Hiring the right candidate is more than just filling a vacancy; it's about finding the right person for the right seat in your business. Finding someone who will add value to your organization, both with their skill set and, just as important, their culture perspective – it’s a big responsibility! One person can have a massive affect (good or bad) on your business. The process can be daunting, but with the right approach, you will reduce your risk in hiring the wrong person. Not everyone is a rockstar, but the more we can avoid hiring a dud, the better – it will save you time, anguish and lots of money!
Here are a few key strategies to ensure you’re choosing the right addition to your team:
Pre-Plan
Get into the weeds before you start searching. It’s impossible to properly screen for a role that hasn’t been fully laid out yet. How can you make a successful hire if there is no alignment with your leaders in terms of what the role actually is? What skills are must-haves? What kind of personality would fit well with those already in your office?
Your hiring team should have a solid plan in place before you conduct your first interview – get everyone on the same page! Determine the timeline you’d like to complete interviews and review candidates in. Book meetings in your calendar (and anyone else’s who’s on your hiring committee) as placeholders to ensure a timely process. Figure out the strategies your team wants to use for the recruitment (we recommend using a recruitment agency to help keep you on track! Hehe shameless plug!)
Job Ad Tips
Be as clear as possible and include as much relevant information as you can in your job postings. The job title should be clear and familiar to others in the industry. Include details about the role’s day-to-day tasks to help candidates better assess whether or not they are a good fit for the job right off the bat. You want the qualifications to be clearly laid out and accurately reflect what the role needs.
Take an honest look at what is necessary for the position– don’t list the whole “would be nice” grocery list. Very few candidates will stay engaged and read the entire thing. Consider listing more general things like desired personality traits in the description rather than with the actual qualifications. It is good to cast a wide net but not so wide that EVERYBODY applies – that is a time sucker.
Don’t forget to include relevant key words throughout – make your job ads easy to find!
Work Experience
When reviewing a candidate’s resume, work experience is obviously a great starting point. Is their experience related? Is it transferable? Do they talk about their accomplishments or just their daily tasks? I also look for spelling mistakes – that is always a flag for me.
Pay attention to longevity and position changes, as well. A candidate who has had the same job for 15 years may not have a desire for growth, but they will likely have high job loyalty. Also note whether or not they have experienced growth within their role.
If candidates have gaps or a lot of movement in their resume, dig into why they left each position. Was there growth at each step or random transitions? Is the gap reasonably explainable? For example, were they unemployed because they were in school?
Culture Fit
This is where the eHarmony kicks in! Experience and skills are incredibly valuable, but so is finding a candidate who will mesh with your company’s pre-existing team culture. An employee who aligns with the values and work ethic of the team will benefit the workplace – or they can destroy it. Your gut test is needed here – talk with the candidate, get them laughing, get them stressed, get them to a place of being proud, and see how they react in each situation. Their true self will show itself if you are open to seeing it.
Don’t forget to include culture fit questions during your interviews. For example, a good all-encompassing option is: “Can you describe your ideal work environment for me?”
2-Stage Interview Process is a MUST!
It baffles me how many organizations still think they can know enough about a person to make a hiring decision after just 1 interview. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE… always do at least 2!
The first interview should focus on reviewing their resume, getting to know them a little bit and looking for obvious flags in overall fit and knowledge. You want to see how they respond to basic questions, what their thought process is like, and how their experience can add value to your organization. Make sure you watch to see how prepared they are for the interview. Did they do research on your business? Did they come with any questions for you besides, “how much does this position pay?” (I hate that question in a first interview.)
First interviews allow you to narrow down your pool and only spend time doing follow up interviews on a select few. Here is where you give them a tour, perhaps have them do an assignment for you or a presentation, dive much deeper into questions and respond with follow up questions on what they have said. Being the second interview, the atmosphere is a little warmer since you have already spent time together so they should feel more comfortable.
Diversify Your Interview Questions
Technical skills are only a portion of the skill set you should be looking for. Soft skills are just as important, if not more so in certain positions. Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, organization, and time management are all incredibly important for an employee’s long-term success, but they can be harder to assess.
Incorporate behavioural, experience based or role-playing questions in your interviews to better screen for soft skills. Can they solve problems? Can they think logically? How do they approach challenge?
External Testing
Use external testing on your final candidates – dig deeper into WHO they are and HOW they work in a work atmosphere. Select provides testing like this (even if we are not working on a recruitment) – it can be very valuable!
References – OH MY GOODNESS, SO IMPORTANT!
References are often underrated by hiring mangers. Make sure the candidate’s reference is from their most recent job and make sure it is a previous supervisor. You want an accurate understanding of how they work, and someone from 10 years ago or a family friend who has never worked with them won’t be able to provide that.
Never accept a character reference – you should be able to see what you need to on this front in the multiple interviews.
If there is any indecision or uncertainty from the hiring team, make sure you specifically dig in those areas with the references. For example, if you get the sense they would be super competitive – ask the reference how they performed in a team or if they did not get their way, how did they react? At least it might validate the impression you got in the interviews.
Career Goals
Ask what the candidate’s overall goals are and where they see themselves in the future. How do their goals mesh with your company’s? If you’re looking to fill a position long-term, the ideal candidate won’t be looking to change industries or move to a different city in the near future. Life changes all the time – we know this – but I love it when people I interview say to me: I want your job! Haha perfect!
Be Open-Minded and Trust Your Gut
Keep an open mind! While qualifications are important, don’t pass by candidates with transferrable skills or unconventional career paths. A new perspective may be just what your team needs. A change in career direction shows courage and the willingness to explore new and unknown challenges.
Your gut feeling is based on your experience and understanding of your team and will often lead you to the right choice. Trust your gut and consider it in your final decision.
Selecting the right candidate requires a balance between work experience, culture fit, objective assessments, subjective judgements and the candidate’s career goals. Remember that the right hire has the potential to not only fill a gap in your team, but to also drive your team to new levels of productivity and success. Is that not worth the extra time in thoroughly making your selection? I think so!