recruiting & search experience

Are You Conducting Post-Interview Reviews?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Companies are always looking for new ways to improve their hiring decisions because the cost of a bad hire can be astronomical. Companies also do not want to waste the time of the candidates they interview. This is why some companies have begun conducting post-interview reviews. More companies should take part in this exercise in order to improve how the interviews are handled and which candidates are hired. Learn how to conduct post-interview reviews the right way.

Include the Entire Team

One of the most important parts of conducting a post-interview review is to include the entire team. This means that every single employee who took part in the interview process should be involved in this meeting. This team should meet after each interview is conducted. So, if three different employees interviewed each candidate, they should be part of the team. If the HR head first scheduled the interview based on the resume submitted, this person should also be part of the team.

Discuss Impressions

Each person who took part in the interview process should be allowed to share their impressions of each candidate they met. The impressions discussed should be based on the notes taken by each employee who had the chance to interview candidates. Talk about any questions the candidates asked about the job or the company. Also talk about how the candidates answered the questions posed to them.

Allow Honest Discussion

When conducting such a review, you need to allow for honest discussion. This means that all employees should be honest in their opinions of candidates without worrying of repercussions from management or co-workers. If the members of this team cannot be honest, then you will not be improving your hiring process or interview process.

Rank Candidates

The post-interview review is the perfect time for your team to rank the candidates that have been interviewed to this point. Encourage each member of the team to rank each candidate he or she has interviewed from most likely to hire to least likely to hire. The ranking should be done based on the information gathered from the interview. The team members should conduct their rankings based on who they feel should be hired for the open job.

Build a List of Second Interview Candidates

Another goal of this team should be to build a list of candidates who will be contacted for a second round of interviews. It is possible that all of the candidates might be asked back for a second interview, but most likely it will be a shorter list. Even if members of your team are not going to take part in the second interview, they should still be notified of which candidates are being asked back.

Conducting post-interview reviews helps a company improve their hiring process and how the interviews are conducted. Implement these reviews today to hire the most qualified people for your open jobs.

We Want You to Know the Truth About our Staffing Agency…

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

The staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry makes a vital contribution to the U.S. economy, and provides outstanding job and career opportunities for some 14 million employees per year.

Haven’t considered a staffing service to help you with your job search or career change? Watch the video below to see what our Michigan team has to say…

We hope you can handle the truth about our staffing agency!

Want to Stay in Your Temp Job? Start Building Relationships!

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Building strong relationships at the office is not just for permanent employees, but also for temporary workers. Even though you might only be working at a temp job for two weeks or a couple of months, it is still imperative to build strong relationships. When temporary workers build strong relationships, it puts them in a better position to remain at their temporary job for an extended period or as a newly hired permanent employee.

Drop Criticism from Conversations

An excellent way to build stronger relationships with your co-workers at a temporary job is by dropping criticism from your conversations. It can be very easy to criticize co-workers for what they do, or don’t do, but it should not be done. When you criticize people on a regular basis, it makes it very difficult to get along with those people. You must remember that everyone makes mistakes, so be sure to focus on the positives when talking with co-workers.

Smile and Speak with Enthusiasm

Smiling when you speak with co-workers will go a long way when trying to build stronger relationships. You should also speak with enthusiasm, and not in a monotone that bores others. Co-workers will warm up to you when you greet them with happiness and a smile. Even if you do not get the opportunity to speak with them for a prolonged period, a quick smile when passing in the halls can help improve relationships.

Compliment Co-Workers

A compliment can go a long way toward building better relationships with co-workers. Compliments should never be backhanded, but should be sincere whenever you give them. People love to receive compliments, especially at work. The next time you talk with a co-worker, try to compliment them on a job well done on a recent project or about something from their personal life they told you.

Ignore the Rotten Egg

It goes without saying that there will be one rotten egg in the office who will attempt to make life miserable for those around them. Even though this person will make it their job to make your life miserable, you must ignore them as much as possible. Do not take it personally: Instead, build better relationships with the rest of your co-workers in an attempt to ignore the rotten egg.

If you enjoy the temporary job you are working right now, make an effort to build stronger relationships with co-workers there so you can have your contract extended or picked up permanently.

Is Your New Hire Your Next Superstar?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

It’s every hiring manager’s dream to place someone in a new job and then, weeks later, discover that he or she has star potential. When a new hire is driven to success early on, it means that they not only make themselves look good, but your company does too. High performance candidates can be hard to spot, and they are rare indeed, but the person sitting across from you at the interviewing table could be your next superstar employee. Here’s how to find out.

Know what a superstar employee is

The definition of a superstar employee is someone who provides an above average ROI once you bring them on board. Mitchell Harper co-founder of Big Commerce defines superstars as, “someone who will generate 5x the important performance indicator of a normal person. For example, a superstar engineer will crank out 5x as much quality code as a normal engineer.” In other words, a superstar consistently outperforms other employees and rises to the top of the team quickly.

Choose the candidate qualities you want

When hiring, its critical to understand what factors will make a candidate become a future rock star employee. Make a list of the top 5 characteristics of your top performance employees, then focus on this as you read through resumes, meet with candidates, and evaluate their skills and abilities. It’s not always a certain personality type, but it’s the desire to make a difference in the industry that sets these candidates apart from others.

Use an assessment to weed out the “talkers”

One way to cut through the chatter when trying to identify your best prospects in stellar candidates is to use candidate assessment tests. People generally will say and do just about anything to get a job, including stretching the truth about their experience and skills. Give candidates a chance to prove they have what it takes to be on top.

Look for a progressive career advancement

Highly-driven candidates are concerned with career advancement and their work histories will show this. Unless they’ve been laid off in the past, you will usually see a progression of personal and career growth, including ongoing learning activities and advancing areas of responsibility. Look for candidates who have a mind and heart for business, as the entrepreneurial spirit is a sign of a superstar candidate.

If you see these characteristics in your candidate, take the time to dig deeper to see if he or she may be a good fit for your company. Need help recruiting amazing candidates? Look to the support of Advance Staffing Solutions today.

Are You Giving Killer Customer Service to Your Candidates?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

As the old saying goes, “The customer is always right.” Even if some of your employees or managers might not believe this, it must be practiced by everyone at your company in order to be successful. Companies that find themselves struggling to hold onto clients/customers should look at the customer service being provided. If you give killer customer service to clients/customers and job candidates, your company should be highly successful. Here’s how…

Happy Employees Lead to Happy Customers

An important thing to remember here is that happy employees lead to happy customers. Because of this notion, you need to do everything possible to make your employees happy. This includes treating them fairly at work, offering benefits and perks, rewarding employees for their hard work and much more. When you do not keep your employees happy you run the risk of them not providing strong customer service to clients.

Use Guidelines and Not Rules

Companies establish policies and rules because they might not trust their employees to do the right thing. But, when it comes to providing customer service, try to use guidelines instead of rules. Guidelines will help employees better do their jobs when it comes to dealing with customers. Guidelines allow employees the opportunity to make decisions on their own when it comes to helping customers. The worst thing an employee can do is tell a customer he or she cannot do anything for a customer because of a company rule or policy.

Treat Candidates Like Customers

You also need to treat your job candidates like customers. They are choosing your company as much as you are choosing one of them for the open job. If you do not treat them well while they are in your presence, it is likely he or she will turn down an offer of employment, remove themselves from the running or badmouth the company to friends who might apply there. Make sure you welcome candidates to your office at the front door, offer them water, show them around, give them a tour of the office, introduce them to everyone they see and much more.

Turn Customer Complaints Into Opportunities

Make it a point to turn any and all customer complaints into opportunities. These opportunities should be learning opportunities for everyone involved. Do not be the company that views customers complaints as problems. When you do this, nothing is gained from it or fixed and your company’s image will suffer. Tell your employees to look for learning opportunities in every customer complaint so they can improve their customer service skills and keep customers happy.

Go Above and Beyond for Customers and Candidates

As a company, you must do whatever possible to go above and beyond for customers and candidates. This should be done on a regular basis in order to keep both factions happy. You don’t have to spend a ton of money to make this happen either. Consider offering customers upgrades to products or services either for free or for a percentage off the price.
Providing killer customer service to clients and candidates is important in today’s competitive business world because it can mean the difference between success and a poor image.

Why You Should be Recruiting More Passive Candidates

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

In the recruitment market, there is always a push for hiring the highest quality of candidates, and placing them in the jobs that are the best match. But this often poses as a huge challenge, because these great candidates are hard to find in high-demand industries. This is when recruiters turn to passive candidate recruitment methods to seek out professionals who may not be currently looking for a job right now, but whom have the right qualities for placement in an upcoming job order. Here are several reasons you should be recruiting more passive candidates for your organization.

What is it about passive candidates that is so appealing to recruiters?

You may be asking yourself, “Why would I want to put any energy out trying to recruit passive candidates, if they are already employed by someone else?” This is a valid question, but it goes much deeper than this. Passive candidates often represent the cream-of-the-crop in terms of the types of candidates you want to build a relationship with. They have several key advantages over active candidates, including:

They’ve already earned the experience and accolades that are desired by top companies, so their value is greatly elevated.
They have excellent references and backgrounds that are desired by companies, so you can leverage this for negotiating higher placement fees.
They are well connected with other leading candidates, so once you have won a passive candidate over, their colleagues will follow – making your job as a recruiter easier.

These are just a few advantages you will find when working with passive candidates. How can you start attracting and building a nice pipeline of passive candidates? Read on for some tips on finding and recruiting passive candidates.

3 ways to find and recruit passive candidates

Use these tips for finding those top passive candidates and getting them on board.

1. Use a personalized recruitment approach

Instead of sending out canned email messages that sound “salesy,” why not take a more personalized approach to meeting passive candidates? Connect with them on social networks and at local business networking events. Introduce yourself, what you do, and how you can help them reach their career goals. Then follow up in a non-threatening way, maybe over a cup of coffee.

2. Find out what passive candidates want

As early as possible, get to know what each passive candidate is looking for in terms of the next level of their career growth. Maybe they are already at the top of their game and are looking for a change? Be open and just ask them outright what they may be looking for in the next three-to-five years.

3. Offer passive candidates what they want

Now that you have an idea of what a passive candidate wants, stay in touch and offer them opportunities to get to know some of your best clients. Work out a strategy to get them a position that meets their needs with one of your companies. Go one step beyond what other recruiters are offering with a sweet compensation and career growth package they cannot resist.

Why Use a Staffing Agency?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Has the question ever occurred to you, or have you asked it yourself — why should I use a staffing agency?

Watch the video below to hear two Advance Staffing employees discuss why you should use a staffing agency!

Click here if you’d like to discuss partnering with a staffing agency like Advance Staffing Solutions today!

When to Say “No” to Qualified Candidates

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

As a hiring manager, HR executive or recruiter, there comes a time when you need to say no to qualified candidates. The reasons will vary, but the situation will always be difficult because of their qualifications. Who ever thought that companies would need to turn down qualified candidates for open jobs?

The truth of the matter is that this actually happens in today’s business world. So, when does this type of situation arise – when do you know to say “no” to a candidate who is otherwise qualified?

Position Has Been Filled

One of the most common reasons why you will need to say no to qualified candidates is that the position has been filled by someone else. You might receive 50 or more resumes for your job opening and you will likely have a handful of them turn into qualified candidates. This means that one person will be chosen and three or four of them will receive disappointing news. You must have tact when informing other qualified candidates that someone else has been chosen. Be honest with them and thank them for applying.

Position Has Been Eliminated

It is quite possible that open jobs at companies could be eliminated even after a search to fill them has already begun. Reasons for eliminating the position will vary, but you should never string along candidates if you know the position is going to be cut from the payroll. Maybe the job duties have been distributed to current employees. Maybe there isn’t enough room left in the budget for the position. Or, maybe there isn’t enough work for the position to be filled right now. Whatever the reason, be sure you tell the candidates as soon as possible so they can look elsewhere for work.

Position Has Been Changed

It is also possible that the position could have changed between the time it became available and the time you began vetting potential candidates to fill it. If this is the case, you might have a couple of qualified candidates who no longer will be in the running for the job. This means you will have to say no to them. Make sure you explain that the position has been altered and that even though they were qualified previously, your company is moving in another direction.

Candidate is Overqualified

Another reason for saying no to a candidate is the fact that he or she might be overqualified for the position. Companies tend to shy away from hiring overqualified candidates due to one major issue; the candidate, once hired, could become bored with the job and begin causing issues at the workplace. This is when a company’s culture could take a major hit.
As you can see, there are a few common reasons why you might need to say “no” to a qualified candidate. Just make sure you handle the rejection with tact and professionalism so as not to create a bad image for your company. Keep the candidate in mind for future opportunities and if you can, offer them another position that’s suitable for their skills, or refer them to a staffing agency that can place them into a position sooner.

5 Tips for Successfully Re-Entering the Workforce

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Beginning a job hunt after a long period of time can be intimidating and full of trepidation for anyone, particularly if you were unemployed during this gap. Gaps in employment can occur because of company layoffs, returning to school, raising a family, extended illness, or simply wanting to take time off from work. No matter the reason for the gap, you need to be ready to re-enter in order to be successful in any new career. Read this post to find five tips to make your re-entry into the working world successful.

Assess Yourself Prior to a Job SearchThe first tip to successfully re-entering the workforce is to assess yourself – before you ever begin your job search. Figure out how big the gap in your employment is on your resume, and be prepared to explain that gap to interviewers. Also, take a look at the skills you have related to your profession and figure out if any of them need to be refreshed or if you need to add any new ones before you begin looking for a new job. Learn new skills by taking temp assignments in your area of expertise.

Learn the Industry AgainThe second tip for successfully re-entering the workforce after a gap in employment is to learn the industry again. Even though you might have known some of the major players in the industry when working, it is likely that many of those players are no longer around. They could have retired, relocated or left the industry for another profession. You should take the time to learn who the players are within the industry by browsing around LinkedIn and joining groups associated with your industry.

Familiarize Yourself with Job RequirementsFamiliarize yourself with the specific job requirements of any company you apply to. If you have been out of the workforce for a prolonged period, you might not know what companies are looking for these days. The only way you can find out prior to applying for jobs is by reading as many job listings as possible, and taking note of the requirements of those jobs. Ask your temporary staffing representative to fill you in about any special requirements or skills needed for an upcoming assignment.

Accept Feedback and Use ItOnce you begin the job search, following a prolonged absence from the workforce, make sure you accept any and all feedback provided – and use it to your advantage. If you are not selected for a job, ask the interviewer what items from your job history or experience caused you to miss this opportunity. If the interviewer gives you a candid answer, be sure to take what they say and use it to better yourself.

Consider a Need for ChangeThe fifth and final tip for successfully re-entering the workforce is to consider change. If you are hitting a brick wall or find yourself at a dead-end, consider making a change in your career. Whether you need to go back to school to do so, or take a couple of training classes, a change is likely to help you get back to work much quicker than if you toil around unsuccessfully in your former industry. You may also want to take on some temporary work in order to get your feet wet in a career.

Re-entering the workforce does not come easy for everyone, which is why you need to have a plan in place to make sure it is as successful as possible. If you follow the five tips outlined above, your foray back into the workforce should be a seamless one.

Have a “Quirky” Company Culture? How to Find the Perfect Candidate Fit For You!

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Is your company highly creative when it comes to the recruitment process? In today’s world, it’s becoming increasingly more popular for companies to come up with unique and sometimes even hilarious ways of recruiting people. Weird and unusual interview questions, activities, and quirky corporate cultures often come into play.

However, in some cases an unusual hiring process or corporate culture can create challenges when it comes to identifying candidates who are the right fit for the organization. The quirky company culture that you love can backfire. Some candidates may be taken aback by the process that you use to select and interview them. They may even refuse to apply for jobs out of fear that they won’t fit in well with the set of values and ideas your corporate culture embraces.

Your company may be quirky if:

You have an elaborate application process that uses humor in many places
You use odd or silly interview questions and tasks for candidates
The work environment is highly creative and filled with lots of playful features

So, if you identified your company as unusual or different in terms of the type of culture you embrace, it’s possible that it’s becoming difficult to find the right candidates. Here are some ways that you can get around this and hire the best talent with the right candidate fit.

Be upfront about your corporate culture

When thinking recruitment, the last thing you want to do is spring a surprise on a candidate – not the least of which should be your corporate culture. Have access to some marketing materials that highlight your corporate culture with visuals and audio tools. Slowly introduce candidates to your corporate culture. Watch for their reaction. If a candidate reels back suddenly upon learning about your corporate culture, there’s a good chance they will not be a good fit

Focus on the candidate experience

There is a lot of research around the impact the candidate experience has on the long-term success of an employee. This should be your ultimate focus when you are interviewing prospective employees. Try to put yourself into the candidate shoes for a moment. Is the application process intuitive? Is the candidate exposed to a positive impression of your company? Is the recruitment team proactively reaching out and then following up with each candidate? Make sure to zip up all of these things in order to improve the candidate experience.

Assess candidate skills with industry testing

It can be very difficult to determine if a candidate is right for the job within the span of just a few moments of reviewing a resume and meeting with them in an interview. Do not expect some quirky or challenging project assigned during an interview to accurately define a candidate’s suitability for your company. Instead, work with your staffing agency to use candidate assessment testing to validate their work-related skills, personality, and corporate culture fit.

Use a multi-layer interview process

Sometimes, creative companies do not spend enough time evaluating the behavioral aspects of candidate interviews. This is why a multiple interview process that includes several layers of team member participation is often a great way to determine a candidate’s fit for the company. People often have different perspectives when meeting someone, therefore, take the time to have at least a few of the team members present during initial interviews. Gather objective feedback and use this for making your hiring decision.

Hire temps first, employees second

Perhaps one of the best ways to recruit for a quirky company is to start everyone out as a temporary employee. This gives your company a chance to benefit from pre-screened candidates who will then have to prove themselves within the first few months on the job. Most staffing agencies have very strict pre-screening requirements and will only send candidates who they believe will be a good fit. If you have a problem with a candidate you can then easily replace them with someone more suitable. This reduces the risk of hiring the wrong person.

Want to learn more about how your company culture could affect your hiring process, or find temps to fit in with your quirky company? Contact Advance Staffing Solutions today!

Choose Staffing as a Career and Love What You Do

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

Our mission at Advance Staffing Solutions is to become a true resource to our client and candidate partners for general hiring and recruiting, and executive search recruitment. We work hard to provide innovative staffing services to our employers and opportunity to our candidates. We create a fun and challenging workplace where we continue to learn daily, achieve success and grow our business.

As a growing business, Advance Staffing Solutions has internal positions available. If your are looking for a meaningful and rewarding career, please email your resume to stacey@advancestaffingsolutions.com. We have opportunities in sales and recruiting in NW Ohio and SE Michigan.

Learn more about an exciting career in the staffing and recruiting industry.

Do You Know What an Employer Will Find When They Google You?

HMG Success on October 7, 2026

It’s natural to do some research on the company before you go in for an interview. But did you also know that the company is doing plenty of research on you too? Recruiters regularly conduct online searches on candidates before deciding whether or not to offer them the chance to interview. A research report from ExecuNet revealed that 77 percent of recruiters use search engines to find background information about candidates, and 35 percent admitted they would eliminate a candidate from consideration based on information found online.

What will a recruiter find if they do a Google search for you? Will they find positive information about you? What about your social network profiles — will they find out anything interesting about you there?

What employers may find when they Google you:

Any articles or blog posts or graphics you’ve published under your name (may not be a bad thing);
Photos that have been tagged with your name (by you and other people – even the embarrassing ones!);
Social media posts going back years (they are archived forever) including the negative ones;
Those videos you posted on YouTube when you were in college (uh oh); and
Public records that include driving records, judgments, civil and criminal records, property tax information, divorce and marriage records, and more.

Here are some tips for cleaning up your online image so that when a potential employer searches for you online, what they find won’t damage your chance for a job.

Do a thorough search for your own name and aliases

First and foremost, think like a recruiter and do a search for yourself online. Make a list of everything you find. Pay close attention to anything that could be damaging to your reputation, such as derogatory social posts, images, videos, and records. Search under your aliases too (nicknames and former maiden names for women).

Remove any harmful content that you can

Take matters into your own hands by logging into your profiles and deleting any and all harmful content. Un-tag yourself from compromising photos and videos. Ask your friends and family to stop tagging you on photos and other content. Set all your social media profiles to the strictest privacy settings, or delete your accounts altogether.

Request records older than seven years to be archived

In some cases, you can request your state or county to take down public records that are older than seven years and archive them. This can include driving records, judgements, and court cases that have been dismissed. You may be eligible for expungement of your records, too.

Be prepared to discuss anything found online

It’s impossible to erase everything about yourself online, but you can be prepared to discuss it in a positive and honest way if it comes up in the hiring process. Most recruiters know that people make mistakes, so as long as you are willing to talk through any potential online reputation issues, and they don’t affect the company in any way, you should be clear.

We Want You to Know the Truth About our Staffing Agency…

Want to Stay in Your Temp Job? Start Building Relationships!

Is Your New Hire Your Next Superstar?

Why Use a Staffing Agency?

When to Say “No” to Qualified Candidates

5 Tips for Successfully Re-Entering the Workforce

Have a “Quirky” Company Culture? How to Find the Perfect Candidate Fit For You!

Choose Staffing as a Career and Love What You Do

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