How to Expand Your Applicant Pool

October 23, 2018

We continue to hear from companies and the media that finding qualified candidates is challenging. My first question is, what does it take for the candidate to be considered qualified and why. Qualified is a relative term meaning different things to each company.

For some positions we believe you can easily widen your applicant pool with a Cognitive Assessment in the selection process. For seasonal hiring, it’s even more important to hire candidates that can be trained quickly. Modifying your ad and changing your outreach programs may help as well.

Cognitive Assessments are the simplest and most effective selection method for increasing your applicant pool with entry level positions that do not require prior knowledge or experience. For some of you that believe the need to hire candidates with experience or knowledge in certain positions, especially entry level, may not have hired enough candidates with the appropriate Cognitive score to see how this works.

Dr. Frank Schmidt and team published a finding as a follow up to their 85 year old paper titled “ The Validity and Utility of Selection Procedures in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 100 Years of Research Findings”. Cognitive Assessments combined with interviews (structured interviews fared best) or Cognitive Assessments with a valid non-cognitive measure such as integrity, interests or conscientiousness were the best predictors. Some hiring managers may believe that GPAs predict smarts or college degrees do. There will be some correlation, but do not assume its apples to apples. A percentage of candidates that do not have a college degree can and do score higher than candidates with college degrees on Cognitive Assessments. Michael Dell and Bill Gates are great examples of this.

In addition, you can increase the overall cognitive intelligence of your entire company over time by hiring scores that are 10 to 20+% higher than what you have today. Your company could have fewer employees and be more productive.

The team that wins the World Series each year typically proves they are the best team overall. The business world is no different. Please call us now to discuss these topics or anything else on your mind in regards to Selection, Development or Retention. Click here or call 800-877-5685.

*The Cost of a Bad Hire is Much Higher – It’s More Than You Think

Well-known recruiter Jörgen Sundberg puts the cost of onboarding an employee at $240,000. And, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire is at least 30 percent of the employee's first-year earnings. For a small company, a five-figure investment in the wrong person is a threat to the business.

*The True Cost Of A Bad Hire – It’s More Than You Think, www.forbes.com Sept. 28, 2016 by Falon Fatemi