Hiring great employees goes far beyond the relevant experience highlighted on a candidate’s resume. Someone who is a great fit on paper might not be a great fit in other areas. I’ve shared a few questions that need answering to ensure you hire great employees.
- Can the candidate really do the job? Job candidates can spend hours preparing their resume and often tailor the resume to match job requirements. Don’t leave it solely up to the human resources manager to determine if the candidate can do the job. Invite a subject-matter-expert from the department or a colleague who will be working directly with the position to help with the interview process. Other effective assessment strategies include providing the top five candidates with a homework assignment that will test their fit for the position or conducting a real work scenario during the interview.
- Is the candidate ready to make a commitment to your company? A person who is serious about their career and working for your company will have done research in preparation for the interview. An ideal candidate will have done research to determine if they believe they are a good fit for the position. They should be able to share exactly how they match up to the position, and what their unique contribution will be. Employees are assets and each brings something valuable and unique to the company.
- Does the candidate have a good work history? Candidates will undoubtedly provide their best contacts as work references, but effective hiring processes should look beyond this first round of references. The Internet provides a wealth of information about job candidates, especially when looking over a candidate’s social media profiles.
- Has the candidate connected with the company in other ways? Great employees fit well within the company culture. They get along with colleagues and represent the business very well when interacting with vendors, customers, and business partners. Your best-fit candidates will find ways to connect with the company outside of human resources, such as signing up for the business newsletter, attending public events, following the business on LinkedIn, or connecting through the company blog or other social media channels.
Finding and hiring great employees takes time and is one of the most important investments a business owner can make. Find valuable resources with the Hiring Essentials Packet, your free gift when you sign up for the MJ Management Solutions Newsletter.
Now it’s your turn. What tips have you found to help identify great candidates?
Margaret Jacoby, Founder of MJ Management Solutions, Inc. provides small businesses with virtual and onsite HR solutions to meet their immediate and long-term needs. This article first appeared at http://www.mjms.net.
