Pre-employment Screening, Interview Questions & Applicant Management Center Part 3 of 4

Blog 13c WAB 
Pre-employment Screening, Interview Questions & Applicant Management Center Part 3 of 4

In part three of this blog, pre-employment screening, I am going to discuss job expectations and previous work history. The section about job expectation may only have four questions but that does not diminish its importance. You must not only assess what the candidate’s expectations are such as how employees are treated, their work environment, their job skills and knowledge, as it relates to the position but what you expect. What things are important to you? Arriving on time, overtime, ethics, theft of company property, cash, merchandise… and so on. I have found that you must address these things up front and also show that you are not afraid to discuss them and that you have knowledge of these areas.
Previous work history is also an area requiring depth. We want to find out about their work history and attitudes. Is everything the previous employer’s fault, do they talk favorably about most of their work there or is it just complaint after complaint? If you see this as a pattern about previous jobs what makes you think it will be any better at your company? Oh, you may be thinking to yourself  ”I can do it better”. Chances are they did most things correctly and of course we have all had jobs where we were glad to be gone from that company. However, if this seems to be a pattern, then this is something to be concerned with. For quite a number of years I consulted for a large, multi-billion dollar company. Something that impressed me was that their entire management team down to virtually everyone understood that it was better to work short-handed than to have one employee that drug everyone else down or had poor performance.
Much of what I want you to look for is patterns. Are the same things following this candidate through their work history both positive and negative? If it is a pattern of positives such as solid performance, always willingly looking to do a job better than just to get by and striving to be the best, follows them in deeds and words, they may be a keeper. Someone with a pattern of it is everyone else’s fault or a lack of understanding in work rules may be one you want to pass on.
This is a lot to keep track of so you should consider an Applicant Management Center (AMC). Loss Prevention Systems’ Applicant Management Center allows your candidates to apply online from your web site (AMC is hosted on our servers). Your custom branded application is interactive. For example, if you have a question such as “Have you managed people before” and they answer yes, a follow up question that would automatically populate could be “Tell us about your management style…” But if they answered no to that question, the system could follow up with “If you have never managed people before what makes you feel qualified to do so for us?”
Our Job Applicant Management Center also tracks the applicant all the way through the process. It can be separated by store, hiring manager, recruiter…. Set reminders, send forms directly to applicants, accept their resume and any other documents you require. You can initiate a background investigation, DOT physical, drug testing and more through us with the click of a mouse. 
Our drug testing and background investigations have a very fast turnaround. If you want more information on Loss prevention Systems’ Applicant Management Center,  click here or contact us.

JOB EXPECTATIONS

• What is your interest in this position?
• What made you select this company as opposed to other employers?
• What knowledge do you have about working at the company and why is that appealing to you?
• What are your expectations of the company?

PREVIOUS WORK HISTORY
• Review each position listed on the application.  Be sure to review:  title, length of time at job, responsibilities, reason for leaving, salary.
• Which of your previous positions was your favorite?  Why?
• Which of your previous positions did you like the least?  Why?
• Describe the supervisor you like working for the most.  Why?
• Describe the supervisor you liked least.  Why?
• Have you had difficulty getting along with a former professor/supervisor/co-worker and how did you handle it?
• Have you ever spoken before a group of people?  How large?
• Give me an example in a previous position where you delivered great customer service.  What did you do?
• Give an example of a situation in which you provided a solution to an employer.
• Give an example of a time in which you worked under deadline pressure.
• What professional experience do you hope to gain from working at the Company?
• Are you looking for promotional opportunities?  If so, what are they?
• How long were you planning on working at the company?
• Our sales positions require a combination of selling and non-selling duties.  How do you feel about those responsibilities?
• What job-related skills have you developed?
• Did you work while going to school?  In what positions?
• What did you learn from these work experiences?
• Have you ever quit a job?  Why?
• How do you think a former supervisor would describe your work?

If you have any questions on Pre-employment screening, drug testing or background investigations,  contact us or call toll free 1-770-426-0547.



In part three of this blog, pre-employment screening, I am going to discuss job expectations and previous work history. The section about job expectation may only have four questions but that does not diminish its importance. You must not only assess what the candidate’s expectations are such as how employees are treated, their work environment, their job skills and knowledge, as it relates to the position but what you expect. What things are important to you? Arriving on time, overtime, ethics, theft of company property, cash, merchandise… and so on. I have found that you must address these things up front and also show that you are not afraid to discuss them and that you have knowledge of these areas.

 

Previous work history is also an area requiring depth. We want to find out about their work history and attitudes. Is everything the previous employer’s fault, do they talk favorably about most of their work there or is it just complaint after complaint? If you see this as a pattern about previous jobs what makes you think it will be any better at your company? Oh, you may be thinking to yourself  ”I can do it better”. Chances are they did most things correctly and of course we have all had jobs where we were glad to be gone from that company. However, if this seems to be a pattern, then this is something to be concerned with. For quite a number of years I consulted for a large, multi-billion dollar company. Something that impressed me was that their entire management team down to virtually everyone understood that it was better to work short-handed than to have one employee that drug everyone else down or had poor performance.

 

Much of what I want you to look for is patterns. Are the same things following this candidate through their work history both positive and negative? If it is a pattern of positives such as solid performance, always willingly looking to do a job better than just to get by and striving to be the best, follows them in deeds and words, they may be a keeper. Someone with a pattern of it is everyone else’s fault or a lack of understanding in work rules may be one you want to pass on.

 

This is a lot to keep track of so you should consider an Applicant Management Center (AMC). Loss Prevention Systems’ Applicant Management Center allows your candidates to apply online from your web site (AMC is hosted on our servers). Your custom branded application is interactive. For example, if you have a question such as “Have you managed people before” and they answer yes, a follow up question that would automatically populate could be “Tell us about your management style…” But if they answered no to that question, the system could follow up with “If you have never managed people before what makes you feel qualified to do so for us?”

 

Our Job Applicant Management Center also tracks the applicant all the way through the process. It can be separated by store, hiring manager, recruiter…. Set reminders, send forms directly to applicants, accept their resume and any other documents you require. You can initiate a background investigation, DOT physical, drug testing and more through us with the click of a mouse. 

 

Our drug testing and background investigations have a very fast turnaround. If you want more information on Loss prevention Systems’ Applicant Management Center, click here or contact us.

 

JOB EXPECTATIONS


• What is your interest in this position?

• What made you select this company as opposed to other employers?

• What knowledge do you have about working at the company and why is that appealing to you?

• What are your expectations of the company?

PREVIOUS WORK HISTORY

• Review each position listed on the application.  Be sure to review:  title, length of time at job, responsibilities, reason for leaving, salary.

• Which of your previous positions was your favorite?  Why?

• Which of your previous positions did you like the least?  Why?

• Describe the supervisor you like working for the most.  Why?

• Describe the supervisor you liked least.  Why?

• Have you had difficulty getting along with a former professor/supervisor/co-worker and how did you handle it?

• Have you ever spoken before a group of people?  How large?

• Give me an example in a previous position where you delivered great customer service.  What did you do?• Give an example of a situation in which you provided a solution to an employer.

• Give an example of a time in which you worked under deadline pressure.• What professional experience do you hope to gain from working at the Company?

• Are you looking for promotional opportunities?  If so, what are they?

• How long were you planning on working at the company?

• Our sales positions require a combination of selling and non-selling duties.  How do you feel about those responsibilities?

• What job-related skills have you developed?

• Did you work while going to school?  In what positions?

• What did you learn from these work experiences?

• Have you ever quit a job?  Why?

• How do you think a former supervisor would describe your work?

 

If you have any questions on Pre-employment screening, drug testing or background investigations, contact us or call toll free 1-770-426-0547.