Finding agriculture candidates who fit your business needs is challenging. The process takes a significant amount of time to establish connections with the best talent.

This is why having a hiring plan is so important. Knowing what you’re looking for helps you reach your goal. You can accomplish this objective in a few steps.

Follow these guidelines to find agriculture candidates who fit your business.

Review Relevant Resumes

Maintain a positive outlook when skimming resumes.

• Focus on the skills, experience, and qualities you’re looking for.
• Begin reading the last job listed to determine the candidate’s career path, skill development, and professional growth.
• Pay attention to how long a candidate held each job.
• A candidate’s skills, experience, and qualities may be more important than their resume errors if the job doesn’t require a lot of writing.
• A candidate from outside the industry may have transferrable skills and knowledge that make them a great fit for the job.

Check References

Gain insight into a candidate’s work ethic by talking with their former coworkers and employers.

• When calling a reference, let them know who you are, which company you represent, and why you’re calling.
• Keep the conversation short and specific to what you want to know.
• Ask about how the candidate handled feedback and worked on a team.
• Find out about the candidate’s performance, weaknesses, and reason for leaving.
• Keep in mind that references may prefer to keep information about a former employee confidential.

Conduct Interviews With A Team Member

Schedule a phone or video interview with your top candidates. As an added tip, bring on a company team member for an extra set of eyes and ears.

• Pay attention to each candidate’s communication, presentation, and charisma.
• Write down the questions to ask all of the candidates for proper evaluation.
• Minimize your note-taking.
• Wait until all candidates have been interviewed to let the top ones know what the next step is.

Schedule Pre-Employment Skills Testing

Learn how candidates handle scenarios they may encounter on the job.

• Outline whether communication, organization, technical, or other skills are most important for the job.
• Decide whether a personality, psychometric, job knowledge, situational judgment, general mental ability, or integrity test would best reach your goal.
• Remember that technical skills can be learned on the job.

Partner with an Agriculture Recruitment Agency

Find qualified agriculture candidates with help from a dedicated team.

• An agriculture recruiter has a deep understanding of the industry and the people who work in it.
• A recruiter has the skills to find and develop relationships with candidates.
• A high-touch, whole-team approach is most effective for providing employers with industry-leading talent.

Contact Morris Bixby

Morris Bixby Group has the agriculture, turf, ornamental, and specialty/pest control professionals you need to help improve sustainability, productivity, and profitability. Contact us today.