Job Tryout

As the expenses to onboard a new employee continue to increase, so does the pressure to get every hire right the first time. There is no margin for error and it starts with us as job recruiters.

So how can you be sure a job candidate is the right fit for the role? A Job Tryout!

Job tryouts are an innovative way to get a sense of a candidate’s on-the-job skills and how they may behave in certain situations. For example, someone applying for a sales role may be given a press release about a new product and asked to make a pitch to a specific target audience.

A call center applicant may participate in a job tryout in which they have to respond to several customer service scenarios.

A retail store manager applicant could attend a job tryout on location in the store and create a plan for reaching annual goals.

The simulations we could mimic on a job tryout are endless and it’s one of our most successful strategies in determining the best fit for your team.

Job tryouts allow the recruiter and those making the hiring decision to further gauge the applicant’s character, competence, and chemistry. A job tryout also gives the candidate another opportunity to better understand the company and the expectations of the position he or she is considering.

The job tryout phenomenon was highlighted this morning in the Wall Street Journal.

Our favorite example of a type of job tryout is described by Patrick Lencioni in the book The Advantage. Lencioni shares about a company working with a job recruiter to hire their next CFO. The company culture was very laid back and they were concerned a rigid CFO could come in and ruin the vibe they had going. To protect their culture, as each of the CFO candidates arrived in their power suits for their final round of interviews, they were given a pair of khaki shorts and white socks to change into before the interview would begin. A few candidates left on the spot, feeling insulted by the request. Some made the wardrobe change, but were obviously uncomfortable wearing a dress shirt, tie, shorts, and tube socks. However, one candidate seemed to enjoy the fashion statement and nailed the interview.

We’ve experienced many cases where several candidates appear to be evenly matched on paper and perform well through the job interview. However, during the scenarios presented throughout the job tryout, an obvious fit for the role will emerge.

A job tryout is truly the most successful strategy an Atlanta recruiting firm can employ to determine the best fit for your growing team.

A job tryout is included with our pro package. Let us know if we can design a job tryout for your company.