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Spotting Resilience in Candidates When Hiring

 

Looking for hard and soft skills when hiring is important. This includes seeking resilience in the best talent.

The increasing complexity of work environments requires employees to adapt quickly. They must effectively handle stressful situations to continue to move forward.

Uncovering resilience in candidates involves knowing what to look for during interviews. This helps clarify whether candidates have what it takes to be successful with your organization.

Implement these tips to find resilience in candidates during interviews.


Know What You Are Looking For

The ability to handle uncertainty plays a significant role in resilience. Resilient candidates can strategically prioritize, overcome obstacles, and continue to work toward their goals.

A candidate’s resume likely will not provide much insight into their level of resilience. However, investing a substantial amount of time with one company and receiving multiple promotions implies the candidate worked through issues and was rewarded appropriately.

Tailor Your Expectations for Resilience to the Role

Each position has unique challenges that require employees to be resilient. This impacts what you should expect from candidates during interviews.

For instance, decision-making and leadership roles require more resilience than entry-level positions. This is why your expectations need to be adjusted appropriately.

Ask Relevant Questions

The modern workplace is filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. As a result, you must use interviews to assess how candidates may react to challenges in the workplace.

Ask questions to determine how a candidate’s emotions are triggered and how they react to stressful situations. These questions may involve recent frustrations or failures candidates experienced and how the candidates responded.

For instance, you might request an example of when a candidate last got angry at work, what they were angry about, and how they responded. Look for an authentic answer to assess their resilience during challenging times.

Evaluate Authenticity in Interview Answers

Determine the candidate’s work in previous positions and what they took responsibility for. This includes whether they worked independently or collaborated.

Ask follow-up questions about each candidate’s work experience to uncover details about their accomplishments. You need to know how dedicated they were to resolving issues and the type of value they can to your organization.

Set Up a Role Play

Describe a workplace challenge relevant to the position, then ask each candidate how they would respond to it. Ask them to detail the different aspects they would consider, and they would approach the situation.

Role-playing lets you assess how each candidate would work through a real-life stressful situation. It also provides insight into their resilient nature.

Take notes on how each candidate evaluates, works through, and reacts to the situation. This helps determine how resilient they would be in the role.

Want Additional Help Hiring?

Make RightStone a part of your hiring process. Learn more today.


Making Good Impressions in the Recruiting Process

 

The impressions you make throughout the recruiting process impact how candidates feel about working for your company. This affects whether current and future candidates decide to apply with or accept job offers from your organization.

Many candidates share their impressions of a company on Glassdoor or other employer review sites. This influences whether other job seekers decide to apply to your openings.

As a result, you must form positive impressions throughout your recruiting process. These tips can help.

Follow these guidelines to make positive impressions on candidates throughout the recruiting process.


Share Clear Job Descriptions

Use simple language to describe the job duties and responsibilities.

  • Choose gender-neutral language to encourage people of all genders to apply.
  • List the top three to five requirements to open up the role to more applicants.
  • Include the most important information first.
  • Use bullet points, active verbs, and short sentences to ease reading.
  • Share whether the role involves managing team members.

Streamline the Application Process

Make it simple to apply for a position.

  • Ensure your careers page is easily visible and navigable.
  • Provide short, clear application directions.
  • Let candidates apply without creating an account and logging in.
  • Offer LinkedIn or resume parsing.
  • Limit your application process to one page.
  • Make your application mobile-friendly.
  • Ensure your file size limits are generous.
  • Provide free-response spaces to copy and paste writing samples or URL links to work samples.
  • Email a confirmation for application submission.

Regularly Follow Up

Let candidates know whether they are advancing to the next step of your recruiting process.

  • Email an interview invitation or rejection as soon as possible.
  • Use a human email address to message candidates.
  • Respond to candidate questions, thank-you notes, and follow-ups.
  • Talk with candidates over the phone before asking them to complete a skills test or assignment.
  • Clarify the directions and timeline for the test or assignment.
  • Thank candidates for finishing the test or assignment.
  • Clarify the next steps in your recruiting timeline.
  • Provide hiring updates along the way.

Clarify Interview Expectations

Send candidates a calendar invitation with interview information.

  • Include how many interviewers are involved, their names, and whether they will be live or virtual.
  • Share how long the interview should be, where to park, and how to enter the building.

Conduct the Interviews

Begin each interview at the scheduled time.

  • Offer the candidate water or coffee.
  • Explain the interview process.
  • Maintain eye contact as often as possible.
  • Ask the same questions of applicants for the same job.
  • Take notes.
  • Thank the candidate for their time.
  • Let the candidate know when you will be in touch.

Follow Up

Let candidates know as soon as possible whether they are advancing in your recruiting process.

  • Include whether you will consider the non-selected candidates for future opportunities.
  • Provide a job offer if appropriate.
  • Send a candidate feedback survey.

Looking for Additional Advice?

Partner with RightStone for more help with your recruiting process. Find out more today.


Best Means of Getting Job References

 

If you advance enough in the interview process, you may be asked for a list of job references. These references might be contacted to endorse your skills and qualifications.

As a result, you should carefully decide who you would like to serve as a reference. These professionals must attest to your work ethic, character, and abilities to increase your likelihood of receiving a job offer.

Follow these guidelines to secure the most effective job references.


Determine Who to Ask

Think of your past colleagues, coworkers, managers, and supervisors who would say positive things about you.

  • You made important contributions to the team.
  • You consistently completed projects on time.
  • You made the professional’s work easier.
  • The professional could count on you.

Reach Out

Call each professional to ask whether they would serve as a job reference.

  • Email typically takes too much time to create a thoughtful message.
  • You can cover the key points and quickly respond to questions over the phone.

Share Information

Let your former colleagues, coworkers, managers, and supervisors know relevant details about the job you want.

  • Share what you have been doing since you last spoke with the professional.
  • Discuss the job responsibilities and their impact on the organization.
  • Ask if the professional would serve as a job reference.
  • Respect the professional’s time by being brief but thorough.

Bring Up Talking Points

Ask these professionals to mention specific types of information when talking to your potential employer.

  • Your professional strengths and value
  • Your memorable contributions
  • Your attendance and work habits
  • Your ability to collaborate and make decisions
  • Your ability to self-start and self-manage
  • Your latest projects

Verify Contact Information

Ask former colleagues, coworkers, managers, and supervisors to update their information so your potential employer can contact them.

  • Job title
  • Company name
  • Work address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Preferred method of communication

Thank Your References

Express appreciation for your job references’ time.

  • Share that you will keep them informed about your job search.
  • Offer to do something in return.

Want Help with Your Job Search?

Partner with RightStone to find your next IT job. Visit our job board today.


RightStone Recognized as Best Workplace in Dallas by the Dallas Business Journal for Second Consecutive Year

 

RightStone is one of 101 winning companies named to the 2022 Dallas Business Journal’s Best Places to Work list in the Micro (10-24 employees) category. The annual workplace award recognizes companies for creating a work environment that employees value. This is the second consecutive year RightStone has made the list.

The Dallas Business Journal has been recognizing the top employers in North Texas for over two decades, distinguishing the top employee-centric companies operating in one of the leading cities in the nation for business and job creation. To earn a ranking, RightStone had to meet or exceed a national best practice score based on overall employee participation and performance for their category, as determined by Quantum Workplace who administered the survey. Winners will be recognized during an awards luncheon on October 20 where the rankings within each category will also be announced.

“We are honored to be recognized once again by the Dallas Business Journal for our positive and engaging work culture,” commented Jeff Koc, RightStone managing director. “I consider it a great achievement when your employees feel valued and accepted, and are appreciated for the contributions they make every day. I’m extremely proud of the culture we’ve created that provides a strong sense of belonging.”

 


About RightStone
Since 1996, RightStone has built long term relationships thanks to a solid foundational grasp of IT issues as well as an in-depth understanding of how to locate and attract the highly skilled talent needed to execute specific projects. The company provides turnkey service and specializes in all elements of IT staffing, including screening, onboarding, billing, legal, quality control, benchmarking, and immigration support. RightStone has received the Best of Staffing Client 5 Year Diamond Award for providing superior service to their clients for at least five (5) consecutive years, a distinction earned by less than 1% of all staffing agencies in the U.S. and Canada. RightStone was acquired by Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, among the largest staffing firms in America, in 2016 and operates as an independent division of Cornerstone. For more information, visit www.rightstone.com.


About Cornerstone Staffing Solutions, Inc
Cornerstone Staffing Solutions is an award-winning staffing firm with branches across the U.S. It has achieved
ClearlyRated’s Diamond Award for Best of Staffing® Client Satisfaction; the company has received the award every
consecutive year since 2016. Cornerstone was also one of 138 staffing firms recently named to Forbes inaugural list of
America’s Best Temporary Staffing Firms 2020. Since 2003, Cornerstone has grown from a neighborhood staffing provider to
a national firm that employs thousands of people at hundreds of companies from coast to coast including California,
Nevada, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and Florida. Along with RightStone, the Cornerstone family of
companies also includes Chicago, Illinois-based Arlington Resources, Inc. and Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Providing candidate searching and job placement for administrative, professional, industrial, technical, sales and transportation positions, Cornerstone truly is where talent and jobs meet. Visit Cornerstone here.


6 Ways to Make Your Cover Letter Stand Out

 

Your cover letter introduces you to a hiring manager. It helps the manager form an impression of you as a candidate.

Your cover letter also highlights why you are the best candidate for the position.  This impacts whether you are contacted for an interview.

As a result, you want your cover letter to be as effective as possible. The following suggestions can help.

Implement these six tips to help your cover letter stand out from all the rest.


1. Address the Hiring Manager

There are many ways to find the hiring manager’s name and include it in your greeting.

  • Check the job posting for the hiring manager’s name.
  • Use LinkedIn to determine the hiring manager.
  • Call the company to ask for the hiring manager’s name and title.

2. Promote Yourself

Share your enthusiasm for the position and company.

  • Relate your skills and experience to the job description and qualifications.
  • Demonstrate why you are best suited for the role.
  • Comment on the company mission or leadership to show you researched the organization.
  • Ask to follow up about the position.

3. Be Concise

Limit your cover letter to three paragraphs focused on different parts of your resume.

  • Begin with an attention-grabbing introduction that shows your enthusiasm for the role and organization.
  • Mention the employee who referred you, if applicable.
  • Highlight your most important skills, experience, and accomplishments that relate to the position.
  • Explain why you are well-qualified for the role.
  • State how you would add value to the organization.
  • Thank the hiring manager for their consideration.
  • Request a call or interview to follow up.

4. Customize Your Cover Letter

Tailor your cover letter to the role and company.

  • Tie the most important parts of the position to your skills and experience.
  • Point out how your contributions would be unique.
  • Use numbers to emphasize your accomplishments relevant to the role.
  • Demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, company, and type of position.

5. Emphasize Your Accomplishments

Demonstrate how your achievements can benefit the company.

  • Share examples of the projects you worked on, the results you achieved, and how they impacted the organization.
  • Include the awards and recognition you received from previous employers.
  • Show you are a top performer who wants to grow along with the company.

6. Use Keywords

Pepper throughout your cover letter keywords and key phrases from the job description.

  • Keywords help your cover letter and resume pass an applicant tracking system (ATS).
  • The ATS scans for keywords to determine how closely a cover letter and resume match the skills and experience needed for the position.
  • The appropriate cover letters and resumes are sent to the hiring manager for review.
  • The hiring manager contacts the selected candidates for an interview.

Want Help with Your Job Search?

RightStone has IT positions that fit your goals and interests. Visit our job board today.


Reducing Bias in the Hiring Process

 

Biases in your hiring process impact the diversity of your workforce. These conscious or unconscious beliefs cause certain candidates to be hired rather than others who may be more successful in a role.

Your employees’ diversity impacts their creativity, innovation, and productivity. This affects your company’s bottom line, reputation, and competitive edge.

As a result, taking steps to reduce biases in hiring is in your best interest. The following suggestions can help.

Implement these tips to minimize bias in your hiring process.


Educate Your Hiring Team

Train your hiring team on unconscious biases. This includes unfairly treating a candidate because of their race, skin color, or national origin. It also involves bringing aboard a candidate because their background, beliefs, and interests are similar to the decision-makers’.

  • Identifying unconscious biases helps your hiring team understand how their perspectives impact hiring decisions and workforce diversity.
  • Include what to look for and what to avoid during interviews.
  • Hold your hiring team accountable for minimizing bias in their hiring decisions.

Update Your Job Descriptions

Your job descriptions need to be as inclusive as possible to increase diversity in your candidate pools.

  • Include gender-neutral language.
  • Use a clear job title, such as “Application Developer” or “Data Analyst,” to attract the right candidates.
  • List only the three to five necessary qualifications to perform the work to increase the number of females and people of color who apply.
  • Mention any accommodations that can be made for candidates with wheelchairs or special needs.
  • Use HR software to uncover other biases involving race, age, physical ability, or other protected classes.

Require Skill Tests

Testing for the necessary IT skills lets you compare candidates based on their performance rather than personal characteristics. This indicates whether a candidate would be successful with your company.

Conduct Structured Interviews

Ask the same questions in the same order for the candidates interviewing for a role. This provides an objective foundation to evaluate candidates.

  • Use a rubric to score the answers from 1 to 5.
  • Encourage your hiring team to take notes on each candidate’s answers.
  • Discuss your team’s findings to make a hiring decision.

Get Help with Hiring

Let RightStone help add IT professionals to your team. Reach out to us today.


5 Ways to Help Keep Communication Channels Open

 

Maintaining open communication with your employees encourages them to share their ideas to improve the organization. Open communication also notifies you of problems, conflicts, questions, and concerns that must be resolved.

Encouraging open communication with your team promotes engagement, productivity, and collaboration. It also elevates job satisfaction, employee morale, and retention.

Implement these five tips to maintain open communication with your team.


1. Focus on the End Goal

Maintaining open communication with your team lets you know about problems as they arise. This helps you resolve the issues and minimize their impact.

Open communication makes you aware of ideas to improve your team. This may include increasing efficiency in workflows.

Openly communicating with your team helps improve your leadership skills. You can learn your employees’ strengths, talents, motivations, and goals. Then, you can use this information to increase your team’s engagement, productivity, and collaboration. This elevates job satisfaction, team morale, and employee retention.

2. Be Present

Stay in the moment when communicating with your team. Actively listening to your employees encourages them to talk about their ideas, issues, questions, and concerns.

Look at the employee who is speaking with you. Show they have your complete attention.

Nod, gesture, and use facial expressions throughout the conversation. Include responses such as “yes” and “uh huh” to show you are listening. Ask follow-up questions to gather more information.

Paraphrase what you are hearing to ensure you understand it correctly. You may want to say, “What I am hearing is…” or “Am I correct in thinking…”.

Wait until your employee is done speaking. Then, respond appropriately.

3. Encourage Team and Individual Communication

Although communicating with your entire team is important, there may be times when your employees prefer to talk with you one-on-one. They may feel more comfortable privately discussing a personal matter than sharing the details with the team.

Encourage your team to request individual discussions when needed. They may want to share an opinion that differs from the team’s opinions on how to proceed with a project. Or, there may be a family issue that could affect your employee’s work performance.

Show empathy and support during these private discussions. Work with your employee to resolve the issue however you can.

4. Acknowledge Employee Accomplishments

Give your team credit for their work. This includes when an employee’s idea is successfully implemented or a finished project attains the desired results.

Openly acknowledging your employees’ contributions and impact on the organization shows they are valuable members of your team. This promotes feelings of trust and respect. It also increases team collaboration and cohesion.

5. Request Constructive Feedback

Ask your team for input on your performance. Include what you are doing well and specific ways you can improve.

Talk more in-depth about the answers you need clarification on. The greater your understanding of an issue, the more effectively you can resolve it.

Implement the feedback you feel would be most beneficial. Regularly follow up with your team to discuss your progress.

Looking for Help Hiring?

RightStone has the qualified IT professionals you need to reach business goals. Contact us to get started today.


Breaking the Ice with New Coworkers

 

Starting a new IT job is exciting! You get to meet new peers and leaders as you take on new challenges.

However, you may feel anxious about not knowing any coworkers at your new company. Meeting people while staying focused during the onboarding and training can be difficult.

Fortunately, connecting with your new coworkers can be accomplished in a few steps. The more you get to know the people you work with, the more comfortable you will feel. This helps improve your engagement, productivity, and longevity with the organization.

Implement these tips to break the ice when meeting new coworkers.


Introduce Yourself

Take short breaks to walk around and introduce yourself to coworkers. You might want to ask basic questions about their job duties, responsibilities, and day-to-day activities. Or, you could ask about a coworker’s family. Share similar information about yourself as well.

Use this information as a basis for future conversations. The more you see your coworkers, the more you will have ideas of what to talk about.

Look for Common Interests

Ask questions to uncover your coworkers’ personal interests. This may include what they like to do in their free time.

Your coworkers may share your love of yoga, reading, or trying new restaurants. They might enjoy going to the farmers market you frequent on the weekends. Or, your coworkers could have traveled to the same destinations as you.

You can indulge in future conversations about these interests. You also might be able to set a time to engage in a favorite activity with your coworkers.

Offer to Buy Lunch

Ask a coworker if they would like to join you for lunch. Find out what food they like, then suggest a place to go. Or, if you are new to the area, ask which restaurant your coworker recommends.

Being away from the office helps you unwind. You should feel comfortable getting to know your coworker on a personal level.

Looking for a New IT Role?

RightStone can provide you with IT openings that fit your skills and interests. Visit our job board or contact us today.


What Should You Do During Your First Week on the Job?

 

Starting a job comes with lots of uncertainty. You must adapt to new peers and leaders, a different work environment, and more challenging responsibilities.

The first week at your new job should be focused on balance. This includes making a positive first impression while giving yourself time to learn everything. The following tips can help you reach your first few milestones.

Follow these guidelines for increased success during your first week at a new job.


Introduce Yourself

Make a habit of sharing your name with the colleagues and coworkers you come into contact with. This helps you get to know other employees within the organization. It also helps your name and face become more familiar to others.

You may want to ask your manager for a list of employees you definitely should get to know. You also might ask for time at the beginning of a meeting to introduce yourself to the other participants.

Know what you want to say when you introduce yourself. For instance, if the person you are meeting appears distracted, keep your introduction brief. Or, if the person appears receptive, take a few minutes to get to know them.

Focus on remembering names by saying them back to the person. Also, write a quick note about the person to jog your memory.

Ask Questions

Request the information you need from your peers and leaders. This helps you more effectively do your job.

Consider what you want to know more about. This may include permission, advice, or validation. Be as specific as possible to receive the information you desire.

Write down your questions. This helps you remember what to ask about.

Prioritize the information you seek. This lets you determine when an appropriate time may be to ask about it. For instance, if you cannot access your computer, you should request help immediately. Or, if you need clarification on your team’s quarterly goals, you should be able to wait to talk with your manager.

Develop a Friendship

Ask a colleague or coworker out for coffee or lunch. Have a goal of getting to know them better. Developing social ties helps you feel more stable and comfortable as you adapt to your new work environment. It also can increase your productivity.

Add Value to the Company

Absorb as much information as possible in a short amount of time. Then, use what you learn to begin finding ways to contribute to the organization.

You may want to think about what you learned during the interview process. Perhaps there was a specific need discussed that you could focus on. Or, you could ask your manager what you should be focused on. Prioritize getting results as soon as possible.

Get Help Finding an IT Job

When the time comes to find your next IT role, make RightStone part of your search. Here are links to our job board and contact information.


Red Flags That Can Rise in the Hiring Process

 

You can gather significant information about a candidate by reading their resume. You can learn even more by interviewing the candidate.

Talking with candidates helps determine whether they fit the qualifications for a role. It also can indicate whether they were completely honest about the information in their application.

Uncovering a red flag when reviewing resumes or interviewing candidates may indicate a hidden issue that could be cause for concern. You might want to learn additional information before deciding how to move forward.

If you uncover any of these red flags when hiring, you may want to reconsider hiring the candidate.


Changing Fields

A candidate regularly looking for work in different industries may be a red flag. The candidate might easily get bored and not remain engaged once they adapt to their new job. Or, they might be a poor performer who does not properly contribute to organizations.

You might want to pass over this candidate when scheduling interviews. They likely would not remain with your company long-term. You probably would need to restart the hiring process once the new hire leaves.

Employment Gaps

If a candidate has lengthy gaps between jobs on their resume, there may be cause for concern. The candidate may have trouble getting along with their managers or following company policies. This can indicate the inability to properly handle conflict, show empathy, or display other important traits for success in a work environment.

Talk with the candidate about their employment gaps. Perhaps the candidate had to take a break from the workforce to handle family or personal matters. Maybe they were downsized after a merger or laid off during the coronavirus pandemic.

Find out what the candidate did during their time away from the workforce. Perhaps they picked up valuable skills by taking a class, volunteering, or engaging in other professional development. These skills could benefit the candidate’s next employer.

Lack of Work Examples

Take note if a candidate cannot answer technical or behavioral interview questions with specific examples. They might lack the education, skills, or experience required for the role.

Ask follow-up questions to gather more information. Perhaps the candidate would need to develop certain skills to carry out the job duties and responsibilities.

Consider whether the candidate could undergo additional training to reach the desired level of performance in a reasonable amount of time. If not, you may want to move on to other candidates.

Want Help with Your Hiring Process?

Let RightStone assist with your IT hiring needs. Find out more today.