Candidate Selection

On what grounds should you accept or turn away job candidates? In theory, it seems like it should be easy to discriminate between worthy and unworthy candidates. However, in reality, hiring judgments often come down to intuition. Does the candidates seem to fit the parameters of the job description, and do you think she would function well given the office culture and demands of the position?

While most human resources manuals go to great pains to instruct recruiters not to prejudice applicants, a new school of thought suggests that some amount of pre judgment might actually prove beneficial. This philosophy by no means suggests that you should judge people by superficial factors, such as race, gender, or political orientation. Instead, it argues that your intuitive instincts about people tend to prove correct.

Selecting the Best Candidates

All that said, you should still put each and every applicant through a full battery of tests. That way, you'll be able to parse whether or not your intuitions are correct. For the vast majority of candidates, you'll be able to tell pretty quickly whether or not they qualify. However, occasionally, you'll come across an applicant who simply stumps you. In that case, you may want to call in your manager or your associates to help you decide.

Measured and comprehensive candidate selection can save your company thousands of dollars a year in human resource and training costs. Don't underestimate the utility of savvy selection in terms of fostering a productive office environment and ultimately crafting a good CRM approach. Your people are your business's most important asset--choose them wisely.