I don’t want to hire my former employee by Alison Green on August 30, 2018 A reader writes: Our office employed a person in the same role for about a decade. Last year, he moved to a less demanding and technical job in the company. This was at a busy time for us and left us in a crunch, but we managed. Now, the person we got to replace him […] Read the full article →
job candidate’s wife keeps contacting me, even after I’ve told her to stop by Alison Green on August 27, 2018 A reader writes: I have a candidate in our hiring process. Due to the industry (skilled trades) I work in, we require a number of safety tickets, orientations, supplemental training, and coordination of flights and camp prior to an employee starting. This candidate, we will call him Bob, seems to be a good fit for […] Read the full article →
how can I hire good candidates to work in a dysfunctional environment? by Alison Green on June 13, 2018 A reader writes: I work for a small organization (about 40 employees) that is currently in transition. We have had significant staff turnover in the last two years, and the result has pushed the organization into a level of dysfunction that I know will drive many good quality candidates away. However, I still have to […] Read the full article →
my colleagues and I disagree on whether to hire someone who works for a competitor by Alison Green on March 29, 2018 A reader writes: I am one of two managers of a health/beauty-based franchise, where we provide better-rated services than our competitors. Recently, we were understaffed so we went on a hiring spree and hired three new hospitality staff, but we’re still receiving lots of applications. Today, we received through our website a message saying, “I […] Read the full article →
how to answer job candidates’ questions about salary when I don’t have a range to provide by Alison Green on March 27, 2018 A reader writes: I work in HR for a small company and typically am involved with the phone screen and in-person interview portion of the hiring process. During these phases, we are not provided any information with regard to salary. Our CEO generally provides that information to me upon hiring and handles determining pay rates […] Read the full article →
should I point out job applicants’ mistakes to them? by Alison Green on March 20, 2018 A reader writes: I supervise a summertime internship program at my job, which attracts mainly college-age applicants. A huge component of the internship is attention to detail. This week I received five applications for the internship. Three of those have included detail errors, some minor and some major. For example: 1. The first applicant stated […] Read the full article →
should being on reality TV disqualify a job candidate? by Alison Green on March 12, 2018 A reader writes: I’m currently on a hiring committee for a newly established role in my division. It’s designed for someone with a marketing background, but involves a lot of direct interaction with clients on projects. This person will manage a team within our marketing department, and it’s a relatively senior position. We’ve had our […] Read the full article →
how can you tell if an overqualified applicant is right for the job? by Alison Green on March 1, 2018 A reader writes: I’m a young professional working at a nonprofit. I manage our most entry-level position, a basic administrative position that has been categorized at times as both an administrative assistant or office manager. This position recently became vacant after an employee of one year, Fergus, decided to leave. We knew Fergus was highly […] Read the full article →
what’s up with candidates turning down our job offers after we pay to fly them out? by Alison Green on February 19, 2018 A reader writes: I work in the fundraising profession, and my role (not to mention the department that I manage) is somewhat specialized. My department has been expanding after a long period of being under-resourced and under-staffed (yay!) but one of the challenges I face with recruitment is that the talent pool in our local […] Read the full article →
is there a best time to send rejection letters? by Alison Green on January 18, 2018 A reader writes: Is there a standard for when to send out rejection letters? I deal with a lot of hiring in my job and I usually know as soon as I review a resume or hold an interview whether or I’m going to reject someone, but I have always figured that people don’t want […] Read the full article →