The 3 tricks that will help you separate the Llamas from the real Kris Kringle.

Though the picture that got you here is incredibly cute and funny, it also depicts the struggle that many of us hiring managers face when trying to fill an open position within our organization, finding the “best fit”.

Just because the Llama is wearing a Santa suit, doesn’t mean it is the best fit for the role. The Llama can’t chat with little kids to bring them hope and cheer and it certainly doesn’t have the fortitude to manage elves and the operations of a fast-paced Christmas workshop! Not to mention Llama’s are notorious for spitting!

As hiring managers, we often get bombarded by all of the “Llama’s” that are representing themselves on paper to be capable and more qualified than they actually are, but what can we do to weed these candidates out before they take up precious interview time?

Here are some tips that has worked for me:

1. Dive deeper with the Job Description.

Don’t be afraid to be specific! I like to imagine the “ideal candidate” for the role and write out all the qualities that individual must have.  Then, I compare these qualities to my job description and ask myself if each quality is clearly requested throughout the job description. Be sure to think beyond the education and core job skills while doing this!

2. Enhance the pre-screening process.

Oftentimes this crucial step of pre-screening is completely overlooked! Take time to develop a strong pre-screening process. Think about situations and projects that your “ideal candidate” would shine through.

Helpful recommendations may be:

• Create some preliminary questions that are directly applicable to the anticipated job tasks. These would be sent to the top candidates to help narrow down the list. Ideally, these questions would be asked during the initial telephone screening. This might eliminate the temptation of the candidate “Googling” answers to your questions.
• Imaginative project requests. These are a great way for candidates to show their personality and help you get a better feel for how and how they might process ideas or solutions. *This one is especially helpful for creative based roles*
• Skills Assessments. These are very helpful for hands on positions where you can test things like math skills, blueprint interpretation skills, measurement recognition, attention to detail, etc.

3. Encourage cover letters … and actually READ them.

Candidates are more than just their resume. Yes, resumes are important and hold value as we search to fill a position as quickly and efficiently as possible.

However, we often put far too much value in what a resume might NOT contain and far too little in the skills and experiences that might not appear as you have interpreted. That is exactly why cover letters are helpful! It is a great place for a candidate to outline their applicable skills and experiences to better explain why they think they have what it takes to be your next great hire! Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to a candidate for further clarification of the resume.

Just as difficult as identifying the perfect candidate is for a hiring manager, compressing years of work history into mini job descriptions to fit a 1-2-page resume can also be a challenge for any candidate.

Allow yourself to think outside of the box while reviewing resumes. Sometimes focusing on the “lack of” could cause managers to overlook key traits like:  personality, professionalism, customer service, workplace etiquette and many more invaluable qualities. After all, a great candidate is one that must also be a great fit for your company culture.

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These are just a few of the many tricks, that I have implemented over the years to assist me and fellow hiring managers with the daunting task of hiring for a vacant position.

Comment below with something that has been particularly beneficial to you during the hiring process or tell us about a time you tried something different that just didn’t work well at all!

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– Together we can make hiring more fun! –