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It’s been estimated that almost 50% of newly hired employees fail in their jobs within the first 2 years and the first 3 months are the most crucial for their success. As I discussed in my previous post there are various reasons why newbies fail. Is it only dependent on their own behavior or attitude? Is it only down to the internal reasons? What about the external factors such as the impact of the company they start working for?

In my previous post I started discussing the interview techniques which definitely help stimulate an open dialogue with the candidates. I described the STAR methodology which is based on behavioral questions that involve describing real situations from the past. Secondly, I put high emphasis on forming the right open-ended questions that are not suggestive and don’t trigger purely yes or no answers.  Below I’m presenting the remaining 6 techniques that ensure hiring success and help recruiters find the right person for the job.

In my previous post I presented the qualities of a perfect software developer that both fellow developers and managers would like to see in the team members. My survey revealed that being a good developer is more than delivering a perfect and well structured code. So while recruiting a developer we should focus not only on the past experiences and technical competencies. To make sure we choose the right person for the job we need to verify if the candidate has sufficient social and emotional intelligence and the attitude we value. This post describes two techniques to achieve this.

There is no escaping the fact that a good code is written by a good programmer. Obviously, we need good programmers if we want to satisfy clients’ needs. However, while recruiting a developer you cannot forget that a  good developer is more than a language syntax source. He should bring more than technical competencies alone. Our research & experience revealed that, yet again, it’s more about social and emotional intelligence as well as thinking patterns and overall attitude. Before we add any new member to the team we should always specify what kind of person we would like to work with? Who is the best fit to the team?

In my recruiter’s job, searching Google and  social networking websites (eg. Linked.in) in pursuit of the suitable candidate has become my second nature.  Also, before inviting anyone for the interview I do the thorough research across all the networks to find extra information that is not visible on the applicant’s resume. As I mentioned in my previous post about how HR trends are changing along with the web trends, Web 2.0 significantly revolutionized the way we scrutinize the candidates. With this in mind, more and more professionals discover the importance of creating and maintaining personal brands in their job search and for the sake of their future career. Can we trust these brands?

Have you ever wondered what the recruitment will be like in 10 years’ time? With all the new HR 2.0 trends and social networks will it remain the same? Will the current economic crisis affect the employment conditions? How will the rapidly aging society cope on the labour market? Will CVs and cover letters survive? Who will have the actual power on the job market?

Regardless of age and professional experience, during every recruitment process we meet several applicants who haven’t got the faintest idea what the company deals with and what the vacancy involves.  Among many other questions that candidates have to face during the interview, there are two, seemingly harmless ones, that I consider to be  killer questions for many : “What do you know about GOYELLO?” and “Why do you want to work for us?”.

Each and every company has to admit that they picked the wrong person for the vacancy at least once in their lifetime. It’s difficult to confess that we made a bad decision hiring Mr. Average who later proved to be a total misfit in the company, hard to get along with and delivering work results that everybody would rather forget about. Who’s to blame?

Based on hundreds of CVs I have scanned throughout my developer hiring career I fully agree that a good CV is a key to success! The purpose of a CV is to provide a recruiter with as much relevant information as necessary in the most approachable and cohesive manner. This is not always the case though. I have noticed a number of mistakes on CVs that in the case of some companies may spoil the chances of even the best man for the job. Here, at GOYELLO, we try not to be so strict and not jump at conclusions too hastily.