Job Interviews Top NY Hiring Managers' Checklist

February 5, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than two-thirds of New York area hiring managers think an interview is an important part of the recruitment process, compared to 38% of job seekers who hold that view, the latest New York Times Job Market report reflects.

For job seekers, resumes were what made the difference, two-fifths of job seekers listing them as the most effective hiring tool, compared to only 10% of hiring managers.

Other study findings show that:

  • prior experience is “very important” to 71% of hiring managers and 85% of job seekers,
  • both groups rate a job seeker’s personality as important,
  • fewer than one in six hiring managers and job seekers say that references are an effective means of determining whether a manager will hire a candidate, and
  • fewer than 10% of hiring managers and job seekers say that testing is an effective hiring tool

Hiring managers rate the following as critical when filling white-collar positions:

  • multi-tasking, which was cited by 84%,
     
    ability to learn new skills, listed by the same percentage,
  • leadership, mentioned by 75% of hiring managers,
  • analytical ability, noted by 67%,
  • writing, listed by 63%,
  • presentation, cited by 60%, and
  • project management by 54%

This is the third of a series of research reports from the Times’ research team about jobs trends in the New York area.

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