“Why is hiring new new employees so difficult?” 

“There is no shortage of applicants but finding the right person with the necessary skill set is often hard to come by.”  

I’ve heard these sentiments many times from friends and colleagues and have found it quite interesting. Especially as I am no stranger to the hiring process. 

For 10 years I ran a student employment program for the local school board. We hired 65-90 students each summer. I supervised the students for the first few years and then coordinated the program for the last six. 

It was a major undertaking to hire so many students for a brief period of time and it required many different departments to work together. However, I found coordinating the program, including the hiring process, quite easy.  

I had inherited a structured interview process that made everything seamless. I just followed the timeline and protocols, making minor changes as needed. 

Starting early was key. We began in February.  

The required departments – HR, purchasing, facility services, student success - came together for a brief meeting to review everyone’s roles and responsibilities and the program’s timelines. 

Shortly thereafter the job posting was written, requesting specific skills and interests. We wanted to be clear about the type of candidate that would be a good fit for the job. We even made a YouTube video for teachers and administrators to help promote our program and recruit the right students. 

After getting hundreds of applications, we began the interview process. 

Different community partners were needed, and often simultaneous interviews occurred with different interviewers. So, a uniform set of scripted behavioural interview questions was created. For example, we asked students to tell us about a time they exhibited leadership qualities, rather than asking what they felt were qualities of a good leader.  

Interviewers made notes during each interview and discussed the candidate’s responses directly after their interview. Comparing answers across candidates helped us hire for what we needed and helped us avoid biases.  

This was important to do because people often subconsciously fall into the trap of hiring people who look or act like them, even if they are not qualified for a job. Having a clear, uniform interview process helped us hire for the skills needed and to reduce our implicit biases. 

In addition to the interviews, we also created simulations, so candidates could show us their skills, not just talk about them. For example, students who were applying to be camp counsellors had to lead fellow interviewees in a camp song and a game they had prepared. These are activities that are part of their job requirements, and if they couldn’t do them somewhat confidently, they weren’t likely the right fit for the job.  

Then, within days of the interview, we sent letters to all job candidates, if they were hired or not. Everyone wants to know the results of a job interview, and we felt a timely response would be appreciated. 

As the years progressed, we tightened and stream–lined the process, making our hires better and our work lives easier.  

What I didn’t realize or fully appreciate, until recently, is how well laid out this hiring process was. It followed all the best practices I’ve since read in management books. The organization worked together, with roles, responsibilities and timelines mapped out. As a team we decided what were must-haves in our hires and we hired for what we needed. We asked the same behavioural questions to all candidates and analyzed the written notes to reduce biases. We thoroughly vetted our candidates through simulations. Every year we got better, and everything progressively ran smoother. All because of our structured process. 

While finding the right hire can be challenging, a streamlined interview process will help find the right candidate. By following the steps outlined here, you might discover it is much easier to find the right person for the job than you’ve experienced before.  

I invite you to try it and see if it works. 

Best wishes, Lauren