Screening Candidates

Just wanted to get some feedback from members regarding screening candidates, seems like lately we have had some sketchy/unreliable candidates....one accepted a position and then said she couldnt take it due to a family emergency and had to move out of state, the last candidate scheduled an interview to fly in and then after the facility paid for her flight she canceled and said the bid on her house was retracted and she couldnt move. This is very frustrating when these things happen, is this just part of the game to be accepted or are their measures that can be taken to prevent these things? The worst part is you dont know if you are being lied to or not......

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Permalink Reply by Amber on January 22, 2013 at 12:31pm

Mike, I'm with you! I've had this happen a few times in the past month or so. I have stopped allowing any rescheduling of calls, meetings, etc. by candidates because it seems those always end up a problem at some point. (Thanks, Jerry for that advice) Also, if I notice ANYTHING in their resume or during a discussion that doesn't sound or "feel" right I address it clearly and strongly. I am also pretty tough if someone can't or doesn't send me something I ask for, call back in a timely manner, etc.

But I think part of your question is the answer - yes, sometimes it still happens and you have to do your best to salvage what you can.

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on January 22, 2013 at 12:53pm

Let me help you with trying to figure out whether they are lying or not......

Yes. They are.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on January 22, 2013 at 4:02pm

Jerry, and you come to this conclusion how?

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Permalink Reply by Jerry Albright on January 22, 2013 at 4:08pm

Over the course of my first 5 or 6 years I finally realized that I never (ever) placed anyone that had been rescheduled due to the applicant requesting it. I'm sure the "scientific" reasons for this will remain undiscovered - however, once I realized the statistical chance of making a placement went from 25% to 0% I let every candidate know that I would not be rescheduling. If they were intersted - they'd make it happen some how.

It's my policy to this day.

Once you hit them with "Sorry, but if you can't make this interview, we ought to just go ahead and skip it." - rather than reschedule (who then has a 50/50 chance of cancelling again....) you'll get fairly quickly to the real question: Are you interested?

But I ramble. Suffice it to say - I don't reschedule. Ever. (Well - maybe I have once or twice since my rule came into place - and each time was reminded of why I have the rule in the first place....)

People lie. Especially candidates who are in the throws of "fear of change/retreat to the familiar"

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Permalink Reply by Mike on January 22, 2013 at 4:14pm

Thanks for the insight Jerry that was helpful!

Jerry Albright said:

Over the course of my first 5 or 6 years I finally realized that I never (ever) placed anyone that had been rescheduled due to the applicant requesting it. I'm sure the "scientific" reasons for this will remain undiscovered - however, once I realized the statistical chance of making a placement went from 25% to 0% I let every candidate know that I would not be rescheduling. If they were intersted - they'd make it happen some how.

It's my policy to this day.

Once you hit them with "Sorry, but if you can't make this interview, we ought to just go ahead and skip it." - rather than reschedule (who then has a 50/50 chance of cancelling again....) you'll get fairly quickly to the real question: Are you interested?

But I ramble. Suffice it to say - I don't reschedule. Ever. (Well - maybe I have once or twice since my rule came into place - and each time was reminded of why I have the rule in the first place....)

People lie. Especially candidates who are in the throws of "fear of change/retreat to the familiar"

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Permalink Reply by pam claughton on January 22, 2013 at 6:50pm

It's so true. With rare exceptions, if a candidate wants to reschedule an interview with a client, they will cancel it again when you reschedule. It just means they are not interested enough to get there. About a year ago I was reminded of this when a candidate canceled and sure enough did it again.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on January 22, 2013 at 10:50pm

The only time i will reschedule is if somebody calls me the morning of and is sick or they are a single parent stuck at home with a sick kid. I won't send sick people on interviews even if they think they can make it through the interview. Rarely happens but this year the flu has hit hard and every where so i have rescheduled a few. Those did not fall through.

As to whether you can tell if they are lying or not. It doesn't make a damn, if they cancelled an interview with some big story it doesn't matter if it is a lie or the truth..they cancelled. Shut it down and move on.

Yes it goes with the territory we work with people. Your inventory walks, talks, changes it's mind and sometimes it is just crazy. Clients will do it too. Not as often but they do for as many reasons as you can think of and some you can't think of. We of course are a bit more forgiving when the guy who signs the front of the check is the one who wants to reschedule.

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Permalink Reply by Skillmeter.com on January 24, 2013 at 5:44pm

Screening is tough. You need to assess many things like: candidate's skills, its psihological profile, how well does it fit in the company's environment, etc. And yes, it happens all the time to have candidates that refuse to take the position in the last minute. It just happens. You better say thanks because it was clearly not the best fit and you win more on the long term.

Regarding the skills assessment: I've been working hard in the last months to build the product called Skillmeter http://skillmeter.com. I strongly recommend all recruiters out there to subscribe in order to get an invite soon. It will greatly help you select the best candidates and to reduce your hiring costs & timeline.