Searching for Technical Staff

Before you have a position to fill, we were working to fill it

Can-Am Consultants is the vital link between your jobs and the professionals needed to fill them. Can-Am Consultants has successfully engineered a system that matches your technology staffing requirements with the best candidates available to fill the gaps in your projects.

Sourced from our database which is refreshed daily with new, qualified and available candidates, our resources are guaranteed to satisfy your technical need or we'll replace them at no cost to you! Our goal is to exceed your expectations each step of the way.

Professional Staffing is our specialty. Can-Am specializes in staffing solutions for the fields of

Engineering
Finance and Accounting
Information Technologies

for our customers in the US and abroad globally. We have projects currently in North America with active recruiting in Canada and Mexico. Our candidates are available on a Contract, Contract-to-Hire, or Direct Hire basis.

The Can-Am Consultants candidates are screened and qualified before we recommend them to you. Our evaluations are determined by abilities and skill levels, as well as presentation, background, and references.

Our services are available at NO RISK! There are NO fees for conducting a candidate search. NO up-front fees, and NO hidden costs. Companies pay for our services only when they start one of our candidates. If the candidate you start is not meeting your job requirements to your satisfaction, they will be replaced on your request.

Put us to work today! We would like the opportunity to show you just how effective our system can be. Whether you are in charge of staffing a single person or an entire division, call us. We'll help.

The Interview Process and Beyond

Using Can-Am Consultants is your first step in identifying qualified candidates to fulfill your project needs. Our customers normally like to "meet" our employees before agreeing to use them as a resource. These "meetings" can be over the phone, via SKYPE or in person. In all cases, our customers "screen" and "interview" Can-Am employees. The following article provides some interviewing "tips" and questions that may help you make the most of the interview.

Your preparation for the interview equips you with a number of interview questions that will help you get to know and evaluate candidates. But there's plenty more to do before, during and after the interview to ensure your success. Follow these tips:

Before the Interview

Put candidates at ease: Interviewing can be stressful, so do your best to help candidates relax. Make sure each candidate is greeted and escorted, if necessary, to the interview location. Start with low-key questions.

Don't judge on first impressions: We've all met them -- people who don't make a great first impression but end up being great employees. To make sure you don't overlook these diamonds in the rough, withhold judgment until you've had the chance to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's capabilities and potential.

During the Interview

Tell the candidate a little about the job: While you don't want to dominate the interview time, you should start with a brief summary of the position, including the prime responsibilities, reporting structure, key challenges, and performance criteria. This will help the candidate provide relevant examples and responses.
Don't be afraid to improvise: Plan your questions, but don't feel you must ask only those you've chosen in advance. "Be responsive to what the candidate tells you, and build new questions off their answers," says Shelly Goldman, executive recruiter with The Goldman Group Advantage, an executive recruiting firm in Reston, Virginia.
Listen: If you are doing most of the talking during theinterview process, you will not be able to obtain enough information to distinguish between candidates or to determine a candidate's true competencies. A general guideline is to spend 80 percent of your time listening and only 20 percent talking.
Take notes: While you won't want to transcribe everything the candidate says, do write down important points, key accomplishments, good examples, and other information that will help you remember and fairly evaluate each candidate. An interview guide, prepared in advance, will make note-taking easier and give you a structure for capturing key information.
Invite candidates to ask questions during the interview process: This can be the most valuable part of the interview. Why do they want to be here-- is it the challenge of the job, advances in the industry, or something specific about your company? Or is the candidate fixated on salary, benefits, and time off? If the candidate has no questions this should be a red flag, especially for senior-level employees. Make a note of what the candidate asks, and be sure to follow up if you can't provide the answer immediately.
Follow legal interviewing guidelines: It is critically important that every interviewer at your company, from HR clerks to top executives, understand and follow legal hiring guidelines. The easiest way to keep your interviews fully compliant is to ask only questions that relate to the job, eliminating the potential for bias by not introducing questions or scenarios that will elicit irrelevant information.

After the Interview

Let candidates know what they can expect: A pet peeve of many job seekers is that they are left "hanging" after an interview, or they are promised follow-up that never comes. If the candidate is a good fit, be clear about what the next steps will be. And if the candidate is not a good fit? "Always end the interview on a positive note, but be genuine," says Goldman. "Don't tell the candidate to call you if you don't mean it."
Compare notes and reach consensus: The post-interview evaluation is the time to compare notes and advance the hiring decision. Each interviewer should be prepared to back up remarks and recommendations with specific examples and notes from the interview.
Deepen the questions as you narrow the field: Subsequent interviews with finalists are valuable opportunities to learn more about them. Consider adding "show me" exercises such as a strategic planning exercise or a "walk me through what you'd do" activity involving a real business challenge the individual would be facing.

Create a Positive Image for Your Organization

Joan Woodward, AVP and Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Fifth Third Bank, remarks that "the job market is always competitive when looking for good people. We need to realize that we're selling ourselves as much as candidates are trying to sell themselves. It's important to treat people well during the interview process. I never want to lose a potential customer or cause a candidate to have a negative impression of our company."

Your interview process reflects the value your company places on each candidate and, by extension, each employee. Be a good ambassador for your company by conducting a professional interview, communicating honestly, and basing hiring decisions on an honest evaluation of each candidate's capabilities. Not only will you make great hires, but you'll build goodwill in the community and enhance your future recruiting efforts.

Interview Questions: Gauge the Candidate's Level of Self-Awareness

Open your interview with a question like:

"Walk me through your progression in your career leading me up to your current role."

Follow up with something along the lines of:

How have you had to reinvent your job in light of your organization's changing needs?
What makes you stand out among your peers?

Then, progress to:

What would your most respected critic say of your strengths, areas for development, and future potential in your field?

Likewise, gauge the individual's understanding of his current position:

How many employees does your company have?
What's your organization's annual revenue base?
How is your department structured in terms of reporting relationships?

And don't forget the obvious:

"How exactly does your company make money, and what are its two biggest expenses?

Depending on the level of candidate you're interviewing, their responses can provide excellent insights into their level of business acumen and self-awareness.

Look for Compatibility, not Just Likeability
We all tend to hire in our own image, but look beyond immediate chemistry by asking questions like:

How many hours a day do you find it necessary to work in order to get your job done?
How sensitive are you to accepting constructive criticism?
Describe the pace that you typically work in the office -- moderate, fast, or hair-on-fire?
How much structure, direction, and feedback do you generally prefer on a day-to-day basis?
Do you generally ask for permission or forgiveness when making decisions?

A natural follow-up to this initial question might be:

Tell me about a time when you may not have erred on the side of caution when you should have.

After all, unless you're focusing on matching the individual's personal style to your department's corporate culture, you may end up with someone who can do the job technically but who's totally out of sync with the rest of your team.

Assess the Candidate's Desire Factor
There's no excuse for candidates not having researched your company, its achievements, competitors, and challenges prior to an interview. Still, some will go out of their way to articulate their understanding of who you are and why they're so excited about joining your firm. Try questions like these to isolate those who are hungriest for the opportunity that you offer:

Why would you want to work here, and what do you know about our organization?
What makes us stand out in your mind from our competitors?
If you were to accept this position with us today, how would you explain that to a prospective employer five years from now?
In other words, how would this role with our company provide a link to your future career progression?