Screening prospective candidates for their suitability after reading their resumes will determine whether they will be a good fit to your company.
- First and foremost, Equal Opportunity legislation must be complied with so that disadvantaging job seekers in any way is unlawful.
Here are the categories that it is unlawful to disadvantage your applicants:Race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, place of birth or ancestry, social origin (class, caste or socio-occupational category), industrial activities (such as belonging to a trade union.) Ensure that your staff who interview are aware of these categories. - Work skills: the candidate’s ability to perform job-related tasks e.g. computer literacy, welding, operating a crane truck.
- Physical ability – do they need to be fit and healthy, does the job require heavy lifting?
- Good communication skills – is proficiency in English essential? Is a second language a bonus?
- Intelligence and emotional intelligence – ability to follow instructions, ability to get along with others.
- Honesty – gauge the ability to carry out future work properly as part of the work teams. Question the candidate about their past work and performance. Expertise in the field required should be detailed in their reply.
- Location: is the applicant living within an easy distance to the job? Do they have a current drivers licence or is there transport close to your work-place?
- Do they have references – both personal and work? Sometimes references are not necessary such as for manual labour or factory work. New Australians may be applying for their first job.
