Screening Potential Staff

This was one of the first posts on this blog; it’s something we have found really useful and we’ve been asked occasionally by other stores if they can use it, which of course, they can.

During the last 14 years, we’ve employed 39 people in Lindsay, Cobourg and Brockville, Ontario. (We no longer are in Lindsay.) Almost from the beginning, we’ve employed the following questionnaire instead of a regular application form. This has worked REALLY WELL for us.

Let me know what you think, or perhaps you have something that works EVEN BETTER!

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Searchlight Pre-Interview Questionnaire (1) We hire mostly from our customer base. So….read any good books lately? What are some recent or classic Christian titles that mean a lot to you? (2) What other Christian bookstores have you enjoyed shopping at? (3) We sell a variety of styles of music. How do you feel about selling a Christian rock CD to a teenager with facial piercings and purple hair? (4) What are your feelings about the variety of Bible translations on the market? Would you be open to selling the various types we carry? (5) Do you own or have you used Bible reference materials such as a Concordance or Bible Dictionary or Bible computer software? (6) If someone walked in and ask you to, would you be comfortable praying with someone in the store? (7) If the cash register fails, are you comfortable completing a transaction manually in a sales books, with different rates of tax? (8) Skill-testing question re. the above: If books are subject to 5% GST, and CDs are subject to 5% GST and 8% PST, and there is no tax at all on gift certificates, what is the total sale amount on the following: a $20 book, a $20 CD and a $20 Gift Certificate? (9) We refer people to a variety of local churches depending on their story. Are you familiar with the worship patterns of a few different denominations and comfortable recommending a church to someone even if it’s not your personal first choice? (10) Since our staff are basically, “working for peanuts” do you feel a sense of calling to this type of ministry that would override financial considerations? (11) While human rights legislation prevents limiting applicants on the basis of faith, is there anything in your personal faith journey that you feel would be helpful for us to know, given the nature of the store and its customers, or part of your own faith story you wish to tell?