So you people who are my FB friends, assuming I haven't blocked you yet, know that we are hiring a part-time, temporary receptionist.
We were very honest in sharing that the pay is only $10 an hour for 20 hours a week. During today's interviews, we revealed that the job would end in March 2010.
We got over 70 applications.
By and large, I was happy with the quality of the resumes, considering it was an entry level job.
Four people that we extended interviews to didn't show up -- three of them never responded to the invite to an interview, one responded but didn't show up. I have never heard of anything like this before.
So the interviews were today. I don't normally do HR stuff because it's not my interest professionally, but I happen to be really good at conducting job searches. I think it's fun, like a casting special for The Real World or Road Rules.
Here is what I learned from this particular process:
1) BE YOURSELF from start to finish. We extended interviews to all kinds of people.
2) Study abroad really is impressive. If you are an undergrad, do this, even if it's just for a summer.
3) Even though I truly hate the question "so tell me about yourself" always have something compelling to say when somebody asks you -- not so much about your characteristics, but more who you ARE. Your essence.
4) Special skills, hobbies, and training are a plus even if they aren't related to the job itself. We extended interviews to a graphic designer, massage therapist, and manual laborer who had never had any administrative work before.
5) People who can tell a good story are awesome. I can't go into details, but one of our candidates had been a resident assistant and had the awesomest stories evar.
6) List your affiliations, especially if they're current. I was disappointed that no social Greeks applied to our position.
The kind of work that we do relies on our staff members having extensive networks. Not required, but helps during Walkathon season.
That's all I can think of for right now.