MightyRecruiterAs the economy continues to recover in the wake of the recession, staffing firms have become more critical than ever. Employers want surety in their hires, and prospective employees want expert help getting a foot in the door at the right company. Ineffective recruiters make both parties unhappy and lose money for their firms. If you are looking to grow your staffing firm, it is critical that you find a way to efficiently and effectively onboard recruiter candidates and make the right hire. Interviews are typically the first and best opportunity you will have to identify an all-star recruiter. You do not want to discover a new hire is inept after the fact, causing you to waste time and money while you repeat the hiring process. How, then, can you get the maximum amount of useful information about a candidate in an interview? We have compiled five interview questions that can help you get the most out of your interviews.
How Do You Rank Against Others?
Like it or not, the sales industry is based on competition. The fastest way to get an idea about a candidate’s sales prowess is to look at the hard numbers. Over time, quality salespeople’s numbers will stand out from their peers. Look for candidates who consistently rank near the top compared to employees at their current firm and in the region. If their numbers are mediocre, there is a good chance that they simply do not have the chops to make a positive contribution and help you grow your staffing firm.
What Are the Most Common Objections You Face?
A great way to assess a candidate’s sales creativity is to ask them about the most common objections they hear when marketing their services to potential client companies. Overcoming objections is a critical component to a good sales approach, so your candidate should be able to explain how they successfully navigate objections and close deals. Role-playing a scenario with you as the client is a great way to see the candidate in action.
Describe Your Sales Volume Versus Profitability Per Deal
As in most sales positions, there are ways a recruiter can make his or her sales numbers look good without actually helping to grow your staffing firm. A common trick of subpar recruiters is to wave fees frequently in order to push volume placements. Candidates you interview should know their volume and profitability numbers and be proud to share them. You should probably not consider anyone with a poor ratio in this area since they will not ultimately be profitable for your company.
Grade Me on My Interviewing
Asking interviewees to give you a grade might seem unusual, but the response they give serves two purposes. First, it is a great on-topic way to get the candidates out of their comfort zone and force them to think on their feet. If hired, they will need to do this type of critical thinking every day to match people with clients or to sell your services. Second, this is essentially a real-life measure of their people skills and their ability to build rapport. Good candidates will be comfortable with this exercise and be able to give accurate insights about your communication style.
How Much Does Production Vary Desk-to-Desk at Your Office?
This question is not designed to assess a candidate’s sales ability but rather their ability to function on a team. You want ambitious and talented people working for you, but you will not grow your staffing firm if your employees cannot work together and positively spur each other on. If your candidate has out-of-this-world sales numbers but everyone else at the office is below average, beware of ïrebel producerï syndrome. Huge discrepancies may be an indication that your candidate is manipulating the culture of the firm to push others down for his or her own benefit. Big variation could also be the result of your candidate stealing clients from coworkers. Neither behavior is likely to change at your firm, so be sure to check references if you suspect a poor team player.
Avoid Wasted Time and Money
The staffing industry is too competitive for you to waste time and money on employees that will not help grow your staffing firm. A good interviewing approach will go a long way toward creating a good team. To learn more about growing your business and making savvy hires, check out the other tools and articles available here at Mighty Recruiter.