What to scan for beyond the application

Oct 08, 2016 News

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By: Suraj Narine
You may have this impressive application in front of you but do not be fooled. There are several key components that an employer must look for beyond the application. And perhaps, it is for this very reason the whole idea of an interview arose.
Anyone can agree that what is written and what is heard, are two completely different scenarios.
Everyone can write, but not everyone can speak. And in today’s competitive business realm in which we operate, communication, presentation and timing are key.
A sore point of contention in the Caribbean society is a serious respect for time. It is almost de rigueur to be half hour to an hour late for most occasions (as most of us operate on ‘Caribbean time”). However, in the business environment, this is a strict no-no.
An employer when scheduling an interview should pay attention to the prospective employee’s reverence for time. It means that if an interview is scheduled for 9 am, the employee must and should be there before the appointed time, at least 5-10 minutes before.
Bear in mind that time is money, and as clichéd as it may seem, it is the truth. It signals to the employer that this prospect is serious about the opportunity.
After noticing the punctuality of the prospect, the employer should then pay attention to the person’s attitude; they should ask to be seated, greet the employer with a salutary greeting of the day- good morning etc. and if a prospect knocks at your door, and waits for you to tell him or her to enter, it is a positive indication of a polite and respectful person.
Furthermore, an employer when coming face to face with that prospective employee should pay attention to two vital aspects, one being body language and the other comportment, as it is also said that one should dress to suit the job one is applying for.
As any employer in an artistic based field can state, their clothing should reveal hints of their personality and flair. On the other hand, in a corporate environment, a suit and tie is the order of the day.
Maintaining eye contact can be an indicator of a prospective employee’s level of confidence and a point for the employer to determine whether the prospect is telling the truth, as a lie is often accompanied by a telling avoidance of the eyes.
Employers should also deviate from normal procedures, for example, instead of asking a prospect about his current life status, an employer should ask about a prospect’s past or background and also focus on their future plans and career goals.
This will enable the employer to determine whether the prospect has intentions to grow within the organization and make a meaningful long-term contribution.
An employer should ask a prospect about the other jobs he or she might be hoping to land. A prospect that scatters applications here, there and everywhere is just interested in any job, whereas a prospect that had conducted research on potential fields of employment and organizations suited to their qualifications, experience and future plans already has a vested interest in your organization and wants to be a part of it.
This is why that key interview question: “What do you know about this company and this job” is critical. Any prospect should have done their research prior to attending the interview.
Most employers do not hire employees on the spot, most are told to wait for confirmation or for that all important call back to be informed of whether they were hired or not.
An employer can learn a lot about a prospect during this period. If the prospect is proactive, their persistence on checking up on the status of employment indicates their high interest in the job.
For today’s employers, social media can be quite a revelatory tool with respect gathering information on a prospect, and indeed most employers have started utilizing this tool to great success.
A simple Google search on a person’s name will link an employer to all the sites the prospect has registered on and shows their public interest profiles. This can then be used to determine whether the prospect is a good fit for your organization. This is why most employers utilize Facebook, Instagram and twitter to conduct background checks on prospects.
There are many tools that an employer can use in today’s business environment to ascertain the overall good prospects from the ones that are just “good on paper”. Whilst a stellar application can get a prospect’s foot in the door, there are many ‘tells’ and information to utilize from the interview, conducting background research and from the prospect’s follow-up.
All these pointers can enable an employer to make the right decision when hiring for their organization resulting in candidates that will enable your organization to be a cut above the rest.

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