chapter 5: hire the best – a progressive interview process · email: [email protected]...

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Fire Up! Your Employees Chapter 5: Hire the Best – A Progressive Interview Process Exercises: This chapter has several exercises that help you practice with the first five (of eight)

steps of the Fire Up! Hiring Process.

Step 1:

Review your latest position vacancy (employee fired or gave notice) and define your analysis

process to rehire or realign the role. Consider the questions provided for Step 1 in this PDF and

determine if your outcome would have changed. Add any action items to your Action Plan as it

relates to assessing rehiring or realignment for vacant roles. Complete your work on the worksheet

marked Step 1. Complete this activity before moving on.

There are no exercises for Step 2.

Step 3:

Assess and develop an internal review process to source the position for which you completed a

Talent Matrix in Chapter 3. How would you locate internal talent for this role? We have already

reviewed creating an external sourcing strategy in Chapter 4. Complete your work on the

worksheet marked Step 3. Complete this activity before moving on.

Step 4:

This exercise will ask you to review two resumes – one is presented in the usual experience-based

format (the candidate is named Mia DiWun), the other introduces a new talent-based format (the

candidate is named Hans Furhigher). Review the resumes with the approach presented in this

chapter (comments, missing information, meaningful experience and sense of talents). Start your

process of a more focused review of resumes to improve your employee selection process.

Complete your work on the worksheets marked Step 4 and the two sample resumes included in

this PDF. Complete this activity before moving on.


Step 5:

This exercise will ask you to prepare for a phone interview for the role that generated your Talent

Matrix. Identify any BFOQ questions. Next, prepare one question for your top three performance

talents, and one team talent by using the General and Specific Talent-Based Questions from the

supporting worksheets to Chapter 6 on the website www.FireUpYourEmployees.com. Create one

question related to the most important skill and one for the most important experience. This will

create your telephone interview questions. Complete your work on the worksheet marked Step 5.

Complete this activity before moving on.

Creating an Action Plan is a critical component of implementing the Fire Up! Process. To access

the Action Plan that has been created for Fire Up! Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition,

click on the Action Plan link from the Beyond the Book page. You will add your action items from

each chapter to this master Action Plan.

Add action items as necessary for each of the presented first five steps of the 8-step Fire Up!

Hiring Process.


Step 1: Define and Establish the Need – Activity

Recent vacancy:

____________________________________________________

Reason for employee departure: _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Rehired or realigned? _____________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

What assessment process was used to determine rehiring or realignment?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Reassess your decision by reviewing the following questions:

1. What has prompted the need to consider a change or new employee? 2. Can the tasks be completed by another employee who is “right” for the role? 3. What will be the responsibilities of this new position - what talents are needed? 4. Are these talents available in the current workforce? 5. How will this position affect the profitability of the location /department/organization? 6. How does the position fit into the organization/ department’s mission? 7. Can this work be done on a part-time or full-time basis? 8. What are the primary and secondary responsibilities of this position? 9. What are the required technical skills? 10. What emotional impact will this role have on customers? 11. To whom will this position report? 12. Are performance standards, performance expectations or a job description in place? 13. What is the timing for a change with this position? 14. What is the lead time for either an internal or external search? 15. If a new employee is needed, what is the status of the hiring process? Based on your new assessment, does your decision to rehire or realign change?

Yes? _____ Why? _______________________________________________________________

No? _____ Why? ________________________________________________________________

What changes are needed to your assessment process to insure a better analysis of the need to

rehire or realign. Update your action plan with any changes to your assessment process.


Step 3: Conduct an internal, then external search - Activity

What is your current process to review internal candidates for role or position openings?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

How effective is it in placing employees in the right roles?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

What do employees think about the organization’s process to see and apply for roles within the

organization?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is the organization’s greatest strength in the internal selection for open roles?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

What is the organization’s greatest weakness in the internal selection for open roles?

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Record all needed improvements as action items on your Action Plan worksheets.


Step 4 – Review resumes and job applications - Activity

For the two resumes that follow (Hans Furhigher and Mia DiWun), complete the following sections. Use this process to start a new and more focused review of resumes or job applications. Comments – Hans Furhigher:

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Comments –Mia DiWun

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Missing Information – Hans Furhigher

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Missing Information – Mia DiWun

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

Meaningful experience (skills) – Hans Furhigher

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Meaningful experience (skills) – Mia DiWun

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Sense of talents – Hans Furhigher

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Sense of talents – Mia DiWun

_______________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________


HANS Furhigher 57 TallTalk Way, Chattynooga, KS

Phone:870.555.1234 Email: [email protected]

Career objective: To obtain a high energy position in a retail sales environment in a role that uses my Winner, Relator and Entertainer talents TALENTS (natural abilities): § Achievement and results focused (Winner) § Flexible and responsive (Adapter, Listener)

• Connects easily with others (Relator, Caregiver) § High energy and positive outlook (Entertainer)

SKILLS (learned abilities):

• Great telephone and face to face sales skills • Time management, planning and organization • Proficient on the Prelude purchasing software with DAFT interface • Speaks Czech and working knowledge of French • CAD drawing proficiency for retail environments • Proficient with markup, discounting and markdown calculations. • Strong business writing including proposals and education programs

EXPERIENCE: Holt Hardware 2006 until Present Hardware specialist

• Organized and stocked specialized hardware products • Assisted with new store layout • Responsible for stocking and reordering product • Created sales displays • Trained new employees

Henderson Hardware 2003 to 2007 Retail employee

• Assisted in design of all retail space • Responsible for monthly promotions and advertising • Created customer order department • Specialized in specialty hardware applications • Taught hardware applications to contractors

EDUCATION and Awards Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY Graduated cum laude with BA in English 2002 Senior Class President, Captain of Football team, Beta Beta Psi member Received national customer service award 2005


Mia DiWun 77 Servicemaster Drive Hometown, KS (870) 555 - 6161 Email: [email protected]

EDUCATION_________________________________________________________________ Prichard College Tulsa, OK Bachelors in Business magna cum laude May 2004 • Business Liaison to Administration • President, Junior class, senior class • Treasurer, International Student Organization • Team captain, intramural basketball and volleyball teams EXPERIENCE________________________________________________________________ Eddie Bauer Store Manager May 2004 - present • Responsible for all operations of free standing facility • Selected product and created displays • Managed a staff of 5 full time and 4 part time employees. • Responsible for training and education of the staff • Implemented new computer system • Assisted in new customer survey program that yielded a 95% satisfaction rate • Hired employees as needed

Hastee Tastee Counter help January 2001 – May 2004 • Started as short order cook • Waited tables for both lunch and dinner • Started a customer survey program to get customer feedback • Improved customer satisfaction 10% in 6 months. • Responsible for scheduling all employees on shifts • Created restaurant recipe book SKILLS_______________________________________________________________________ • Writes for local newspaper • Good working knowledge of Spanish • Computer experience: Microsoft Office including Vista, Adobe PhotoShop • Dabbles in web design and graphic art Hosts daily blog on fashion and retail – ShopperBlog


Step 5 - Interview Questions Preparation Worksheet

Role: _______________________________________________

Quadrant strength (circle primary focus): Emcee Chairman Professor Friend

Axis strength: Thinking Feeling Directing Supporting

General or BFOQ interview questions:

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________________

Performance and team talent interview questions:

Performance talent: ______________________________________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Performance talent: _______________________________________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Performance talent: _______________________________________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Team talent: ____________________________________________________________________

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

Skill and experience questions:

1. _____________________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________________

chapter 5: hire the best – a progressive interview process · email: [email protected]...

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