3 Talent Acquisition Tips for Unmasking Candidates

3 Talent Acquisition Tips for Unmasking CandidatesOne of the biggest challenges in talent acquisition is one that nobody talks about masked candidates.Some hiring professionals arent even aware of their existence. Those who know about masked candidates, dont understand how to unmask them to decipher between cleverly disguised imposters and true top talent. Even hiring professionals who have a strategic hiring plan struggle with this dilemma.This masked appearance often leads to hiring people who arent a good cultural fit. Making the right hiring decision is the most common hiring challenge. The best way to overcome this obstacle is to get to know candidates for who they truly are. We asked a few hiring professionals to share how they improved their talent acquisition process by taking a peek behind candidates masks to find the real talent that aligned with their hiring needs. Here are the hiring tips they shared1. Get Coffee and Host Work SessionsIve found that there are two things d uring the interview process that can help gauge a candidates authenticity and cultural fitSchedule the first interview at a coffee shop or somewhere casual. If someones application looks promising, I like to meet for coffee for 30 minutes. I dont ask any job-specific questions at this point and prefer to just let the conversation flow naturally. This meeting has proved to be effective at getting an initial gauge on if the candidate might fit in well at Postali.Test culturalfit by meeting candidates in casual settings and having informal conversations.Click To Tweet Then, if it moves to the interview stage, coordinate a working session with the team. A candidate can talk about their skills and knowledge, but Ive found that seeing it in action is more effective. We recently interviewed for an SEO Director position. A few days before the interview, we sent the candidate some information about the topic of their working session. For about an hur during the interview, we brought in the m embers of the team that the candidate would work with, and they worked through a strategy together.This is helpful for two reasons. It is a quick way to understand if they can apply the skills on their resume in an effective way. Its also an opportunity to involve the whole team in a hiring decision.The people who are going to be working day-to-day with a candidate should feel comfortable after the working session. Even if a candidate passes the recruiter and hiring managers test, its a red flag if they cant work effectively with the team during this part of the interview process. John Sickmeyer, President of PostaliRecommended Reading Learn more about how to uncover hidden talents in this post on tips for interviewing candidates. 2. Test Their Knowledge and Check Their PastFrom my experience, the biggest mistake recruiters make is being too easily traktament by the confidence of a candidate. Its great when an interviewee seems in control and believes in their own competence, howeve r, its important to not let their charisma blind you to other faults they may have. How I try to draw out the authenticity is by seeing if theyve done their homework. A candidate who is serious about the job should have done some research on us beforehand and should know about/at least have some kind of opinion onOur productsA few things we do wellSomething we could potentially improveThe more of an understanding they have of our company, the more I believe they are invested in this job opportunity and that we arent just another notch in their interview belt. Candidates should have an opinion about your company. Ask for it during the interview process.Click To TweetTo truly identify fit during your talent acquisition process, focus on two primary things check their references, and look closely at their past work, if applicable. Talking with past employers is a great way to get a glimpse behind a candidates interview mask, and analyzing their portfolio will give you a better idea of how theyll fit into your work culture.Geoff Scott, Career Advisor and Resume Expert at Resume Companion3. Show Candidates a MirrorI talk with the person Im interviewing about our goal, which is to discover five different components of fit career, culture, experience, job, and work/life. There is some overlap in these five areas, but it gets to the different aspects of fit for both. Tell candidates your goal is to find 5 components of fit, including culture and career.Click To TweetIt is less likely an applicant will want to fake authenticity instead of exploring if it is a good fit for them, too. If people are unable to articulate these different things, likely, they are just looking for a job.Making a hiring decision based on interviews is the least reliable way to hire, yet this seems to be how the majority of hiring happens. In addition to prescreening, our method uses multiple points of reference from which to make a hiring decision, including salary and position research, bench marking studies, culture surveys, assessments, 360 references, peer input, social security number verification, work history verification, education verification, and hiring manager structured interview training and usage.Also, if it is a new position, scheduling frequent conversations to discuss how it is going is helpful. Sara Bradley, founder of Hunter Bradley Inc.How do you unmask talent during your talent acquisition process? Let us know