The Ideal Strategy for Hiring Millennials to Your Team

Millennials and new entrants into the job market often complain about the experience trap, where businesses demand workers with experience but that only prevents workers from getting jobs to gaining that experience. However, this trap is problematic for job interviewers as well, as they may be passing on useful employees by looking only at experience while ignoring the old adage of “hire for attitude, train for skill.”

Interviews are the place where a HR professional can discern a prospect’s attitude and find the best candidate. But millennials have certain unique characteristics, and a HR professional should realize certain tips which can draw out more information and lead to a better hiring decision.

Pay Constant Attention

A business should look for millennials candidates with a good attitude, but discerning a candidate’s true personality at an interview can be tricky. A person who is normally grumpy and introverted may try to appear charming and friendly at the interview, causing you to make a bad decision.

There are certain questions you can ask to discern a candidate’s personality, but a great method is to surreptitiously watch the candidate before and after the interview when he or she is less cautious. Are they friendly with the receptionist and other job seekers, or is they fiddling around on their phone and by themselves? Unguarded moments are a great chance to get more clues about what a candidate may really be like to work with.

Learning and Motivation

Determining whether your candidate is truly motivated to work with your firm or whether they just want a paycheck is always critical, and especially so when interviewing millennials. The stereotype about how new job seekers are looking for experience and easily job hop exists for a reason, and an unmotivated millennial will leave quickly upon perceiving a better opportunity.

Fortunately, determining motivation is easier compared to figuring out their personality. The best method is to inquire what they know about your company’s industry. Most job seekers should at least know what your company does, what it stands for, and other such relevant information. Any job seeker who does not even do that should be dismissed immediately.

But a truly motivated employee can talk not just about your company, but your industry and how it may change over the next few years. An employee who has put in the research effort is obviously willing to go above and beyond and has a real interest in your business and industry. And that is just the sort of motivated employee you want.

Assess their Communication Skills

Whether you are hiring for a fry cook or a lawyer, every job requires communication skills. But new candidates may be unfamiliar with how communication in the workplace differs from school or their social life. While you should certainly ask them about their communication skills and examples of times when they have been a great communicator, remind them that they should use an example from time spent volunteering, at an internship, or some other extracurricular activity. Good questions would ask them to open up their experiences and use examples from their lives that can relate to the job they’re applying for.

Some example questions along these lines would be:

• Have you head to demonstrate leadership in the past? How did you cope?
• Tell me about a time you’ve had to overcome a major obstacle to your goals. How did you approach the situation?
• What single task or project do you consider your most signifcant personal achievement? Tell me how you managed your tasks, what were the mistakes you made along the way and how did you measure success in the end?

When they give an example, listen and note details such as when they pause, ramble, or can present a coherent story. And while millennials are not that obsessed with social media relative to other generations, ask about their Facebook and Twitter use. If they mention without prompting that they follow various industry-related Twitter or Facebook accounts, you should see that as a good sign for reasons noted above.

Be Relaxing

Interviews are nerve wracking for anyone, but especially so for someone who is looking for their first big job. An interviewer thus has a responsibility to help interviewees feel at ease. Do not forget that an interview is a two-way street where you want the candidate to decide that they really want to be a part of your company.

Offer courtesies like a glass of water or coffee in advance as well as a tour around the office to talk about the great things your company does. I noted earlier that you should give job seekers advice on relevant examples to use, but take some time to also tell them how the interview is structured. A calm interviewee can give more insightful examples and information, helping you reach a better decision.

Follow Up Afterwards

Every interviewee should know that it is important to follow up after the interview, thank the interviewer, and elaborate on additional reasons they are a good fit. But the interviewer should also follow up on every candidate, even those they have chosen to reject.

This is especially important for young workers out of college, as they are in a transitory phase in their life and may find themselves in limbo as they wait for your decision. Letting them know of their decision and not stringing them along can secure their goodwill, which could be highly useful should conditions change and they become a worthy candidate after all. Some millennial candidates may ask why they were rejected in hopes of improving their resume or application. Don’t hesitate to give them advice which could help them in the future.

The post The Ideal Strategy for Hiring Millennials to Your Team appeared first on AllBusiness.com

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