Why North Bay hiring can be hard and what to do about it
North Bay living is higher cost with tighter housing than many areas – and someone taking a job here may not get the salary they would have gotten in Silicon Valley.
So when it comes to hiring them, it helps to be truthful about aspects of life in the North Bay that could be perceived as limitations, said Kayleigh Sharp, practice lead at the Petaluma office of Aerotek, a national staffing company.
“The North Bay provides an incredible quality of life. Yet sometimes the pay in the North Bay isn't going to be as high as the pay in the South Bay. At times we're working with smaller companies. Opportunities for growth could be slower or less available. In addition, housing is hard to find. I always have candidates do a lot of research on the housing market and rent prices. They should know a lot before moving here,” said Sharp.
You can also ask questions to determine what the candidate wants from the job and the place they will call home.
Julie Coucoules, global head of talent acquisition at Glassdoor, a Mill Valley-based company that provides a database containing millions of company reviews, is aware of “the struggle of getting people over the Golden Gate Bridge.”
“Even though we're right past the bridge, that's a big deal for some candidates. So we moved our on-site interview up in the recruitment process for some roles. Candidates come, experience the catered lunch, meet the dogs, and see our beautiful office earlier in the process to get them excited about our location,” said Coucoules.
Sarah Hopkins, director of human resources at Santa Rosa Junior College, asks candidates why they are interested in becoming a part of SRJC.
“We're looking for people to stay,” said Hopkins.
Design the right interview
The “right” interview process is the one that fits the job. Employers can utilize multiple interviews with staff at different levels in the company and credit and criminal background checks closely related to the job description to learn whether a candidate will fit a position. Pre-employment tests such as multiple choice personality tests, timed knowledge-based exams, and physical screens that ensure the candidate can perform the essential duties of the job are beneficial.
“Pre-employment inquiries can be quite extensive, even for entry-level retail positions. Yet for smaller employers, I see fewer pre-employment tests than I did 20 years ago. You've got to ask what the return on investment is for interviews and tests,” said Valerie Nagle, employment program representative of the Santa Rosa office of the California Employment Development Department.
Nagle recommends asking all the candidates for the same job the same questions, to eliminate any doubts about potential discrimination. She also thinks it is helpful to ask open-ended questions.
“The phrase ‘Tell me a little bit about yourself' seems trite, but it gets the person to open up. Offering them an opportunity to talk about themselves is good,” said Nagle.
Sharp said Aerotek relies heavily on an interview that “digs in on a candidate's career goals and motives.”
“Our interview process is pretty extensive. 85 percent of our business is (providing employees for) temp to hire. Our recruiters begin by phone screening candidates. They talk to them about what they're interested in and determine whether they will represent Aerotek well. Then we do a face-to-face interview at Aerotek's office, where we try to see if the candidate meets the qualifications of our customers. During the interview, our recruiters explore the candidate's expected pay, work environment, commute, and growth opportunities, as well as their preferred company culture and management style,” said Sharp.
Coucoules said Glassdoor's hiring process typically involves initial conversations with candidates, an on-site visit, and an assignment related to the open position.
“An engineer may be required to do a coding test or a code pair (an online coding demonstration) live with a manager over the phone. A marketer may be asked to give a presentation to a group,” said Coucoules.
Hopkins said SRJC's interview process depends on the position.
“For full-time faculty, we have a committee interview, a finalist interview, and an interview with the president. Classified staff participate in a committee and finalist interview. Part-time faculty only have a committee interview. Applicants may be asked to give a teaching demonstration, (perform) writing exercises or other assessments related to the job as part of the interview process. We tend to include multiple levels of assessment…to determine if candidates are the right fit for a position,” said Hopkins.
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