Robert Halfs Steve Saah Tells You How to Hire

Robert Halfs Steve Saah Tells You How to HireRobert Halfs Steve Saah Tells You How to HireSteve Saah has helped companies find top talent over his last 20 years with Finance Accounting, beginning as a recruiting manager and working his way up to executive director.Todays competitive hiring environment is mora challenging than hes seen, but hes confident that employers and managers can find professionals who will fit their staffing needs - and stay awhile - with the right approach.When it comes to attracting talent, organizations have to use every resource available to them, from their own recruiting efforts and social media to partnering with a staffing firm, Saah says.Robert Halfs specialized recruiters, for instance, have access to passive job seekers. Those are people who arent sending out resumes but have their eyes open for enticing opportunities and, thus, represent some of the most promising candidates.Read Steve Saahs advice to job seekers looking to land a new lokalitt in the field of finance and accounting.Hiring requires you to be proactive, and so does finding out what people want in the workplace.Companies need to spend adequate time listening to their employees, Saah says. Whats important to them? Is the organization meeting and exceeding those expectations with regard to compensation levels, company culture and benefits? Ultimately, people have very different individual requirements, but the firms that listen and respond to their teams do the best at retention.Improve your job interviewsWhile Saah has his cache of skills-based interview questions for finance and accounting roles, he strongly suggests managers think of a job interview as a conversation. If you help interviewees open up about themselves, you can see beyond their skills and work history to their work ethic and personality.If he had to choose a candidate based on just one answer, what would he choose as the best interview question to ask?Tell me a little about your life outside of work and how its helped to get you to where you are today.The response to such a big-picture question, he says, can tell a lot about a person. It can provide insights beyond the typical tell me about yourself opener, such as how well someone thinks on his feet, what her priorities are, whether hed be a good fit for the company culture.And if Steve were to be asked that interview question? Hed recount how he studied finance and accounting at Virginia Techs Pamplin College of Business, and how he worked as an assistant controller and internal auditor until, in his words, he had the good fortune of stumbling into an office that offered specialized staffing solutions, and then taking a job as a recruiter.I started out with Finance Accounting and enjoyed engaging with people, he says. Thirty days into the recruiting job, I saw this as something I could do for the long run.Today hes responsible for leading global operations, building strategy and expanding the firms leadership position in finance and accounting recruitment, based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.We sat down with Steve recently to get to know him better and find out what other advice he has on how to hire. Heres part of our conversation.Evaluate your salariesCan employers expect to offer higher salaries to attract finance and accounting professionals this year? Steve The overall national unemployment rate is at 3.8 percent, the lowest level since 2000, and its hovering even lower, around 2 to 3 percent or less for more specialized roles, such as accountants, auditors and financial analysts.Its a matter of supply versus demand. Wages are going to have to trend upward. Our Salary Guide provides up-to-date information and helps employers and job seekers make well-informed decisions about salary levels and hiring trends in the marketplace. Its based on actual placements that we make.Download your free copy of the Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance Professionals for detailed starting sala ry ranges for more than 190 positions and insight into emerging hiring trends.Consider nonmonetary optionsIs there anything other than a compensation package that can elevate a companys recruitment and retention efforts?Steve If you cant pay top dollar or match the competition with regard to salary, nonmonetary offerings such as flexible schedules, remote work options, professional development, additional vacation days and other employee perks can go a long way to attract someone new or improve employee satisfaction.What are your thoughts on building corporate culture in the workplace?Steve In many cases, corporate culture is probably just as important, if not more so, than skills to the employer and the employee. Often the environment the candidate experiences during the job interview is what attracts them to the company and ultimately leads to their retention. Id recommend companies put processes in place to pay attention to that, if they havent already.Write spot-on job descripti onsWhats the best way to attract applicants to a job opening?Steve Dont just post a job opening and assume youll get matching resumes in response. Take one step back and create a clear and accurate accounting job description, listing important skills, experience and certifications, and soft skills necessary for the position. Capture the essence of your position and make it clear just what youre looking for in a candidate. The more you can discourage unsuitable applicants from applying, the smaller but stronger your applicant pool will be.Let us help you hireWhy is Finance Accounting an important resource for companies?Steve Were the best Joking aside, I do think its about the specialization we bring. We are experts in the market when it comes to helping our clients and placing candidates in the right roles, and we have 70 years of perspective and institutional tenure that is hard to find elsewhere. That expertise helps our clients and candidates make well-informed decisions.