• The official blog of Abacus Group — a place to share our knowledge and thoughts on trends in recruiting •

When job searching, most prospective employees first evaluate the job description. They assess the responsibilities requires, the background needed, and the benefits and growth that could come with taking on the role and apply if they think it’s the right fit.

As the warm weather approaches, you will start to see your employees staring out the window, dreaming of sitting at the beach instead of their cubicles. Of course, summer breaks are a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean the warmer months can’t bring along the opportunity to shake the workplace up a little bit.

Millennials, who are currently between 22 and 38 years old, are now dominating the job market compared to any other generation. Because of this, it is pivotal to know what employees in this group are looking for in their workplace.

It’s hard to know if the company with whom you are interviewing, is the right company for you. However, it is important to do the work beforehand to see to the best of your ability if the fit will be a good one.

The tradition of summer Fridays has grown with companies offering all or part of summer Fridays off. It may seem counterproductive to offer such leniency but studies have shown that employees are actually more productive given the perk.

In the complex process of hiring new employees, cultural compatibility can be easily overlooked or deprioritized. A deeper dive into job seekers’ personality traits and working style are often lost, resulting in hiring mistakes. Employers will see better results if they are able to classify their workplace as a type and find professionals who perform best in it.

If a hiring manager wants to identify the best available candidate for an open requisition, with how many recruiters should he or she partner? Your gut might answer, “I should work with as many recruitment firms as possible to quickly receive the best available selection of candidates.” This response can be very destructive, however. We encourage hiring managers to select a primary or “go-to” agency.

Professionalism, preparation, and curiosity are important in a job interview—no matter who you are meeting. We encourage job seekers to adjust their presentation depending on the listener. You might meet with the President/CEO of the organization and your dialogue with him or her should differ substantially from that with HR, the line manager, or someone at your own professional level.

Skills, experience, and other requirements are what ensure a candidate’s capability to perform a job. Cultural fit—compatibility with your staff’s personalities, attitudes, values, and beliefs—is what ultimately keeps him or her committed to an organization. As employee turnover rates rise, Abacus Group maintains that a concerted effort to invest in the right individuals is the critical missing link in many businesses’ hiring processes.

Unless you’re completely enthralled by a job opportunity, you should not accept the interview. Right or wrong? Wrong—to a point. Sometimes you’ll be pleasantly surprised in this situation. Here are a few examples of how interviewing when you’re uncertain can work to your advantage.