Human Resources: Shaker Consulting Group provides a Virtual Job Tryout® for the AmTrust recruiting team

Cleveland, OH – Shaker Consulting Group provides a Virtual Job Tryout® for the AmTrust recruiting team. AmTrust Bank’s mortgage business is booming. In order to meet an increased loan volume, the organization has a goal to increase their outside sales force of Wholesale Mortgage Sales Consultants in key markets nationwide. Shaker Consulting Group was chosen to create a candidate experience that would increase attraction and provide recruiters with more objective data to support hiring decisions.

The Virtual Job Tryout replaces the low value process of posting a resume online with an engaging and informative experience which provides the candidate a realistic view of the job demands. Candidates complete work sample simulations that objectively evaluate their ability to be successful on the job. AmTrust views the Virtual Job Tryout as a valuable resource to help them expand and bring great people to a strong and growing organization. Over 90% of candidates completing this form of application state they are likely to refer friends to apply based upon the positive nature of the experience. This creates viral marketing for career opportunities.

Shaker Consulting Group's proprietary Virtual Job Tryout process creates a company-branded, interactive job application experience that produces more effective and objective hiring decisions. Using performance modeling and closed-loop analytics, Shaker Consulting Group is able to create a competency-based applicant profile that recruiters can use to objectively describe, compare and evaluate candidates, thus improving the quality of the hiring decision. Recruiters can quickly identify the most qualified candidate.

Ron Bower, Vice President/Director of Talent Sourcing for AmTrust Bank states, “We are serious about putting the right people in right positions to succeed. The Virtual Job Tryout allows us to select candidates based on performance criteria instead of a resume that may not tell the entire story. We expect the result will be a measurable difference in performance and retention of employees.”

Bower adds, “We needed to get the process up and running quickly, in order to capitalize on the surplus of candidates in the market due to many of our competitors going out of business. Shaker Consulting Group was able to rapidly deploy our Virtual Job Tryout so we’d be online by the middle of January. Then, as more performance data becomes available, we will fine tune the process to achieve even higher levels of success.”

Joseph Murphy, Vice President of Shaker Consulting Group states, “We are continuing to conduct research into the factors that predict job performance for AmTrust Wholesale Mortgage Sales Consultants. A job specific, research supported process normally takes several months. Fortunately, we were able to draw on our extensive database of job performance characteristics to put a QuickStart version online for AmTrust. Over time, our closed loop analytics will provide insights to hone in on true drivers of business performance that are unique for AmTrust”

About Shaker Consulting Group:

A pioneer in work sample based candidate evaluation and developers of the Virtual Job Tryout®, Shaker Consulting Group helps companies link their staffing processes to business performance. Companies that have engaged Shaker Consulting Group to create customized, highly interactive Virtual Job Tryouts include notable firms such as CVS, Diebold, National City Bank, Quest Diagnostics, Starbucks, and Sherwin-Williams. To date over 250,000 candidates have participated in Virtual Job Tryouts, resulting in the hiring of thousands of highly qualified individuals.

About AmTrust Bank:

AmTrust Bank, founded in 1889, has grown from a local savings and loan with one office to one of the fastest growing financial institutions in America, with branch offices in Florida, Ohio and Arizona. AmTrust Bank offers customized checking, investment and small business services; is among the top 15 home loan originators in the country; and is a nationally recognized leader in commercial construction lending. In addition, AmTrustDirect.com, a division of AmTrust Bank, is an online-only resource offering competitive rates on CD, savings and money market accounts.