Increasing productivity and improving the competencies of a company depends on a large extent on who makes up the organization. This means that there is a great responsibility in Human Resources departments because properly choosing the company staff will be the cause of many consequences: negative or positive. In this post, you will be able to learn some basic talent acquisition tips that you can implement in your company so that the selection of personnel is appropriate for the purposes of the organization.

1 . Be wary of exaggerated resumes

Candidates tend to lie about the information contained in their CVs with the aim of having more and better opportunities to be selected for a vacancy. Take the time to check and evaluate the information, otherwise, you run the risk of making a bad recruitment. Use the digital tools on the web: LinkedIn, for example. Check if everything that is included in the curriculum corresponds to what you can check online. Make sure if other people confirm if what the candidate says in their curriculum is actually true. Check the references: call them. Never trust in the first impression here.

2 . Listen

Most interviewers talk too much. When the candidate finally arrives, listen to the story of his /her life, at home and at work. It is said that being a leader is like being a psychiatrist without a license, mostly in the hiring process than in any other part of the job. The task of hiring is too serious to yield to Human Resources altogether. Your legacy will be established, after all, by the teams you choose in order to achieve your goals.

3 . Be very clear about your requirements

Sometimes it is more important to know what you are not looking for. That’s a good starting point for then knowing what you need. Establish indicators of success for the job. This means that you should have clear which are the desired results of that job position and which are the criteria that will be used to measure it. These criteria must be objective and quantitative. They will allow you to realize if the person holding the position is being efficient and effective. In this way, choosing candidates will not be a headache anymore. The better you know what you do not want (and then what you want,) makes the ability to choose to be easier and, of course, more accurate.

4 . Define the salary conditions from the very beginning

The salary to be paid and the conditions of employment should not be set lightly. This is a common mistake, especially for small businesses, where poorly defined contracting clauses may produce awful repercussions on the budget or even lead to legal trouble. So, before you begin your selection process, be sure to evaluate first how much you can actually pay and under what conditions so that everything is clear from the start, both for you and the employee. Ah, of course, as lawyers say: Never forget to put it in a signed document.

Image courtesy of Dice.com at Flickr.com

Image courtesy of Dice.com at Flickr.com

5 . Diversify the generations of your employees

Most companies are looking for a profile with a certain age, which is usually in a range between 30 and 45 years old. The problem is that young age groups, and also people over 55, have increasingly difficult access to work and, they even hardly meet in the same company. However, multi-generationally offers many advantages, such as combining the technology knowledge of the youngest with the experience, cold blood and the capacity of the veterans to respond in case of crisis.

6. The interview is not everything

During a job interview, the candidate is showing his best cards and may appear to be the ideal person. The more tools you involve in the hiring process, such as psychometric tests or hands-on exams, the more you can be sure that you are hiring the person who will actually do a satisfactory job.

Use the psychological tests you need. Visit their homes, take a cup of coffee with their relatives. Ask them about their families, about their relationship with their parents. Check out the profiles on social networks: there you will see different faces of that candidate who perhaps tries so hard to appear something that he/she is not.

Related: How to become a talent acquisition specialist? by Jason Hanold

7 . Make quick and practical processes

You have to take into account that the processes of personnel hiring today can’t be too extensive. Why? Well, first off, because people have urgent work needs and are not willing to wait so long to be hired. Second, because good prospects are always hired quickly. Hence, if you are not careful to quote, interview, evaluate and hire with enough agility, then someone else will. My recommendation is that a recruitment process should not take more than ten days to ensure the best results. Finally, long hiring processes cost money and time.

8 . Make more emphasis on his/her attitude

Teaching the required skills for working at some company is nothing compared to make your employees to assimilate the right attitude for their jobs. Is much much better to have noble, trustable, optimistic, flexible and responsible workers than high-skilled narcissistic rude ethically-ambivalent employees. Keep it in mind.

Recommended: The 8 biggest mistakes you can make in talent acquisition