Conselium. Personalized Search Solutions. Conselium Home

Archive for the ‘Recruiting’ Category

Hiring Effectively

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

hiringHiring Effectively – Throw out The Laundry List

Most hiring authorities use an extensive list of criteria such as: certifications, years of experience, responsibilities, education, etc. I have known managers to have more than 15 separate criteria. Having such rigid criteria often will eliminate professionals that may be the best fit.

A more effective approach to hiring is to develop three or four non-negotiable “must haves” that represent success in the job. Example: I worked with one of my clients to develop a list of non-negotiables for a Tax Partner and we came up with the following:

• Technical proficiency in corporate income tax
• Ability to teach, coach, mentor subordinates
• Ability to generate new business

Defining a small number of attributes and experiences is a challenging task but it is time well spent. It is a process that causes you to narrow down what makes for a successful employee.

How to Develop Your Audit Brand

Monday, May 4th, 2009

team meeting
This is a continuation of last month’s ETip on why to create a brand for the IA department.


How to Develop the Audit Department Brand

  1. Your CAE should meet with senior executives monthly to promote the department and stay on top of the business.
  2. Use 6 Sigma to identify process improvements in the internal audit activity.
  3. Hire the best auditors who are capable of assuming successful roles in corporate management.
  4. Continuously train the audit staff.
  5. Constantly strive for excellence in adopting best practices and providing great customer service.
  6. Use internal Quality Control Questionnaires to obtain feedback from clients.
  7. Have Quality Assessments performed every 5 years by an independent source so you can assert that your audits are conducted “in accordance with the international standards for the professional practice of internal auditing.”
  8. Conduct a presentation at the start of an engagement to educate the client on the audit process.
  9. Circulate your IA Department’s success stories throughout the company.

Why Brand Your Audit Department

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

meetingBranding your audit department is essential for your success. A brand consists of a logo, a name and the entire feelings and expectations created by a product or service.

Why brand your audit department?

  1. To show your customers how your department positively affects the company
  2. To set expectations for your customers on consistency and quality of the internal auditing experience
  3. To help recruit top employee prospects from within and outside the company
  4. To build strong and trusting relationships with your customers
  5. To build loyalty and pride among the audit staff for retention purposes
  6. To provide confidence for the audit committee and investors
  7. To provide confidence for the external auditors for placing reliance upon your IA’s work papers

Next month’s ETip will consist of specific steps to take to develop your IA brand.

Selling Candidate’s on Your Company

Friday, April 17th, 2009

Think you’re not in sales? Think again.

Recruiting top professionals requires you to sell your company in the interview.

Here’s a guideline for the order in which to sell to the candidate in the interview pinterview2rocess:

1. Sell the company

2. Sell the position

3. Sell career growth options

4. Sell yourself as a manager/mentor

Avoid Bad Hires - AIM High

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

hiring
A bad hire is an expensive mistake. AIM high when you interview and reduce the chances of hiring the wrong person.

To AIM high, ask questions about:

Adversity – to show maturity, strength of character and ability to learn from mistakes. Examples:

1. Describe a time of adversity in your personal or professional life. How did you respond? Were you successful in overcoming the problem? Why? What did you learn from the experience?

2. Tell the person about a specific adverse situation your company faced recently. Ask: If you were faced with this situation, how would you respond?

Ideology – to tell you if the candidate fits the company culture. Examples:

1. What is your understanding of our company culture and specifically why do you think you would thrive here?

2. What do you believe this department contributes to the company?

Motivation – to show desire to excel. Examples:

1. What are your career goals 5 years from now?

2. How do you intend to achieve your career goals?

Recruit Your Way to Success

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

handshake

Great managers are great recruiters. You can be a great recruiter by:

1) Being active in your professional trade associations

2) Being active in the initial hiring process and not delegating it all to HR and staff

3) Looking for opportunity hires, i.e. hiring when great talent is available even if no specific opening was contemplated

4) Re-recruiting your current staff. Show them you care (if you’re not re-recruiting your best staff, someone outside your company is)

Your involvement in recruiting is crucial to your department’s success in today’s environment where talent is scarce. Demographics and the retirement of the Baby-boomers indicate that talent scarcity is a long-term issue.


Conselium is an executive search firm that has become the most respected name in the U.S. for executive placement in the areas of corporate compliance, audit and IT Security. Conselium also specializes in the functional areas of corporate compliance, audit and IT security for Fortune 500 level companies across the U.S. including Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Sitemap