Employers with bad interviewing skills must improve if
they are to compete for talent in acompetitive job market, a recruitment
firm has said.
Gary Ashworth, chairman of Interquest, said a major issue for
IT job candidates was the interviewing skills of potential
employers, which often put them off.
"I wish line managers would spend more time skilling themselves
in the interview procedure," he said. "Companies that are being
more sophisticated about the recruitment process are having a
better time."
Despite fears of a downturn, the
IT job market is still buoyant and many companies have a
shortage of skilled IT workers.
Ashworth said that although interviewing may appear to be a
simple skill to master, managers who took some time to do it
properly would help companies cope better with the pressures of the
IT skills shortage.
"It is quite clear to some candidates that some companies don't
really have any interviewing skills, and haven't received any
training in simply asking people questions," he said.
"We're not manufacturers in the UK any more, and since human
capital is such a big expense for companies, it's worth being more
sophisticated in the way we are hiring people."
Poor management of staff wasn't confined to the recruitment
process, said Ashworth, with some companies needing better
appraisal processes.
"Many people I speak to left a job because they felt they
weren't progressing enough. Companies need better reviews of how
people are getting on."