Show and tell

Old, but good

In a guest room on the 11th floor of the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport, Tishuana Hodge, PHR, is watching a young job prospect struggle to make a bed with the precision Hodge demonstrated just minutes earlier. The way candidates conduct the task helps determine their success or failure in this kind of recruitment.

Actually, realistic job preview is not a new method. Being applied since 1950s, this method is enjoying its renaissance. Recruiters are using realistic job preview to challenge applicants with little experience or without experience. By this way, the applicants get a comprehensive look at both positive side and negative side of the job, such as working overtime, night shift or staying at the office during legal holidays.

Realistic job preview shows the distance between reality and expectation, so that candidates can immediately decide to take or leave the job without going through probation. As a result, the employers reduce turnover and increase employee satisfaction.

Another type of realistic job preview is using video job description instead of usual print or online job decription. Video can portray tasks, benefits and also the less attractive aspects of work. Therefore, the number of application will be reduced, however, improve the number of long-term employees.

6 rules to oganize realistic job preview

Rule 1 - Be flexible:  You can use different types of realistic job preview such as video, company tour or letting candidates try working in real environment in different rounds of recruitment.   

Rule 2 – Tell the truth: You should share with candidates all aspects of work, including unpleasant things: high pressure, complicated steps of the process, the fact that software system has not been completed …

Rule 3 – Be fair: Make sure all realistic job previews are organized in the same way and fair to all candidates. You should use tape recordings, video clips and print documents (instead of recruiting staffs) in transfering information to ensure all candidates have the same understanding.

Rule 4: In case the job has too strange job requirements or conditions, such as call center staff or detective, you should consider asking candidates to sign an agreement before they participate in job realistic preview.

Rule 5: The people who take charge of conducting realistic job preview should clearly understand the criteria and have strong HR skills to choose the right ones.

Rule 6: Create a realistic job preview that truly reflects reality and has reasonable time arrangement for both candidates and recruiting staffs.

Despite increasing recruitment efficiency, realistic job preview is expensive and require a lot of time to prepare. This method does not benefit experienced candidates.  Even so, the method shows great potential because it meets the need of growing industries like IT, biochemical technology, hospitality industries… In addition to that, strong support from new technology, communications and social network will make realistic job preview more interactive and effective.