Thanks for offering us the opportunity to introduce DataFin's services to your company. We specialise in providing both client and candidate with the perfect fit. We operate with the highest ethical standards and integrity, with an emphasis on developing long-term relationships with both parties. While we cover all aspects of recruitment within the industry, our principal focus lies in the following areas:

For more examples of job specs, you could use the Quick Job Search in the top left corner of this page to search for specific criteria.

In order to provide our candidates with a clear idea of what the available job entails and to narrow down the search results to fewer candidates, we require as much of the information below, as possible. We also provide a brief description or the purpose of each point, as well as examples.

• Company Info
  Company URL: It is useful for us to have the URL in order to inform short-listed candidates about your company.
• Contact Person Details
  The person responsible for interviewing the shortlisted candidates.
• Contact e-mail address
• Contact phone number
• Office location and physical address.
• Restrictions
  Companies often have their reasons for not wanting certain information to appear in advertisements, mostly to prevent a conflict of interest. Does your company want to put any restrictions on advertisement ie. media sources or information?
  • Eg. The salary range is between R20-30K/m, do not mention that in the ad, advertise salary as 'negotiable'.
• Requests
  Would the candidate be required to complete any tests, ICT checks or provide sample work? Do you have any logistical and geographical requirements?
  
  Would you like any of this information to be added as part of the job advertisement?

The following information we generally advertise in order to attract the right candidate, unless the client requests us to not do so:

• JobTitle: A well defined and descriptive job title goes a long way in attracting the right candidate. Adding the career level and/or specific skill requirements, number of years experience, or even an adjective as part of the job title is highly advisable. Ideally the candidate could tell at a glance whether its something he or she would be suitable for.
• Eg. Java J2EE Systems Architect (Snr)
• Eg. Marketing Manager (3yrsExp)
• Eg. Web Developer (PHP, Linux, Jnr)
• Eg. Graphic Designer (Hotshot!)
• Number of Jobs
  How many vacancies are available?
• JobType
  Permanent or contract with contract period and comments.
  • Eg. Temporary Job
  • Eg. Permanent Job
  • Eg. 12 month contract, option to become a permanent job in 6 months time.
  • Eg. 6 month conract
• JobLocation
  It is very important to let the candidates know where the job would be and the more specific the better. In which city and suburb and at which branch or in which department is the job available. Many candidates are very precise as to where they want to work!
  • Eg. Cape Town (CBD)
  • Eg. Johannesburg (Rosebank)
  • Eg. 3 months training in London.
  • Eg. Cape Town, will be travelling oversease extensively
• Remuneration
  Salary/Rate is always quoted in the cost to company amount, which is inclusive of all company contributions and benefits. You could give us a specific salary, a salary range or the salary could be negotiable. Even if the salary is negotiable or if the range is very large, its helps to advertise a job with a salary range in order to narrow the search down to the right candidate faster. If the range is very broad, then it might be a good idea to draw up two separate specs. Mention /hour, week, month, annum. In some cases the client gives us a salary range, which they do not want us to advertise, just so that we have a better understanding of what their objectives are.
  • Eg. R120/hour
  • Eg. R18 000/month + comm + OTE + bonus
• Eg. Salary Negotiable
• Eg. R12 000-R20 000/month depending on experience
• Benefits
• Eg. Pension
• Eg. Share Options
• Eg. Company Car
• Eg. Medical Aid
• Start Date
  Is there a start date? How urgent does the job opening need to be filled.
  • Eg. To start immediately
  • Eg. Start date negotiable
  • Eg. To start 1st of August
• Employment Equity
  Does Employment Equity apply to this job opening, and if so, to which extent?
  • Eg. Employment equity candidates preferred.
  • Eg. Only employment equity candidates will be considered.
• Environment
  Short description of the specific work environment, team set-up, size of the company, pro's and cons of the environment. A short description of the company, mention company size, what the company specialises in, the industry, its services, and anything else about the environment.
  • Eg. Spacious openplan offices with on-site cantine and parking available.
• Duties
  Typically a bulleted list defining general duties the candidate will be performing should they land the job.
• Requirements
  The practical competencies of the candidate: Mention period, level and importance. Required experience, skills or qualifications can be grouped if they have common requirements, ie. period, level or importance. It is common practice to use abbreviations, for example 'pref' for preferable, or 'req' for required. Adding the word 'required' to a requirement, makes it clear that you will not accept any candidate for an interview when they do not have that particular requirement.

• Experience: - Req/Pref
  • Eg. Experience working as a Business Analyst would be advantageous.
  Skills: - Req/Pref+ duration/level used
  • Eg. 2 years Java, J2EE, SQL Server, UML required.
• Qualifications: - Req/Pref
  • Eg. IT Degree or IT National Diploma preferable.
• Personal Attributes: - Req/Pref
  • Eg. Excellent communication skill
• Comments
  Anything else you want to mention about the job?
  • Eg. This job involves travelling, receiving free ongoing training and going oversease on a regular basis.
  • Eg. Candidate has to be available immediately.
  • Eg. Candidate has to be able to speak Spanish and German.

In order to start searching for your requirements effectively and as soon as possible, we would require all your specific decision criterion and restrictions for the available job to hone in on the right candidates from the start. Remember that we also have to inform our candidates about your company, and therefore need to know about the work conditions and other important aspects of the environment, which would promote your company. When you want to submit a job spec telephonically, it would be useful if you have the following basic details available:

Job spec checklist

Job details

• Job Title
• Location
• Permanent / Contract - period in months
• Salary Range
• Benefits

Job spec

• ENVIRONMENT : (About)
• DUTIES : (ToDo)
• REQUIREMENTS :
  • Skill: Years/Level Required/Advantageous
  • Experience: Years/Level,Required/Advantageous
  • Industry: Years/Level,Required/Advantageous
  • Education: Required/Advantageous

• ATTRIBUTES : (Personality Traits)
• COMMENTS :

Company details

• Company name
• Contact person's information
  • Name
  • Job title
  • E-mail address
  • Telephone number - work/cell
• Regulations, special procedures and requests

In a “Behavioural” method for interviewing, the idea is that past behavior is a very good indicator of successful job performance in the future and for determining how well a candidate might fit the job function and company culture.

Both experienced and inexperienced candidates can be questioned using this method, where entry-level candidates will draw upon past school and tertiary education knowledge and experience, as well as skills that are instinctive.

For telephonic and video interviews, the same technique applies, although it would be useful to adapt your approach, spending less time on the screening phone call than you would use in a normal interview. Deal effectively, and diplomatically with unsuitable applicants.

Goals of the interview are to:

1. Attract the best candidate by promoting your company.
2. Evaluate the candidate by gathering information about the candidate.
3. Determine whether the candidate would fit the job and company culture.

In order to maximise your professional credibility with the candidate it is essential that you are very well prepared for the interview. DataFin will prepare the candidates and supply them with all the relevant information for the interview, including conveying specific instructions received from the client.

The Interviewer has to remember to:

• Facilitate a more relaxed environment during the first few moments of the interview by talking about issues not related to the interview i.e. weather or sport.
• Pay careful attention to the candidate's appearance, body language, social skills and ability to communicate . Take culturally sensitive issues into account such as avoiding eye contact, loud/soft speech, passive nature and personal space radius. In some cultures eye contact is considered as rude.
• Remain neutral in attitude, because by expressing a positive or negative reaction, words or body language, the interview could be jeopardized as candidates may adapt their responses to please the interviewer.
• Try to vary their questioning styles i.e. making them open, closed, theoretical, alternatives/options, hypothetical or reflective questions.
• The manner in which the questions are presented is critical to the success of the interview.
• Allow candidates adequate time to answer.
• Be patient as the candidate quietly ponders his/her response.
• Be prepared and able to give personal examples to help clarify the purpose of the question.
• Utilise paraphrasing and active listening skills to ensure clear understanding of the candidate's background and needs.
• Encourage the candidate to provide complete information for any incident described. A complete response will include:
  • brief explanation of circumstances,
  • how the candidate behaved in the situation, and
  • the outcome or result of that behaviour.
• When the candidate gives answers that are too brief or non-descriptive, ask appropriate follow-up questions to obtain an appropriate explanation of his abilities. Simple follow-up questions include:
  • Can you tell me more about that?
  • How did you involve co-workers or teammates?
  • Give me a specific example of how you did that?
  • What results can you point to?
  • What happened when things did not go as planned?
• Maintain control of the interview by intervening when a candidate begins ramble or tries to change the subject.

A number of things should be done before, during and after interviewing the candidates. It is therefor worth while to have a written plan in order to keep track of it all!

• Request Applications: DataFin's clients e-mail or phone through detailed job specifications in order for us to send them a shortlist of suitable candidates. DataFin takes care of all the administration regarding the interviews. In doing this, the interviewer avoids having to go through a large number of CVs.
• Shortlist: Review all CVs received for applications. Narrow down the list of suitable applicants received from DataFin by setting a criteria that will be compared to the CV. Use criteria such as renumeration, specific skill requirements, and years of experience desired. It is useful to sort the CVs into three groups, namely ‘yes', ‘no', and ‘maybe'.
• Keep all parties informed: Always keep DataFin updated with your progress and with the anticipated process time line and changes, so that DataFin can keep the candidates informed, since most candidates are in a process of weighing up two or more options.
• Set Time Limits: Keeping interviews uniform by setting time limits.
• Schedule Interviews: Let DataFin know which candidates will be interviewed and set up the appointments. Try to not schedule interviews at the start of your office day and if possible, ask someone to handle your calls. Explain to that person which specific situations would require your personal attention.
• Identify Skills: The interviewer identifies the skills that would be required and/or preferential for successful job performance.
• Testing: Determine whether the applicants would be required to do a test as part of the interview or beforehand at DataFin. Skill and psychometric testing could be worth while doing, considering difficulties in determining the most suitable match for a high-level positions.
• Specialist Assistance: It may be necessary to have a specialist in the field conduct part of the interview with the candidate. Discuss all questions with the person before the interview, to make sure they are aware of legal limitations on questioning.
• Prepare an Introduction if required, here you can outline what the company is looking for.
• Formulate Questions: Prior to the interview, formulate a list of questions to assess the candidate's ability to handle the requirements of the available job. Get the interview questions ready before the interview, and the interview will be very effective.
• Re-read the CV: It is a good idea to read the candidate's CV immediately before the candidate is called into the room. This will help you to remember the candidate's background and experience so you don't have to keep referring back to the CV throughout the interview.
• Avoid Interruptions: To avoid interruptions, it is preferable to conduct an interview outside the office, in a private room - it is usually much neater as well and creates a better impression. When and where to conduct the interview is very important.
• Evaluate Candidate: During the interview, managers should evaluate the candidate in terms of how well they will perform on the job and not on their performance during the interview. Ask for evidence of everything you think is important and DataFin will obtain the documentation from the candidate. If you don't get the evidence, chances are the applicant does not have the qualifications he or she stated.
• Explain Process: Inform the candidate about the selection process time frame.
• Meeting Employees: Have applicants meet a few dedicated employees who sell candidates on the idea of coming to work for the company.
• Make Notes: After the interview, take a few minutes to review the applicant and to make notes.
• Reference Checks: Left DataFin know which reference checks will be required. DataFin does reference checks on behalf of their clients, after permission is obtained from the candidate to check the references. Checking references is very important, but it requires a skill level on the part of the reference checker to get the facts.
• Final Decision: Do not let pressure to fill the vacancy affect your decision about who to employ. A second interview may be required for further evaluation. When it is difficult to distinguish which candidate would be the best for the position it is important to pre-define your criteria for success and to then measure each applicant against those criteria.
• Make the Offer: Whilst DataFin often acts as the middle man for salary negotiations it is your job to get the candidate to accept. Salary and benefits package are important, but a feeling that the candidate would fit in, is a very important consideration in the candidate's decision. Once a final decision has been made and the offer is ready, contact DataFin so that they can convey the information to the candidate.

Introduction

• Greet the candidate - a light-hearted remark will help to break the ice.
• Have the CV on the desk.
• Have your interview plan, to bring structure and comprehensiveness to the interview.
• Thank the candidate for their interest in the position.
• Through speech and body language, create a positive image of the company.
• Selling the benefits of the role is important to generate and maintain a candidate's interest and persuading the candidate to work for the company.
• Establish rapport by commenting on pertinent information outlined in the candidate's CV.
• Explain the format of the interview: “In some questions, I/we will give you hypothetical situations. In other questions, I/we will ask you about past experiences in a particular area. In your response, please give a brief explanation, how you behaved in the situation, and the outcome or result of that behavior.”

Formulate Questions

A big frustration of interviewing is which questions to ask, but being prepared will eliminate  most of the dread. Go through the job description and assess what all the experiential, educational, knowledge, skill and other requirements are to fulfil the duties and responsibilities. Pose your questions so that the answers will match the requirements. Make sure that you create questions for ALL the criterion which will determine a fit with the job and the team.

Purpose of preparing questions:

• The questions that you ask control the interview.
• Asking the same questions to all the applicants provides you with a strong basis for comparison.
• If you have a list of questions to ask during the interview, it will prevent you from repeating questions or failing to ask critically important questions.

Questions in a certain context are illegal, such as age, marital status, religion, sexual preference, etc. Most questions that are not job-related may be illegal. Make sure the interview is conducted within all the legal restraints and that you know what you are allowed to ask. Something like “Would your wife mind if you spend time alone with other women?” - would be an inappropriate and illegal question. Find alternative approaches for covering any sensitive issues.

Here are some basic question categories to use as examples for creating your own structure, below they are explained with examples.

• Analytical Abilities
• Attention to Detail
• Communication
• Enthusiasm
• Flexibility
• Initiative/Self-motivated
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills: Clients
• Interpersonal Skills: Teamwork/Co-Workers
• Leadership
• Managerial/Organizational
• Technical Skills
• Time Management
• Writing/Documentation

Get the candidate to do most of the talking, more than half of the interview time, but do not let the candidate dominate the discussion. Periodically ask the candidate whether they have any questions or comments.

Analytical Abilities

Analytical abilities can become evident by asking the candidate to write a test.

Questions

• Give candidates a handout with a scenario describing a client requirement which would correspond to an ability to fulfill their job requirements. Ask them to solve the problem.

Attention to Detail

It is often difficult in an interview environment to ascertain weather a candidate has the prerequisite attention to detail skills that are essential for the role. Here are some example of what to ask which will help you to determine whether the candidate has the skills to distinguish important information from unimportant information, have analytical abilities and strong attention to detail skills

Questions

• Ask the candidate to proof read a written scenario where mistakes could result in serious errors and that they then should point out the relevant details or potential weaknesses.
• “Tell me which of the courses/projects you have done required the most attention to detail. Please tell me how you dealt with the demands of the class/project.”
• “Tell me about a time when you discovered some small item or detail that helped solving a larger issue.“
• “For the remainder of the time, I/we will ask you to answer an essay question. The essay describes a department's system/environment. I/We would like you to write a letter to the department head wherein you will describe internal control weaknesses as findings along with recommendations to strengthen those weaknesses.” .

Communication

In some jobs an ability to communicate on relevant issues is a deciding factor.

Questions

• Role play scenarios are usually an effective means of deterring communication skills.

Enthusiasm

If the candidate does not come across with enthusiasm in the interview it probably means that they are not enthusiastic about the position they are applying for.

Questions

• Perhaps ask them about something which the feel passionate/enthusiastic about and see if their level of enthusiasm rises.

Flexibility

Most positions do require varying degrees of flexibility and a more rigid person will struggle with a position that requires them to be very flexible and visa versa.

Questions

• "Describe a situation when your ideas where strongly opposed in a meeting. What did you do? How did you deal with the situation?"
• "Describe how you felt in a situation where you were very focused on your task at hand and then due to external factors had to shift on to a totally different project."

Initiative/Self-motivated

Employees are often expected to show initiative and be self-motivated in circumstances where there is little or no supervision available and they need to pursue something on their own. Each assignment provides an opportunity to learn something new. Sometimes, employers take advantage of a job assignment to develop new skills or expertise in a new area that is above and beyond the initial assignment, possibly becoming an expert in the field. The objective is to find out whether this is something the candidate would be comfortable with.

Questions

• "Describe a situation when you had to take charge and get a job done or resolve a difficult situation. What did you do? What happened?"
• "If you  were involved with  a project in a field in which you had no experience, how would you gain the knowledge to plan and complete the required tasks?"
• "Tell me about a situation in which you were expected to do something on your own and you went beyond the call of duty."

Integrity/Honesty

This is very difficult to ascertain during an interview situation as asking someone if they have integrity begs the question! We would highly recommend that you do both credit and criminal checks as well as at least two reference checks before making any offers.

Questions

• "Describe a situation at work which, with hindsight, you would have acted differently”

Interpersonal Skills: Clients

Being a good listener and being able to maintain objectivity and fairness contributes to clients feeling comfortable. This can lead to an openness that is not easily attained in business relationships.

Questions

• Give intro: “In the available position, you may encounter new people. These questions relate to how you would handle client relations…”
• “Tell me about a time when you had to work closely with someone in a position above (or below) you. Who was the person? What did you have to do? What was the outcome?”
• “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with members of the public. Who was involved? What did they do?”
• “Tell me about a situation where you detected a client's needs and how you worked to meet those needs.”
• “Ask the candidate to relate a situations where someone was particularly successful in cultivating a relationship with a client.”
• “Suppose you are working with a department of a client where employees are unhelpful and consistently delay getting needed information to you. What would you do?

Interpersonal Skills: Teamwork/Co-Workers

Interpersonal skills are essential since staff must be able to relate to co-workers as well as possibly a variety of clients. Teamwork is an integral part of an effective IT work force. While some departments may structure their assignments to be solo projects, it is important to establish a good rapport within the office. Many companies are structured to work toward staff interdependence rather than independence; many engagement problems are solved by teamwork.

Questions

• Give intro: “In our office, it is important to work well with others in the company. Effective teamwork is essential when we all work together to complete a project with a strict deadline…”
• “Tell me about your most recent group or team effort.”
• “Describe a group work situation where you and a co-worker were having trouble getting along with each other. How did you resolve the conflict?”
• “Tell me about a situation in which you felt others were wrong and you were right.”
• “Assume you are a supervisor and one of your subordinate employees consistently arrives late to work. What action would you take?”
• “You receive a promotion. One of the staff is extremely resentful (as he/she was turned down for the promotion) and is being unhelpful and obstructive. How would you handle the situation?”
• “How would you respond to a peer who through their incompetence is preventing your team from completing an project?”

Leadership

A person's leadership potential is often a 'gut feel' reaction one would have to a particular candidate. However in order to assess actual leadership ability one would have to ask questions describing when they were in a position of leadership and how they responded.

Managerial/Organizational

If the candidate has not had any managerial experience they will need to think about a situation where they believe they have been managed well or incorrectly and then describe how they would have responded in that situation if they were a manager.

Technical Skills

While every employer wants employees with brilliant technical skills it is important to determine the candidate's ability to apply those skills in a practical, helpful and effectively way in a work situation. From the candidate's CV identify skills from their duties, responsibilities and education. This information can be formulated into questions which would provide you with a more complete idea of the candidate's knowledge and skill level. Also focus the questions around skills required and their ability to handle specific tasks in the available position. Skills may not always be evident in the candidate's CV – often well developed skills would be clearly evident after about two years of experience. Determine the candidate's ability to grow with the job by asking how they acquired their skills.

Questions

• To identify any other skills deemed essential to success on the job, make inquiries regarding the applicant's CV, references, and past job experience.
• “What would you do if you were performing a project where you knew you did not have the technical skills to carry it out?”
• “How have you applied your technical skills in a practical and helpful way?”
• “Tell me about the most difficult work/school problem you ever faced. What steps did you take to tackle it? What were the results?”

Time Management

Time management skills are needed to plan and complete projects within specified deadlines. All staff must manage their time effectively and be able to juggle schedules to accommodate various circumstances. Sometimes overtime is required to finish a job on time, and candidates must be willing to commit to working late if a deadline dictates additional working time.

Questions

• Give an intro: “Lets start by talking about time management. We want to know how you handle situations where there is a time crunch…”
• “Suppose you arrive for work with a full day s schedule already planned. You are working on a project needed for meeting the following day. By 9:00 a.m., you get three additional projects that need to be done right away…”
• “How would you handle the person giving you the additional projects? How would you ensure the project deadline is met for the committee meeting? How do you cope with this?”
• “Describe a situation when you were faced with a deadline that you couldn't meet. How did you handle it?”
• “Describe a situation when you had to learn a large amount of material quickly. How did you do it?”

Writing/Documentation

Effective writing skills are necessary to formulate well-organized, clear and concise documentation and reports. If the employee needs to have strong writing skills, a writing sample would identify the ability to  provide detailed information and  the ability to determine and focus on important issues.  When interviewing candidates for a senior documentation position, a writing sample should be a requirement.

Questions

• Give the candidate a detailed document  relating to the available position. Ask candidate to summarize the document in a clear, concise manner.
• Ask the candidate to provide previous examples of documentation that they have prepared .
• Candidates can be given a scenario to document and to give recommendations.

Testing is normally requested after or during the short list phase. Our clients informs us with regards to which checking/testing they would require. We do reference checks, technical checks, professional tests and client tests on request.

• Reference Checks
  We do not approach a current employer of a candidate for references without the candidate's prior permission.
• Technical Checks
  On request of a client, we arrange at our cost Technical Checks: www.brainbench.com, international technical skills check website.
• Professional Testing
  We are able to arrange psychometric or other professional testing. Additional tests we are able to arrange would include ITC and criminal checks.
• Client Tests
  We are also able to administer tests as supplied by the client - these tests are done at our office and we will take care of all the arrangements with the candidates.