subject: Finding The Best Candidate For Your Collection Agency [print this page] Although we are in the midst of a recession, many of collection companies are looking to hire new trainees. According to a recent survey, over 55 percent of collection agencies are planning to increase the amount of staff in the first half of this year.
To eliminate aggravation and wasted time, and to promote long term growth, it is key that you hire the right candidates, preferably getting it right the first time. In the collections industry, hiring the wrong person for the position takes up management time to train and it leads to an unhappy new hire who could hurt the credibility of the manager and company every time it happens. Legal fees, severance pay, and lost productivity are all examples of the negative effects of a bad hire.
There are all types of interview styles. Behavioral questions are based on the fact that past actions may predict behavior in the future. This sort of style uses questions such as "give me an example of", or "what are your best and worst personality traits, and inquiries about how one handles stress.
It might very well be that the most important principle that any employer should know about interview styles is to get the candidate to be very specific. Typically, most interviews involved inquiring into a candidate's job history, but someone who is good at selling you their experience may not be best suited to do the specific job you have in mind.
It is better to cover less ground, very thoroughly, than to have a superficial sense of where the candidate has been. Never take their first description as complete - you should ask for more details.
Look for candidates who seem to be passionate about what they do. By looking under the surface, you can determine if there is real depth behind what the candidate first claimed. Looking beyond qualifications can provide you with details that can give you insight into the way the candidate approaches the job, and what their work habits are like.
