Having researched body language to see what advice I could put together, I have found the information very fluffy. Body language signals can be put into 3 camps:

1. Signs of nerves
2. Lack of openness
3. Lying

But the evidence to back it up is not there and drawing conclusions from “reading” body language seems very risky indeed. Having said that, these are common signs of nerves that you should probably try to ignore:

• Fidgeting
• Playing with jewellery or hair
• Wringing of hands

These are signs of lack of openness or lack of interest:

• Crossed hands
• Crossed arms
• Crossed legs
• Steepling of hands
• Touching the back of their head

But no one knows for sure as there is no evidence.

My advice is to ignore everything you think you know about body language; it is all urban legend and myth. You are better off judging the candidate by their shoes.

In our desire to not repeat unsuccessful behavior, we often associate candidates with previous failed hires.

That is fine if you are looking at hard coded characteristics like empathy, listening, patience or competitiveness, but you need to be careful to make sure it doesn’t go too far.

So, if Jon had green hair and was always late, it doesn’t mean that everyone with green hair is tardy.

If Tristan has big ears and was aggressive with customers, it was him - not his ears.

If you come out of an interview and start comparing the candidate to a previous employee, think twice about whether you are comparing their accent, physical appearance, dress sense or their actual character traits.

Make the first day for your new recruit fabulous. The first impression you give your new employee is going to stay with them, so here are a few suggestions to make it better:

• Don’t start new employees on a Monday; Mondays are often the busiest most stressful day of your week, so choose another day to get them started.
• Delay their start time until 10.30am; this gives you a chance to get urgent stuff done before they arrive.
• Everyone should get “the tour” of the offices; the newbie will relate much better if the “tour leader” is someone their own age and own sex; they will ask better questions and get a better first impression.
• Print 10 personalised business cards for your new starter and have them ready. This is probably the least expensive thing you can do, but it has real impact.

The first day in a new company will have a lasting effect, so make an effort to make a great first impression.

When offered a new job a candidate will read the offer letter over and over again.

They will read meaning into words and phrases and discuss it with their friends and partners.

If you have the time to add in a few nice words, it can really make a difference. 

Try to say something about what they were like at interview, something about why they were offered the job and something about what opportunities might be available to them. 

Adding a personal touch to your offer letter can really make a difference, and can be key to securing a positive outcome.

If you offer someone a job, they are going to talk it over with friends and family; some of the people are going to tell them to not take it. "Hard times, the economy, and so on."

So it makes sense that candidates understand the financial and business situation of their new employer in terms of:

• Financials / profitability / cash in the bank
• Orders / pipeline / project workload
• Long term employment prospects on offer
• Your company’s track record of redundancies

If you give them a solid picture of the finances and prospects it removes the doubt, so they can defend their decision to the naysayers.

Well, it really is a candidate led market right now.

In the ERP, CRM and Accounting Software arena our clients are trying to recruit in droves and their client companies are continuing to buy new software – so there are jobs galore. But the barrage of “End of the World News” constantly thrust at us by the media is stopping people looking for new jobs. Candidates are frightened of changing jobs, and then suddenly being made redundant. Those candidates that are actively in the market looking for a new role have the pick of the jobs and access to some very interesting opportunities – and salaries are very competitive.

So during the interview process with a candidate you need to cover more than just the history of your company and your job role. You need to be talking about your company’s financial stability, how many years you have been in profit and how much money you have in the bank, and then talk about how much work is in your order book and your sales pipeline.

Try not to spend too long making decisions about second interviews or job offers as good candidates are often on multiple interviews and will take another offer before you have made up your mind.

Be prepared to look at older candidates.

Whilst there is legislation to stop age discrimination, it seems hard to ignore the reality that the IT industry has traditionally preferred younger candidates.

It may seem strange, but more experienced candidates often have lower salary expectations and are easier to manage that those climbing the career ladder for the first time.

There are many occasions when someone with 20 years software experience is on the same salary as someone with 2 years software experience, so they can represent very good value and they bring maturity, reliability and loyalty.

Be decisive in your recruitment process. As the economy continues to grow it is getting harder to recruit good people. Part of the process is how smoothly the dating / courting / interviewing process goes.

• Quick feedback makes the employer look organised
• Booking interviews quickly makes the employer look efficient
• Starting interviews on time, with the right people present, is impressive
• Having a 2 interview process makes the employer look suitably selective without being desperate
• Producing offer letters swiftly makes the company look like a great place to work
• Whilst all these things are minor, the impression they make on the candidate is dramatic.

Recently a client told a candidate during the interview:

"You are too laid back" and "You should stop moaning about your current employer".

Later on the candidate was offered the job and accepted it. He appreciated the honesty and openness; he felt it was a great start to working together. The client said it showed how well he handled criticism and pressure.

Generally interviewers shy away from giving feedback in the interview as it tends to lead to confrontation; however this honesty added another dimension to the interview.

I was surprised to find out that the minimum legal notice period that an employer can give is:

One week if the employee has been employed continuously for one month or more but for less than two years.

Two weeks' notice if the employee has been employed continuously for two years, plus one additional week's notice for each further complete year of continuous employment, up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

However these really apply to a company making an individual redundant. If an employee wants to quit the company, either party can waive their rights to the notice period, if they mutually agree. Note that minimum notice periods do not apply to contractors.

Unless you issue a written employment contract within 2 months of an employee starting work, these notice periods will apply. If you issue this contract on time, it can include a longer notice period.