Hiring Strategies for the 21st Century

Like it or not, gone are the times where businesses could effectively eliminate candidates for hire based on things like their grade point average, the quality of their educational institution, and even something as basic as age. With the advancement of the technological world and constant innovation, businesses are more strapped and stressed than ever trying to find qualified candidates for positions that are growing in relevance, such as qualitative analytics. This is because, as times change, hiring practices have not. Pre-qualifications that are borderline discriminatory to a good portion of essentially qualified applicants are eliminating an entire potential workforce.

Companies like Google, are making radical changes and leading the nation with transforming hiring practices. With the elimination of G.P.A and sometimes, even major requirements, they are focusing more on the individual than ever. Their interviews, which focus on the person being a fit for the job, team, and company overall instead of just pure qualifications, experience, and the weight their previous educational institution holds, is giving hope to the scores of unemployed college graduates, and providing their company with some of the best and brightest employees from relative anonymity. With these tips, a company can hope to match Google's innovation, and stay a step ahead of their competition with the best and brightest.

Education

While education in the field an applicant is applying for is relevant, the prominence of the educational institution, the grade point average of the applicant, or the nepotistic connections of those in power, are not as important in hiring as the quality of the overall individual, which can only truly be assessed in an interview. Just because one has studied in a field for four years does not mean they are qualified to work in that field, nor does it even guarantee general knowledge. A low G.P.A. should not turn businesses away from an applicant who is a well-rounded individual with work, internship, and team-oriented experience. They may be more qualified than the person who achieved a perfect grade point average with little variety, and attended a top ranked institution. While institutions achieve their rank for a reason, this has no bearing on the quality of education the individual has personally achieved. This is for the interviewer to personally assess for inconsistencies. It goes without saying that nepotism in the workplace is detrimental to the overall success of a business. Everyone should earn their position based on qualifications of their knowledge and experience.

Interview Focus

Traditionally, interviews have focused on reviewing resumes which the interviewer is already in possession of, and affirmation of skills and experience. While there are some businesses that have made the transition to personality and case interviews, they are few and far in between, and generally still impose tough restrictions to get to the actual interview. There should be an increased focus on the individual and what they bring to the table. Yes, businesses should care about their skills, but they should also care about their future plans, what motivates them, what they personally plan to bring to the company, and even their non-educational background that no doubt subconsciously drives them to pursue their goals, whatever that may be. Focusing on the individual tells businesses who has long-term potential to grow within the company vs those who would fill a position temporarily. This could mean the difference between a motivated self-starter who adds to the business by going above and beyond, and someone who is there to do the bare minimum and collect a paycheck.

For more on interviewing, see Giva's whitepaper on this topic: Interview Questions and Answers for Any Job Candidate.