Abstract

In this paper I will discuss the different roles of a recruiting manager that is looking to hire a successful Service Manager for a new division in the company. I will discuss a few of the many different characteristics and experiences that are needed in order to be a positive candidate for the position. Last I have listed 5 questions that are important to ask in an interview to find out the more in dept motives out this candidate.

Characteristics

As a recruiting manager to hire the most qualified individual for the job at hand is one of the most important aspects of my job. The most important job of a great hiring manager is to assess the individual in addition to experience. This can be a difficult situation under normal conditions; but since this will be a new department with special request from our vice president, it becomes even more important for me as the recruiting manager to make the correct choice on a Service Manager that will be in charge of the new service division. The vice president has requested a competent individual that possess important skills such as being conceptual, having good communication, effectiveness, and interpersonal qualities. With any managerial hire I must find a qualified Service Manager experienced in not only leading others; but competent in organizing, planning, and controlling the new the department for the success of the company. As with all companies, the candidate of choice would possesses many good characteristics for the position. Good characteristics such as, first knowledge of our company, having a good understanding of our company's objective and operations. According to Microsoft Corporation "promoting someone from within negates the need to indoctrinate an outsider to what your company is all about (Wuorio, 2011)." The second most important characteristic I am looking for the candidate to possess is integrity and trustworthiness. I want to hire a person we can trust. Kathryn Vercillo stated in an article, “Of course, it’s hard to tell this right off the bat at an interview but asking the right questions can give you a general sense of the individual’s basic integrity (Vercillo, K., 2011).” So as a trained recruiting manager it is my job to ask strong questions to the candidate to learn more of his integrity and experiences. Third, when it comes right down to it, every department needs a manager they can depend on. A dependable manager that will always show up for work on time, or capable of being counted on to stay late when there are times that require them to do so. The fourth important characteristic is conflict-resolution abilities. The candidate will have to act as a liaison between people in the company. The liaison is the person between upper-level and lower-level employees. So in order to hold this position well, the candidate is going to have to be capable of handling conflicts and resolutions.
Fifth, no one wants a negative, dull manager. So the candidate must have an bright optimistic attitude. Someone that is going to approach each work day and project with a good positive attitude. This in turn will help keep the morale in the company high which in turn leads to satisfied employees, lower turnover rates with higher rates of productivity and growth of the company. And the sixth most important characteristic the candidate must possess is self-motivation. The person I hire for the position must be capable of getting the job done without needing you to look over their shoulder. Which means having a good understanding of the basic goals of the company and developing their own strategies for achieving these goals. . As the recruiting manager I will be looking for someone that is not a clone of the job description but rather supporting strengths that allow success for the new department. This is where my experienced judgment of a recruiting manager should fall into place. The next step, as the recruiting manager, is to seek out an eager candidate who has more than just paper credentials but more talents that include coworker and colleague interaction, which is very imperative to not only the success of the department but the morale of the company’s workforce. Dictating does not make good manager. Relating with others makes for much more effective management capabilities. As a recruiting manager I must also consider the message that I am sending with each new hire. When I hire a new individual, particularly a manager, I am making a statement about my company, the philosophy, and the company’s values. In this position I have extensive numbers of candidates; I must first try to disqualify everyone applying. The reason behind this is to find flaws within an individual candidate. As insensitive as this may sound, there is a means to madness with this process. We me utilizing this method it allows me more individuals with fewer flaws to remain in contention for the position rather than a lot of individuals with many accolades to remain in this position of contention. As a recruiting manager hiring an individual based primarily on credentials and experiences makes up only half of my decision. Many individuals that possess the knowledge of managerial tasks do not possess the natural quality of employee/customer excellence necessary in a new department. My wrong choice of a manager based on credentials alone could result in internal as well as external failure for the new department and company. Based on this statement, as the recruiting manager, I must have a confident intuition and decision-making process that I trust that will allow the best candidate for the new Service Manager position to rise above the rest. In order for me to accomplish the task of hiring the right candidate, it is important to ask vital questions that helped to ascertain not only the ability, but the characteristics of the candidate. With an interview of such value should give the recruiting manager a distinct view of the candidate’s interpersonal skills as well as their temperament. This interview is vital due to the fact that this is the only time we are going to have to determine the potential of this new manager. Every recruiting manager has their own questions and techniques to finding the right candidate for a position. For my assignment, I was asked to list 5 to 10 questions that would help to determine the character and potential of different candidates. The following questions, for my situation and position, are what I would ask the candidates applying for manager of a "new" services division:
1. As a Service Manager for our company what do you feel you can bring to this position? What I am looking for with this question is a sense of devotion to the company as well as any additional prepared information the candidate may have prepared for the interview.
2. Can you tell me about your previous experiences managing personnel? What I am looking for here is a verbal confirmation of previous management experiences and what this individual can bring to the table.
3. With your knowledge that this is a new service division, can you tell me how you would go about organizing and making this division a success? This question will help me determine the motivation and help provide insight into past experience of this type of situation. I am looking for competence and confidence in the position this individual is applying for. 4. Tell me something that you do not like about yourself. This segues the question to help me to find humility and truthfulness within the candidate. If an individual tells me that they are happy with themselves or have no vices, this to me is a deceptive quality that I do not want to hire for my company. An individual that runs, or manages anybody must be able to identify their own flaws before they can correct the flaws in others. 5. At this point in the interview this sweat is normally falling or the relationship is starting to blossom between interviewer and interviewee. At this stage, if the interview is still continuing, then this is the time I would ask for case specific examples. Questions such as "Can you give me an example of a time where as a manager you were faced with a service related incident where you had to make a decision that you had not been trained or previously confronted with, and how you handled that situation?” This type of question will allow the hiring manager to determine more of the candidate’s customer service skills, leadership ability, and organizational ability all in one. Throughout the previous five questions, we have learned the character and qualifications of our candidate. The last thing I always do during the interview is ask the candidate if they have any questions for me. This allows for the candidate an opportunity to show their interest in our company, with them asking intelligent questions just might set them apart from other candidates, or show their true intentions of wanting the position. If a candidate would ask me, "Is there any information that you can get for me to take home and learn more about this department and company?” I would able to see the dedication in this candidate. On the other note, if a candidate for Service Manager were to ask me, "How much is the pay, and are there any benefits?” This would alert me that this position means just that to them. As a recruiting manager it is my job to find not only qualified candidate but willing, ethical, team playing candidate.
When interviewing individuals for a new position within a company, particularly to manage said position it is not an easy task. Many candidates resumes look better on paper than others, but the person behind the paper is always much more important than the document of their achievements.
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References

Vercillo, K., 2011. 10 Good Traits and Characteristics of a Successful Manager. Retrieved November 10, 2011 from http://kathrynvercillo.hubpages.com/hub/10-Traits-of-a-Successful-Manager
Wuorio, J. Microsoft Business, 2011. 6 Strategies for Hiring a New Manager. Retrieved November 10, 2011 from http://www.microsoft.com/business/en-us/resources/management/recruiting-staffing/job-interview-questions.aspx?fbid=ftIDml5ctgA