The success of any company is directly related to its people. From good customer service to the organization of internal activities, everything influences the month-end closing and the ability to close good sales.
In this sense, in addition to training your team well, it's important to pay due attention when hiring. To help you with this, we've put together some tips on how to interview a candidate for your iron and steel shop. Check it out!
The candidate interview process typically takes a significant amount of time for a manager, but you can minimize wasted time if you're prepared for the conversation.
To prepare the environment for an interview, it's important to ensure the location is calm, comfortable, and free from distractions—this way, you'll be able to focus and gain insight into each candidate.
In some cases, for convenience and even for the interviewee, it may be worthwhile to schedule an interview online. In this regard, it's important to check the quality of your internet connection, audio, and video.
Whether you're in person or not, it's important to have all the necessary documents on hand, as well as resumes and sample materials. If the candidate has the option of emailing their resume, plan a few minutes before each interview to avoid the risk of using someone else's information.
Try to create a routine to ensure that interviews are as standardized as possible. This makes it easier to compare all candidates who apply to your selection process.
Just as your company is choosing who will work there, the candidate must also be sure that they understand what is being offered and that they fit the company's goals.
Therefore, remember to clearly explain the benefits offered by the company, the salary, working conditions, hours, and all the responsibilities that will be required. Also, leave room during the conversation to ask questions that may not have been addressed during your presentation.
This way, you reduce the chances of a promising employee being hired, only to later leave because they haven't been introduced to all the organization's demands. It may seem silly, but employee abandonment is very common—especially if one competitor make a better offer.
The questions asked to evaluate candidates must be closely aligned with the role they will be performing, but they should also help you better understand their profile and how they like to work.
It's best to ask open-ended questions so the candidate has the freedom to speak. This also improves the recruiter's understanding of what each person has to say.
Some suggestions you might consider are:
Some of these questions also help candidates feel more comfortable during the interview. After all, your vacancy may attract talented people, but who feel a little nervous about the selection process. In this sense, the questions serve to keep the conversation evolving naturally.
Other questions, specifically related to the industry, help determine whether the employee is seeking a medium- or long-term position or simply looking for the "first job that comes along." Clarifying this issue is important, as some stores prioritize employees who want to be part of the business's future.
If the position is for a specialist in materials such as steel and iron, it's essential to include technical questions as well. Prioritize questions that demonstrate practical application of concepts, such as the best steel to use in a given structure, and similar topics.
This is an initiative that can help you select the best candidate in the final stages of the selection process, especially when the position is highly competitive. Therefore, choose the candidates you liked the most and conduct a hands-on evaluation.
In a steel and concrete shop, you can simulate the sale of a particular product. Observe the arguments the candidate uses, the product references they provide, and their approach—which should not be aggressive, but rather aim to solve the consumer's problem.
You can also simulate a situation where the customer has already agreed to buy the product they need and is open to purchasing additional products. This is an extremely sensitive point, since seller You need to walk a fine line between convincing the consumer to take more items or giving up on them altogether.
If the job requirements include technical knowledge of steel and iron, this should also be tested. Simulate the questions a client would ask, such as the use of each product in projects and constructions with different characteristics.
While not everyone who passes this test will land a job at your store, the experience will help them in the future. After all, it requires resourcefulness, knowledge, and persuasion skills.
Also known as fit cultural, this compatibility concerns a candidate's suitability for the mission, values, organizational culture and working style of a given company.
An example: a candidate who is excessively good-natured and likes to make jokes to lighten the mood may not be the best fit. fit for a more serious brand, which values discretion.
Likewise, a candidate who is overly reserved and a man of few words may not be the best choice for a business that prioritizes good humor in customer relationships.
This doesn't mean, in any way, that these two candidates are bad professionals. In fact, the profile each demonstrates simply doesn't fit what these companies are looking for—at least at the moment.
Cultural compatibility is still important for companies because it facilitates integration of new employees with other employees. This makes it easier to live in harmony, working as a team and pursuing the same goals.
Therefore, to ensure the selection process finds the best possible candidate, don't just evaluate each candidate's technical knowledge: cultural compatibility is also a valuable criterion. When employees are aligned with the company's values, they feel more engaged, motivated, and fulfilled—and produce more.
While many selection processes involve group dynamics, it's also important to conduct individual interviews—especially with those candidates who caught your attention.
To that end, assess each candidate's values and ask questions about their motivations for seeking this job—and what they hope for in the future at the company.
You'll already be able to discern some points through group dynamics, but individual conversations ensure you can better assess the candidate. If necessary, ask for references from other places they've worked, especially if they've worked in other iron, steel, or construction shops.
Every company can use technology to improve the quality of its recruitment processes. Here are some examples of how this is done:
Providing feedback, whether positive or negative, on your impressions of each candidate is crucial in any recruitment and selection process. We'll explain the reasons, which go beyond communication.
First, providing feedback reinforces the company's image, which is then seen (especially by other employees who may join in the future) as a humane place that cares about the well-being of each employee — even before they are actually hired.
This is because it is very frustrating to be “left in the dark” regarding a selection process, especially when the candidate has made a lot of effort and prepared for the conversation with the candidates. business leaders.
Furthermore, it is important to remember that your business is part of the general iron industry, steel, civil construction and industrial services. When you provide insights for those who were not selected, it also helps this professional to improve and become a skilled collaborator, which will also contribute to the market in the future.
When you say “no” to a candidate, the relationship with them doesn’t have to be cut off immediately—and it shouldn’t be! With the feedback Once received, they'll have the opportunity to work on areas that need improvement, as well as discover and develop skills they might not have imagined they had, or that seemed impossible. Who knows, maybe they'll even get hired at the same place in the future?
Therefore, this feedback is valuable for the motivation and contribution to the candidates' careers!
Once you're sure the candidate understands the job description, how your company is organized, the responsibilities they'll have in their new position, and the benefits and actual compensation, it's time to assess whether this person is truly the best fit for the position offered.
Having technical knowledge and experience in other companies is crucial, especially if the person is taking on a more responsible role. Even so, always remember to consider whether the personality profile fits your needs.
This final step is a kind of summary of all the previous steps. This is because you'll already have a lot of important information about the candidate's resume, profile, cultural compatibility, and practical test results. Therefore, your selection process tends to be very careful and takes into account various aspects that your business values.
As you saw in the article, following a well-structured interview schedule is essential to making the right choice. By following the tips we've shared here, you'll find the best possible employee for your iron and steel shop.
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