In Seattle this Thursday, Boeing will hold the latest in a series of accelerated hiring events, where recruitment meets speed-dating in a bid to fill vacant positions as quickly as possible.
The streamlined process means that Boeing hiring managers can see a large number of candidates in the same place and on the same day and are able to make decisions on whether to offer jobs within 48h – often within 15min.
There are likely to be between nine and 11 more events over the rest of 2005, although a firm schedule is not in place, as part of the value of the events is the flexibility they give to Boeing to react as needed to hiring needs. It takes six weeks from start to finish for an event to be organised.
"If hiring managers have a need, they can of course hire through the usual process," says Boeing regional staffing manager Bud Fishback, "but the accelerated hiring event gives us the opportunity to decrease the cycle time between when you decide you need people and when the candidates start work. It forces the managers to stick to a strict schedule."
Events are advertised via the usual channels – print advertisements and the Boeing website – and candidates submit their CVs as normal. Once the CVs are sifted, however, promising candidates are invited to attend a central event. Their transport costs are paid by Boeing and, for those travelling from far away or if the event is scheduled to last more than a day, accommodation is also free.
Each event is usually focused on a particular engineering or business discipline and varies in size from between roughly 80-400 interviewees. The format can also differ, with those events geared at hiring from colleges including tours of Boeing facilities and dinners, for example.
Candidates are each given a 45min interview either by an individual hiring manager or a team. Immediately after each interview, the interviewer will take 15mins to reflect and will then either offer the candidate a job on the spot or may arrange another interview for them the same day with a different hiring manager.
As well as the scheduled interviews, Boeing previously encouraged walk-in candidates, but this practice has been ended. "We were just overwhelmed by the number of people who came along to present their CVs," says Fishback, "so we have had to discontinue that portion of the event."
Unsuccessful candidates are contacted with two weeks with full feedback on their interview and an invitation to remain in touch. "The speed of this really helps us conduct the hiring process in a quick and efficient manner," says Fishback.
Source: Flight International
