Page 152 - Becoming a Successful Manager

Hiring the Right People 143

a fi nal step, you can research them online to see if they have a Web
presence and if it is in line with what they have presented on paper.

Think: Ready—Willing—Able

Ready, willing, and able are the guiding qualities of the candidate
selection process. Looking fi rst at the “able” category, your careful
review of the résumés and applications will indicate if the required
abilities are present. This is the easiest part of the process, since a
candidate either has them or doesn’t.
The next step is verifi cation, which is a bit more complicated
because applicants sometimes exaggerate their skills and duties on
résumés, and you have to check that the facts are as stated. You
know what applicants say they are able to do, but you have to be
sure the words are truly matched by the deeds. You must verify
what you think you learned about a candidate from the written
document, and that comes during the interview.

Conducting the Interview

As with formulating the position description, conducting a suc-
cessful interview involves planning and practice. You will prob-
ably spend twenty to fi fty minutes with an applicant, and you must
know how to gain the insight you need. To prepare, review the
earlier chapter on the art of asking questions, and then write down
the key questions you will ask at the interviews you conduct.

Verifying Abilities

The right questions will flesh out the applicant’s abilities and pro-
duce examples that demonstrate those abilities. Matching your