.
What methods do you use to retain top talent?

Strategies That Make Sure Employees Stick With You For The Long Haul

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/511bb35d6bb3f7403b00000e-620-465/fail-meter-1.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="fail meter" width="400" height="300" /></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/4769785363/">quinn.anya via flickr</a></div><keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">Hiring</keyword> managers confess that nearly 50 percent of new employees do not fulfill their job obligations in the first 18 months of employment based on<a href="http://www.oberonllc.com/newsletter_RightPeople.html"> research</a> conducted by Leadership IQ.
Experts estimate that this type of bad hiring decision can cost your company as much as 20 to 200 percent of a year’s salary according to<a href="http://www.hrmreport.com/article/Dramatically-improve-your-hiring-success-with-pre-hire-assessments/"> HR Management</a>. Besides just the cost, bad hires harm office morale, disrupt everyone’s productivity, and are hard to fire as they get interwoven in office politics.
Why is the hiring system failing? The problem lies within the traditional screening process:
Looking Good On A <keyword id="93698" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="resume">Resume</keyword>
With a little embellishment, clever wording, great font, good spelling and grammar, pretty much anyone can look good on a resume. Job seekers who are not great at writing their own resume can even hire a resume consultant such as<a href="http://www.yourresumeconsultant.com/"> Jeffrey Metzger</a> for as low as $225. Metzger describes his role as follows:
“I specialize in writing high-quality, attention-getting personal marketing documents. A resume alone can’t win you the job, but a poorly written resume can certainly eliminate you from consideration.
If you’re a recent grad, changing careers, or a seasoned professional, we have a resume solution for you. Each resume is custom designed to reflect your goals and personality.”
You can never be sure whether a resume is the work of the applicant in front of you, and if it is if it is 100% truthful. Ultimately, whether someone sounds good on a resume or not is not a great predictor of how they will perform on the job.
Random Filtering
There is an<a href="http://reorg.co/getting-lucky-in-recruiting-2011-09/"> interesting story</a> about sorting through a stack of resumes from co-founder of Podio<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/hulthin"> Kasper Huithin</a>. Huithin knew a guy who wanted to hire only lucky people. So he would take all the submitted resumes, put them into a stack, divide the stack in half, and throw out one of the new stacks (half of the resumes!). Similarly, some employers only look at resumes of candidates whose last name starts with a certain alphabet letter.
While other employers may not be as extreme with their resume filtering, some of the tactics they use are just as ineffective. Even filtering resumes through a keyword search is not that great. Looking for the word “manager” in all the resumes means you’ll miss resumes of potentially great candidates who have the word “managing” or “management” or “managerial” instead.
Other hiring managers skim resumes looking for signs of past success, such as graduating from a top university. However, many of these success factors depend on having money and connections, which are also not great indicators of how the job candidate will actually perform in the job role you’re hiring for.
The <keyword id="28970" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview">Interview</keyword> Process
Some people are just good at interviewing. They are extroverted and agreeable, and almost everyone tends to like them. This is just<a href="http://podconsulting.net.nz/documents/Interview%20Bias.pdf"> one of the many biases</a> a hiring manager might be bringing with her to an interview according to Pod Consulting:
“Have you ever met anyone and once you have got chatting experienced positive feelings about one characteristic that they possess (such as their appearance or that they possess a product you favor)? If you warm to this person because of the characteristic then everything they say seems so valid and in keeping with you – if you hear something that isn’t quite in keeping with the characteristic, the chances are, you will ignore it.”
Other interview biases include judging the interviewee based on your first impression, stereotyping, and comparing the candidate against other candidates instead of the job requirements.
As humans, hiring managers often decided whether the job candidate is a good fit based on gut instinct, subjectivity, and sometimes nepotism versus objective criteria of whether the job candidate will actually perform well in the specified role.
The Missing Piece
In 1984, Hunter and Hunter<a href="http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/PSYC%20651/Huffcutt%20&amp;%20Arthur%20%281994%29%20Interview.pdf"> conducted a meta-analysis</a> comparing eleven alternative predictors of job performance for entry-level positions. They found ability tests to be the best overall predictor of job performance, with a mean validity of 0.53. In contrast, interviews had the mean validity of only 0.14 as a predictor, resumes at a paltry 0.08, for actual job performance.
Yet, most hiring practices focus heavily on qualifying skills and personas of the job candidates, not on what is most important – whether the job candidate will be a productive part of the business. In this case, the best case scenario is to wait it out for 12 to 18 months to see the candidate’s actual value.
The Future of Candidate Screening – Testing and Data
With the onset of advanced technology, most jobs are not the same as they were three years ago. Therefore, experience is not as valid as work ethic and problem solving ability. Psychometric testing allows employers to identify these traits, by screening job candidates for productivity, before a resume is read. Those tests that are based on actual psychology research, offer predictive indexes on how someone will actually perform in a given position.
The information received allows employers to properly filter applicants in the first place. They assist in asking poignant interview questions, and they determine ‘diamond in the rough’ candidates that would have been overlooked by the trappings of the traditional hiring process, in an efficient and cost saving process.
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_data">Big data</a> refers to the process of capturing, curating, storing, analyzing, and visualizing data sets so large and complex, they cannot be handled with traditional software tools. Companies that use big data to make hiring decisions analyze statistics about employee turnover, performance, and employee assessments to understand what type of people will be most successful at each job. They then use their findings to implement hiring assessments, like the one mentioned above, that screen job applicants for the identified traits.
Choosing to implement psychometric testing and data collection, are always optional to the employer. However, their usages are on the rise and these two scientific methods are poised to change the future of the traditional hiring process over the next few years.
If you want to learn more about pre-employment psychometric testing, check out <a href="http://www.cream.hr/">www.cream.hr</a> for more details.

Why The Hiring System Is Failing

<keyword id="6357342" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hiring">Hiring</keyword> managers look for safe hires. Future employees that won’t rock the boat, have no obvious defects, and are ‘fine’ – but face it, ho-hum hires lead to ho-hum companies.
Fear plays too large a role when hiring. No one wants to be the one that hired “that guy”.
Every week, you see another post from another bleeding-heart writer about how companies need to care more about the feelings of their applicants: ‘10 ways your hiring process repels applicants”.
Time out. Companies have every right to be terrified of hiring the wrong person. Bad hires are brutally expensive, and expenses kill businesses. Dead businesses don’t employ anyone. Everybody loses.
But how do you manage these fears so you don’t end up with mediocre employees?
Look for compatible flaws. What is with the obsession of trying to hire perfect people? Nobody’s perfect.
Perfect People Don’t Exist
Like unicorns or Santa (don’t let my kid see this), perfect people don’t exist. Even if your “perfect” people do exist, chances are that they probably aren’t putting in an application.
Once you accept that perfect is not realistic, the typical hiring process looks pretty stupid.
Review resumes, then find someone with the perfect degree, from the perfect school, with the perfect experience. Then meet candidates that interview perfectly, who offer the perfect answers.
Sounds good in theory, but as employers, we must face facts. The next applicant isn’t going to be Superman. We’re all human. With our unrealistic expectations, we can’t blame applicants for hiding their imperfections and interviewing with all the ‘right’ answers. We, the employers, have made and perpetuated that problem.
Perfect People Are Boring
When was the last time you have read a book or watched a TV show about a character with zero flaws?
Never.
The best characters have imperfections, despite their genius. It’s what makes them believable. Sherlock Holmes, and his 21st century equal, House, M.D., are addicts and jerks. Temperance Brennan, from Bones, is socially robotic. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist, is haunted by his past and fueled by revenge.
Note: We’re not suggesting you hire a socially mechanical, drug addicted, who is laden with emotional baggage and out to punish those who have wronged him — although, it’d be a hit reality, ‘The Office meets Survivor’ TV show.
Use Hiring Wabi Sabi
Wabi Sabi is the Japanese art of imperfection. It is characterized by asymmetry, (roughness or irregularity), simplicity, economy, austerity, modesty, intimacy and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes. In short, to recruit applicants with flaws, given the right conditions, can be amazingly beautiful.
At the end of the day, our flaws define us. If we were all perfect, then we would all be exactly the same (…boring…).
It’s our imperfections that make us unique.
What’s Next?
Employers: realize that awesome hires cannot be perfect. Look for hires who have flaws that are complemented by the rest of your team, and have strengths that can complement your team’s existing flaws.
Job Seekers: realize that you’re not perfect, and that is okay. Be as honest as you can, and accept it when your particular flaws can’t make the company’s canvas more beautiful.
What have your experiences been when recruiting for the individual over the ideal?
NOW READ: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-introverts-dont-interview-well-2013-1">Introverts Interview Badly But You Should Still Hire Them</a>

Hire For Compatible Flaws Instead Of Looking For Perfection

A long-standing belief is that natural leaders are all extroverts. You know the type. They’re decisive, enjoy speaking publicly, and enjoy social settings. Everybody else — <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/career-transitions/201005/the-shy-job-seeker">the remaining 25 percent</a> of the population? Well, you might be quick to call them ‘passive’ — and best suited to hide behind the scenes. There’s more to it though, so as my grandma likes to say, “bite your tongue”.
You might be surprised to realize that 70 percent of the world’s CEOs <a href="http://www.businessexpertwebinars.com/content/view/369/29/">describe themselves as introverts</a>. Bill Gates. Warren Buffett. Even movie magnate Steven Spielberg and Sara Lee’s Brenda Barnes. The list of well-known “Who’s Who” of corporate introverted CEOs goes on and on.
So what?
So, hiring managers — what does all of this mean for you? In a nutshell, you can’t judge an <keyword id="136663" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="introvert">introvert</keyword> by her silence. You need to dig deep into the conversation to really understand the value she might add to your team. In fact, there’s a whole <a href="http://www.thepowerofintroverts.com/about-the-book/">book about this very topic</a> — “Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so.”
“You can’t judge an introvert by her silence.”
If you expect everybody to be an extrovert, there’s no way that they’ll <keyword id="28970" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="interview">interview</keyword> well. Think of some of the industry’s best developers, writers, and analysts. They tend to be incredibly high in cognition with exceptional stress tolerance. You want these folks on your team. Here’s what to know about interviewing them.
1. They won’t try to sell you
That doesn’t mean that they don’t care about the job. They’re just being real — think of them as genuine and aversive to playing politics. They’ll be upfront about their weaknesses without sugar coating the tough stuff. When they say they care, they’re being totally honest. You absolutely need this authenticity as part of your team. So don’t be taken aback by surprisingly blunt answers. Embrace ‘em.
2. They are great actors
Introverts spend their lives learning to adapt to social settings — and they’re smart enough to have learned to do it well. They can probably read you better than you can read yourself. So don’t be fooled by the quiet. They know how to “act the part” of social. They’ve been there, done that — and they’re over it. You may feel like you’re not able to read them, and you definitely won’t have a steady read on their emotions. Imagine what a valuable asset that is to leadership and high-stress situations. That level of emotional control? That’s just what your team needs.
3. They don’t like small talk
Hiring managers, be prepared to pry for more information — this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Introverts will be incredibly direct in their answers to you. They’ll tell you exactly what you want to know without the added fluff. If you want elaboration, you need to be direct about it and ask for it. So don’t stop the conversation short with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. It’s your job as the hiring manager to keep the discussion going.
4. They get tired of people quickly
In the world of introverts, there is such a thing as “too much social”. Introverts don’t always prefer to be alone, but they <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/02/introverts-of-the-world-unite/304646/">do get tired of people quickly</a>. Now — that doesn’t mean that your interviewee will spontaneously close up. But they may not like being part of a group interview for very long. They also probably won’t want to meet with 10 people in a row without a break to decompress. It isn’t weird — it’s totally healthy.
5. They are widely misunderstood
“Extroverts are easy for introverts to understand, because extroverts spend so much of their time working out who they are in voluble, and frequently inescapable, interaction with other people,” wrote Jonathan Rauch <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/302696/">in an article for The Atlantic</a>. “They are as inscrutable as puppy dogs. But the street does not run both ways. Extroverts have little or no grasp of introversion. They cannot imagine why someone would need to be alone; indeed, they often take umbrage at the suggestion.”
Introverts aren’t weird. They’re just… introverts. Don’t make assumptions, and don’t misjudge. You need to jump into the conversation with an extremely open mind.
6. They hate to repeat themselves
So stop asking the same questions over and over! Make an effort to truly listen instead of half-heartedly paying attention. Introverts prefer to be direct and to the point. They don’t want to reinvent the wheel — they would much rather switch gears and tackle something new. That goes for conversations too. Repetition is boring.
Okay, so you’re convinced that you want to interview an introvert. Good idea — if you’re lucky, you very well might find the next Bill Gates (which is just the type of brilliance that your company needs). So here’s a quick recap of things to remember:
1. Ask lots of follow-up questions. 2. Don’t be quick to judge. 3. Don’t be taken aback by candor — embrace it. 4. Keep the conversation interesting. 5. Don’t make the interview a long-winded party — keep it short, focused, and to the point. 6. Lose the small talk — focus on what matters. 7. Quit stereotyping and start listening with an open mind. 
Have you ever had to interview an introvert? Tell us your best practices in recruiting the quiet ones.
NOW READ: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dealing-with-employee-weaknesses-2013-1">How To Deal With Employees' Greatest Weaknesses</a>

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How To Avoid The 5 Biggest Hiring Mistakes

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What To Look For When Hiring Expensive New MBA Grads

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Promoting From Within Saves Companies A Lot More Time And Money

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How You Could Be Missing Out On The Best Candidate For The Job

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The Truth About Bias In The Hiring Process

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How Employers Get Tricked Into Hiring The Wrong Person

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The Most Common Lies People Tell On Their Resumes

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The Most Common Lies People Tell On Their Resumes

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Strategies That Make Sure Employees Stick With You For The Long Haul

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Why The Hiring System Is Failing

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Hire For Compatible Flaws Instead Of Looking For Perfection

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Introverts Interview Badly, But You Should Still Hire Them

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