Here Are Our Candidates for an Open HR Coordinator Spot - Who Would You Pick?
May 06, 2008
We're filling a HR Coordinator spot on our team to handle a good bit of the transactional load for the department. Interesting selection, we really didn't have anyone in our networks, so of course we posted it to all the normal boards - Monster, local SHRM organization.
As a result, we got hit with 150-200 applicants. It's a direct report to my HR Manager, so he's moved through the process. We were down to six final candidates this week. All are great candidates, now we just have to pick the best one...
Take a look at the profiles below and tell me who you would pick. What's that? You need to know more about the actual job? You are such a pro - find the job description here.
Here are the candidates - tell me who you would plug into the role:
-Candidate #1 - Banking Industry, mixture of coordinator type role and recruiting experience. Great communication skills. 5 years experience...
-Candidate #2 - Mixture of industry experience, mixture of coordinator type role and recruiting experience. A little more of an introvert than candidate #1.
-Candidate #3 - Current HR Manager, tough environment that includes recruiting, employee relations, etc. Looking to get plugged into a broader HR community than she has access to now, willing to take a lateral move or half step back from a responsibility perspective to get that access. 4 years experience...
-Candidate #4 - New college grad. All the behavioral markers are off the chart, but no experience...
-Candidate #5 - Currently in a coordinator role, has two years experience doing what they would do in our role. Good candidate, kind of on the shy side.
-Candidate #6 - Banking Industry, mixture of coordinator type role and recruiting experience. Great communication skills. 5 years experience...
OK - I know that's limited information, but based on the job description and profiles, who would you pick and why? Hit me in the comments to let me know who you would choose....
Candidates 1 and 6 sound very alike. I would choose them first, candidate 3 second.
I think experience in the transactional side of HR is critical so if they have five years of experience with doing coordination and recruiting at the HR level, you have two very good candidates. The HR manager only gets knocked down a bit because of less years of experience (though even that wouldn't be a bad choice IMO).
I think the other three are weaker candidates and perhaps in a different job market, they would have a better chance at it. I wouldn't pick candidate 2 based solely on the introvert aspect. If someone is transactional and a recruiting face, I think you have to get outgoing people. Same deal with candidate 5.
Candidate 4 probably has too much catching up to do, even with great behavioral markers. I would be interested to see how the behavioral results are in the top three candidates. If they aren't too far off, I don't consider it a big risk if they have experience backing it up.
Posted by: Lance @ YourHRguy.com | May 06, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Stay away from 3 - transactional job that will lead to an opening.
Your job description says 3-5 years of experniece, so number 4 is out.
Number 1 and 6 sound the same, unless they are the same person they may be a possibility. Banking industry vs healthcare? I don't know how ingrained to the culture they would be.
I kind of like number 5, can't tell you why, but hiring is not exact.
Posted by: Jeff | May 06, 2008 at 03:43 PM
My vote is for #2. I like the mixture of industry experience. The person also knows what they are stepping into with previous recruiter/coordinator experience. Even us introverts can put our game face on when necessary!
#4 is a close second even without experience (go Millennials go) if you are staffed with others who have the coordinator/recruiting experience this person can learn from. You can teach HR, you can't teach the behavioral stuff.
Posted by: Lisa | May 06, 2008 at 04:37 PM
I'd go for 1 or 3 since they have great communication skills and that's a requirement for the role.
Secondly, I'd take 4 if you have experience enough to gauge raw talent and have time to explain, explain, explain. I've had a couple of these types that were extremely successful but then launched right out of the organization after lots of mentoring, so it was disappointing but I think we benefited by having them on board even for 6 months.
3 could be a risk because the person might have expectations that don't match the role you have, but I wouldn't elminate the person from the running.
Posted by: Donna | May 06, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Candidate #4 would be my choice. Hire for culture, train for skill. Isn't that the mantra we've been chanting for a while now?
This candidate can learn the technical skills, and it will bring a much needed younger generation into your corporate culture.
Posted by: Denise - aka Team Doc | May 06, 2008 at 05:42 PM
I'm going give the typical Generation Y answer here: you go with the person that will resonate with your current team. If you had an office-wide summer softball team, pick the candidate that you would want to be your new star pitcher. If you get together for golf on weekends, pick the candidate you'd want to ride in your cart.
After you've whittled down to six out of 150-200, you're pretty sure you're left with candidates who are all equally capable. Your real job at this point is to pick someone who not only fits in with, but improves the current culture.
And as typical of a millenial response I'd have to vote for #4 for the same reasons as someone above: You can teach HR, but you can't teach an employee to say "please" and "thank you."
Posted by: Jarod | May 06, 2008 at 06:08 PM
I originally thought about number 3 or number 4 as my first choices. However, I took a second look on those because they sound like they will be individuals who will be more mobile and may not stay for the long haul. If this is not a big concern I would lean toward one of those, if staying power is a key ingredient I would look at number 2.
Posted by: Blake Hamby | May 07, 2008 at 08:08 AM
I would look at #2 or #4 You can mold them. Hehehehehhahahaha!--that was my wicked laugh, lol
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